How to find the right goals
As we move into February this is the time 80% of the new years fitness resolutions have been dropped. There are various of reasons and excuses as to why people give up on their fitness dreams. Here are some guesses: training is too hard, you are scared to start from scratch, you don’t know where to start, you want to lose weight, be fit, trim up, but don’t know how to do that. And so on.
You need to design your goals using the SMART goals principal:
SPECIFIC Set specific goals, e.g. to lose 10kg
MEASURABLE Ensure you can measure the progress of your goals – numbers don’t lie
ATTAINABLE Your goals need to be obtainable – it is impossible to lose 15kg in two weeks
REALISTIC Make sure your goal is realistic both in the timeframe and the
TIME-BOUND Your goals need to have a deadline, which always needs to be realistic
When creating goals ensure you have a mix of long, medium and short term goals to keep motivated, these all depend on your individual level of commitment:
SHORT TERM GOALS
… can be as short as 1 day! For instance, if you’re a sugar junkie, and can’t go without your fix for the day, then it is highly recommended to starting small. Go one day without a trip to the vending machine.
MEDIUM TERM GOALS
Medium term goals are them best way to ensure you remain on track to achieving your overall long term goal. They can range from a week to a month depending on your specific goals is. A great medium term goal is to attend a minimum of three training sessions per week. Without medium term goals you’re making much harder on yourself to achieve your overall goal.
LONG TERM GOALS
Other than to remain active and healthy, long term goals are the reason why we train, whether its to achieve a dress size, gain or lose weight, or even set a performance based goal to achieve them you need to focus at the beginning of the goal pyramid – short term goals.
As soon as you determine your SMART goals, tell your family, tell your friends, post it on Facebook! As soon as it’s out of your head, it’s no longer a thought – it’s reality. If you begin to lose focus, your friends and family will be the first to ask you about your progress and if you train with AUSFIT, you’re then accountable to the team.
So stay focussed, and never forget why you started!