One of the biggest reasons people fail to get in shape isn’t due to their lack of execution, but rather their lack of planning. The biggest mistake is failing to set some goals for yourself. The best part is that ANYONE can set a goal. Your goal could be to lose 10 pounds, gain 10 pounds of muscle mass, bench press 300 pounds, have a vertical jump of a certain height, or do 100 pushups without resting. The possibilities are truly endless. Without goals, it is much harder to keep track of your progress, so even though you may be taking steps in the right direction, you may not realize it. Then you get frustrated, which may lead you to feel that your workouts have just been wasting your time. Even if you do set goals, you may make some mistakes that prevent you from reaching your goals, so let’s take a look at some general guidelines for setting fitness goals.
– Research, research, and more research – This is probably the most important step. Whether you are new to the gym, or just new to actually setting a fitness goal for yourself, you need to do some research to ensure that the goals you set for yourself are realistic and achievable. The Internet is full of information, and you can be certain that someone has tried to do the same thing as you before. If you can find tips online, you will have a better idea of how long it should take to reach your goal, and what methods you should take to make progress towards your goals.
– Optimize your approach – As a result of your research, you should be able to find changes you can make in your daily life to make reaching your goal easier. For example, many people do not realize that their eating habits are their biggest downfall. You can easily reduce the amount of time you spend in the gym by cleaning up your eating.
– Be specific – Instead of setting a goal to “lose weight,” set a target weight or a specific number of pounds you wish to lose for example. Again, your research will aid you in determining what kinds of changes are realistic.
– Set milestones – If you want to lose a certain amount of weight, or gain a certain amount of mass by a set date, you need to set milestones to keep you on track. A good example is to set an amount of weight you would like to lose each week, or even a number of calories you will burn every workout.
– Keep a journal – Depending on your specific goal, you will be able to keep an eye on certain measurements to track your progress. Two pretty generic measurements are weight and body fat percentage. You can also keep track of the number of calories you burn, the number of calories you consume, etc. A journal will let you know what you did on weeks where you made good progress, and habits that made for a bad week. Even if you don’t see a difference in the mirror, chances are you are making improvements if you are sticking to your plan, so when you see the numbers, it serves as a confidence boost and keeps you motivated!
– Don’t get discouraged! – So, the day you set for you to reach your goal or a milestone is here, and you didn’t make it. If you know you did your best, don’t dwell on it. Everyone’s body is different and responds differently to exercise. Your original goal may have been too ambitious, but if you gave it your all, you more than likely made some great improvements to your look and overall health. Reevaluate your goal, look at your journal, reformulate your plan if you have to, and get back into it. Your mind is usually your greatest enemy, and dwelling on the fact that you didn’t make your goal is only going to prevent you from progressing.
Hopefully these guidelines will give you a good start to a successful fitness plan. Once you meet your goal, you will feel great! As with anything else, the more experience you have setting goals and working towards them, the better you will become at it. Keep a positive outlook, even if you have a bad week or two. If you meet your goal, share your story, it will serve as motivation for others.
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