Another EotY Fitness Challenge: This Time, Let’s Finish It for 2023!

EotY Fitness Challenge 2022
08 Oct

Last Updated on May 21, 2023 by Michael Brockbank

As of Sunday, October 9th, there will be 12 weeks before January 1st. For those of you who follow me, you know what that means. Yes, I’ve restarted the spreadsheet for another EotY fitness challenge.

This will be the second year in a row that I attempted to slim down for the “End of the Year.” And I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve reset my 12-week fitness challenge spreadsheet.

Can I actually finish it this time around?

What Makes this EotY Fitness Challenge Different?

I keep getting into these spurts where I am energized and ready to go. Then, something happens and I start draggin’ ass and quit. But that doesn’t stop me from giving up completely.

This time, I hope to keep up a strong momentum throughout the next 12 weeks. Then again, I hope that every time I restart the challenge.

Using My Daily Schedule Correctly

One of my most significant issues is that I start my day either incredibly early or late. This often throws my whole day out of whack, which usually results in a high level of frustration.

See, I plan on starting my day at 9 am. Then, I have all of my projects lined up until 6 pm. And if I stick with that schedule, I can get everything done.

What happens, though, is that I’ll start writing something while drinking my Emerge before going to the gym. The next thing I know, I’ve written an entire blog post and it’s 10:30 am and I never left the house. And that completely disrupts my day.

This time, I’m planning everything for my EoyT challenge, including the fitness stuff, and avoiding working before 9 am. In fact, we’ll simply stay away from the computer during the week until I get back from the gym or finish a workout.

I’m the type of person who needs that strict form of structure in order to keep things rolling.

I Know It’ll Boost Confidence

Just like when I wrote and published my first book, completing this challenge and sticking with the plan will boost my levels of confidence. I know that if I can actually finish something, it’ll make me feel better all around.

That’s one of the more disappointing things about me, really. I have a habit of starting some awesome things but then never finishing. Mostly, it’s because I get sidetracked by something else I want to do.

Hence why I have so many blogs and YouTube channels. It’s hard to stay focused on something for longer than a few weeks. I want to break that damn cycle and finish all of the things I’ve started.

Take this week, for example. I am about one or two chapters away from finishing my second book. And I’m truly excited to start editing and get it out on the shelves.

I want this 12-week, EotY fitness challenge to be one of those things. It’ll be one of my biggest milestones over the past decade.

What’s the Plan for This EotY Fitness Challenge?

So, I have about 40 pounds to go to get to my goal weight. Though, we’re not sure if I’ll even hit 200 pounds. I’m naturally a big guy with quite a bit of muscle mass.

The benefits of good genetics.

Still, I’ll get as close as I can to 200 without looking freakish. I think I’ll probably shift goals to hit a certain body fat percentage. I’ve mentioned this before and think it’s probably a better metric given my body type.

Net 600 Calories Works, Damnit!

I know my Net 600 calorie diet works. I’ve seen it and charted how it affects me overall. My problem lately is that I stop caring in the afternoon.

Actually, it’s the same issue I’ve been having for several years…snacking late at night.

If I can force myself to maintain the diet plan and keep from gorging on holiday candy this year, I should lose weight wicked fast. Well, at least until I get closer to 205, then we’ll need to make adjustments.

Some Activity Every Day

Every day, I want to get in some kind of physical activity. Instead of sitting at my desk 16 hours per day, I really need to get up and move around. Of course, I get a few steps by walking around in the backyard.

This time, I want to record some kind of physical activity every day on my spreadsheet. And I have no shortage of things I can do. Even if it’s just a 10-minute bike ride or standing on the Zaaz for 12 minutes, I need something on the sheet every day.

In reality, maintaining my Net 600 Calorie Diet will force me to do something every day, anyway. That’s because I need to burn some calories if I want to have dinner that night.

And if I want that extra serving of Twix or Reese’s peanut butter pumpkins, I need to burn enough to “afford” them.

Monday Through Friday 3500 Burn

With it being the holidays, there are a few goodies that I’ll want to snack on. This will help motivate me to burn at least 3,500 calories per day according to my Fitbit.

I discovered quite a while ago that the calories burned in Fitbit are quite accurate. And yes, I did a case study with a spreadsheet to determine this fact.

Anywho, I would like to report five days of hitting my burn goal throughout the week. To be honest, 3500 calories really isn’t all that difficult for me to achieve. It all comes down to actually doing things…like walking in the backyard.

Mini Exercise and Workout Challenges

I have a few small challenges that can help me get through the week. For instance, I am starting the case study for the Stealth Board tomorrow. Now that my hamstring is healed, it’s time to dive into planking.

I also have records on Runkeeper to break, bodyweight workout bests to surpass, and a few other minor challenges to help keep my head in the game.

I would try to challenge myself to get in a certain number of steps every day. But activities like cycling don’t record all that many steps even though I’ll burn 300 calories within 22 minutes.

Content for the Blog

One of my goals before the end of the year is to get all of my blogs on a routine publishing schedule. And since I won’t write about things I don’t try or use, I need to invest time into the products I want to write about.

I’m not one to whip out the same “best of” articles everyone else does just to see if I can make sales through affiliates. I can’t call something “best” if I’ve never used it.

Anyway, there are quite a few products, exercises, and foods I’d love to try out. So, all of these will help me with content, which then feeds into a routine publishing schedule.

YouTube Update Shorts?

My friend, Chris Desatoff, has been uploading his weight loss journey on YouTube in the form of Shorts, recently. YouTube Shorts are kind of like Tik Tok videos.

I try to publish videos when I can. They just tend to take a lot of time out of an already busy day. So, perhaps I’ll follow in Chris’s footsteps and make a few Shorts of my own.

If I do, they’d probably be weekly updates. I don’t know if I’d remember to do them every day unless I add them to Asana, my project management app.

Succeeding at an EotY Fitness Challenge is All Mental

Success at any fitness challenge is 90% mental. Because if you don’t have faith in yourself, remember to do certain things, or talk yourself out of goals, you will fail.

How you approach any diet or exercise plan will dictate whether it’s going to work or not. This is why one diet will work best for some while it doesn’t work at all for others.

If you perceive anything with a negative mindset, you’ve already decreased your chances of success before the attempt even starts.

The biggest reason why I haven’t hit my goal weight years ago is because I stop caring. Or, I’ll get into a “fuck it” mindset that leads to binge-eating popcorn while sitting at my desk watching episodes of Frasier on Hulu.

This time around, I am going to work hard to keep the same positive attitude I have today throughout the entire 12-week challenge. And if I can, it’ll probably be viewed as one of my greatest accomplishments.

Why Do I Keep Doing This to Myself?

One of my mantras is, “Never give up, never surrender!” This means that I will continue to try and try again until I succeed.

This EotY fitness challenge is merely another attempt to stick with a solid 12-week plan. And I’ll continue to try until I successfully record all three months without skipping a day or falling apart in some fashion.

I’ll continue to learn and build new strategies until I come up with something that works best for me.

So, did I fail the last five attempts at a 12-week challenge? No. I found five different ways that will not help me lose weight.

The bottom line is that I’m continuously in a state of self-improvement. Whether I’m trying to write so many words per month, lose X amount of pounds this week, or learn new ways to build a blog, I’m always improving.

Some things improve quicker than others, though.

In any case, I’ll keep challenging myself in one way or another. Even when I hit my goal weight, I’ll find something else that I’ll want to accomplish.

How Do You Challenge Yourself for Fitness?

Goals, challenges, and case studies are ways that I gamify fitness. Well, try to, anyway. I’m not the most consistent, but not from a lack of trying.

How will you know how far you can go if you don’t keep testing your limits?

All I can say is that I’m going to do my best to complete this EotY fitness challenge. And it all starts with visualizing where want to be on January 1st.

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2 thoughts on “Another EotY Fitness Challenge: This Time, Let’s Finish It for 2023!

  1. The weekly video updates are a great idea. The shorts will help you stay visible and with the 10,000 things you have on your plate, you won’t have to spend all day trying to record and edit a video.

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