At the beginning of the year I wrote a personal constitution of sorts, consisting of 31 things I wanted to achieve. Some were fitness-based ‘SMART’ goals, some were generic goals for the year and some were just ideas, concepts and approaches that I want to practice indefinitely.

Eat this kind of grub 80-90% of the time and you’re doing alright

I’d love to say that I’ve smashed all 31 goals but that’s not entirely true. The exercise has proved very beneficial though, and has helped me stay focused and on track this year.

Below is my half year accountability check-in so we can see how I’ve done. In the next week I shall rewrite my goals, adjusting some of the current ones and adding some new to reflect my year so far, and my continued development and direction.

Get a new apartment where i’m happy and comfortable by March 1st
Done!

Purchase an awesome bed, sheets and pillows. This is important, seeing as I spend a 3rd of my life there.
Tick!

Get 7 hours quality sleep each day, preferably 8+
I’ve been pretty good with this. I usually go to bed 7-8 hours before my alarm and if not I try to squeeze a nap in the daytime. Ongoing.

Update bangkokfitness.com at least once every 2 weeks
I haven’t hit 2 a month but have been happy with the direction of the site this year and the feedback I’ve received. Going to consider post frequency in my new goals although I don’t want to compromise quality for volume.

Continually improve flexibility and mobility
This is still an area that needs improvement. Haven’t made significant gains here. Ongoing.

Sit down as little as possible
My job makes this pretty easy and I’ve added to this by walking instead of taking bikes or trains wherever possible. A strong pass. Ongoing.

Move around as much as possible
As above.

Do yoga at least once a week
Fail. My opinions on yoga have developed a little. Will address this in my goal update.

Eat natural real food as often as possible. Keep processed food and sugar to a minimum.
Ups and downs but generally pretty good. I’m following the 80/20 rule well.

When I eat badly, make sure it tastes damn good
Most of the time when I eat badly, I do it properly!

Improve my Thai language
Massive fail! Will address in goal update.

Get out of Bangkok into natural and beautiful surroundings once a month
Check! I’ve averaged once a month and have been on some great trips to amazing places this year. Will ensure I keep this one up.

Spend lots of time in the sun
I think I’m more tanned now than I’ve ever been (which still isn’t all that much!). Having this list to remind me helped me be more conscious of this. A definite pass. Ongoing.

Spend less time on social networks and more time actually socializing
Deleting Facebook from my phone means I spend little time on it now. I tell myself I need social networks for work and keeping in touch with friends from home, but part of me feels I’d be better off just deleting the lot. For now, will continue using social networks in moderation with a focus on business promotion.

Call people more (rather than message)
Still seem to message far more than I call. Think I will make this goal more of a process goal or SMART goal in my update, especially keeping in touch with family and close friends.

Surround myself with positive, interesting and inspiring people
Thinking about this at the start of the year and making it one of my goals has really helped me achieve this. I’ve developed strong friendships with some great people, and I feel we bring out the best in each other. Really, this is how every relationship should be. This goal has been hugely beneficial to me and I see it as a lifelong aim.

Be a positive, interesting and inspiring person
You’d have to ask those around me about this one!

Run 100m in sub-12.5
Still around 13.4 so work to do here.

Run 400m in sub 1 minute
1:04 is my current record. This will be a tough one for me and will require a solid 6-8 week specific program for me to achieve it.

Run 5000m in sub 20 minutes
This one has become a bit of a monkey on my back. I now feel it’s time to pull said monkey off my back and beat him to death. I’ve come consistently close over the last few months without much specific training. I hit 20:45 on our fun run and am confident of smashing this soon. I’m doing specific training 3-4 times a week to get this done so I can then focus on the 400m 1 min.

National Stadium Track – the spot where I’ve been (attempting to) smashing all my running records

Try new things
Another ongoing lifetime goal. I’ve done pretty well so far this year, in one way through my series of dietary experiments.

Do a muscle up
Success! Have hit one on the rings and bar. Will go for multiple muscle ups on my goal update.

Continue to make The LAB a success and a great place to be and train
Again, you’d have to ask those around me but with the expansion project that’s more than doubling our studio size, I’d say me and the team have done a pretty damn good job. Well done guys : )

Stay as close to 80kg as possible and within 10-15% body fat – my optimum composition and weight for peak performance
I lost some excess Chrimbo kilos and have bubbled around 80kg through improvements to my diet and my training. Happy thus far, but ongoing.

Only drink water to rehydrate (with maybe some lime)
Largely successful. Ongoing.

Limit coffee to 2 cups a day (down to one ideally)
There or thereabouts. Fine with my caffeine consumption but want to drop the milky coffees.

Only drink alcohol to the point of having fun and being able to fully function the next day
Success! My moderate and infrequent alcohol consumption has meant no monster hangovers and strong productivity! Ongoing.

Practice intermittent fasting
Check! Most weeks have hit a 24 hour fast.

Do things, don’t talk about doing them
I’ve always done quite well with this and will continue to act on my thoughts, ideas and ambitions and keep procrastination to a minimum. Ongoing.

Read through this list once a week
Have looked through periodically which has helped with my continual development.

So that’s the first 6 months. A mixed bag but overall I’m satisfied. I’ll give myself a C+.

Living in an often chaotic city like Bangkok means that sometimes you have to remove yourself to clear the mind and develop focus. Next time you have some time away to relax and reflect I’d strongly recommend recording some things you’d like to achieve, both in the short term and things you’d like to do for the rest of your life.

Soon I’ll revise and update my goals for the rest of the year.

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Sometimes training with friends can help motivate. Consider private group fitness trainingprivate group fitness training at BASE.