Setting a Goal

Motivation • 3rd Apr, 22 • Comment

Two things are certain:

If you don’t know where you are going, you can’t get there.

If you don’t start, you can’t get there, either.

This is where many fitness plans struggle. Many start (and good on ‘ya, that’s huge), but they don’t know where they are going.  They are uncertain about how to train or how to eat, and they are often left frustrated. Some have a great plan and never start. 

Goals are good. 

Small steps will help.

Your fitness journey begins with knowing where you want to go. You can’t finish the race if you don’t know where the finish line is. You also can’t finish if you don’t start. Set a big, long term goal, but set smaller short term goals in between. A 1600 meter runner is concerned about how quickly they can complete 1600 meters, but also concerned (often more concerned) with split times. How quickly you can run the 1600 is really about how quickly can you run the 400 …four times.

If your goal is weight loss, for example, take the time to consider the small goals that make the long term goal possible.

   1. It’s been said before but it bears repeating; you probably don’t want to lose weight; you want to lose fat (this is a critical component of your plan).  You have an idea of what you expect to look and feel like after all the hard work. Make sure the goal takes that into consideration. Have more questions about this? We can help.

   2.  Once you’ve lost body fat, you do not want to find it again. You’d like it to stay gone. After all, you will be creating a deficit to remove the unwanted body fat, and that will be quite a task… Anytime will-power is involved, it can be difficult. Your goal has to include lifestyle changes that will ultimately make the new and improved you second nature.

Understand your goals with complete clarity. The sky is the limit. But don’t set goals based on someone else’s. We are all different. Genetics play a big role in this (for both individuals looking to lose, and those looking to gain).  Your goal should be to “be the best you that you can be”. Embrace your genetic make-up. I’ve spoken with many clients who have shown me an image of another person and said “I want to look like this”. I usually have to point out that the person in the image is 6 inches taller (or shorter) and while their results will be astonishing, they will not look entirely like the picture.

Fit looks fit, and while your build may not be what you initially thought, it’ll be great.  Genetics determine tendon length, for example, which will determine the shape of a particular muscle.