Darren Carlson January is always an interesting time of year at Boze’s, as many folks attempt to start a new exercise and eating plan. Not so for our January Member of the Month – as Darren Carlson decided many months ago that he wanted to “go in a new direction” and as a result completely re-formatted his training program.

Darren has been a Boze’s member since 2003, and could be described as a typical “middle-aged” guy working out to “stay in shape”. He has a sedentary type of job and found that working out was necessary to keep him healthy. He did a mix of cardio and weight training, and although his workout schedule was providing him with some benefits he wasn’t getting all the effects he was looking for.

Namely, he was not as lean as he wanted to be, and found that as he was getting older it was becoming more and more difficult to avoid being a bit soft “around the edges”. At first Darren thought that training a bit harder would do, so he ramped up his workouts and starting lifting from time to time with Craig McKinnon. Darren joked that Craig had to work hard to keep up to him – but in fact they seemed to provide each other with the type of motivation necessary for both of them to benefit.

As Darren’s training intensified so did his intentions to eat more health consciously. He started to monitor his intake of foods and made adjustments to maximize training benefits. Darren realized that his slow but steady weight gain over the years wasn’t entirely related to his activity level and knew that eating better was a top priority.

As his training program became more focused, and his better eating habits kicked in new goals began to emerge. Darren got his body-fat tested and used the results to establish a baseline for further progress. He looked at the calendar and created a year-long training program that targets fat loss and muscle gain. He’s well on his way to reaching his new goals and credits his new-found focus for most of his success.

Darren has a plan and sticks to it. He decided what he wanted and gathered information to help design a reasonable, achievable program. He lifts heavy, but smart – and practices great lifting technique. He sticks to a routine, and although for some that might sound boring it hasn’t been for Darren. When you’ve got a clearly defined goal all the work just falls into place.

Darren Carlson, our deserving first member of the month for January 2009.

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