Goal-Oriented Fitness

How do you create a goal for fitness?  A simple question, but often we are not sure how specific our ambition in exercise should really be.  If you have never created a goal for your workouts, there is no time like the present to start!  A goal is the best way to define for yourself where you currently are in your level of fitness, and where you want to be.  It also assumes that you have a measurable way to achieve this objective.  So it is not enough to stop at creating your goal, you must also create a path to get there, and equally important, a way to reward yourself when you reach it.  This is great incentive to finish what you start, and then continue to create new goals when you reach your old ones.  Here are some thoughts to help you get started.

 Create an overall goal.  This goal should be realistic, measurable, and comprehensive.  This goal should not be arbitrary, but based on your present level of fitness, and what you would like it to be in the future.  In order to create realistic goals, this may include consulting your family physician, a personal trainer, or a nutritionist.  Consulting professionals helps you set reasonable goals for yourself based on your particular health and exercise history.  If you have health related issues (i.e. diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc.) it is especially important to speak with some who is knowledgeable about applying exercise prescription in those situations in order to receive the best and safest results.


Creating a process helps you reach your overall goal.  Create a step-by-step process to get to your final goal.  Consulting a health practitioner can help you do this, especially if you are unfamiliar with exercise prescription in relation to your goals.

 
Create a reward for yourself when you reach your overall goal.  Incentive is everything!  It helps in this step if you pick a reward that is non-food or exercise related.


Write down your overall goals, intentions, and reward.  This helps keep you accountable; take time to review your goals everyday to stay motivated!

 
 Once you’ve reached your overall goal, create a new one.  New goals keep exercise fresh and keep you from getting into a rut.

Do You Need to Learn How to Exercise?

Yes!  I have heard this question often from clients and athletes I have trained and coached.  In order to reach your goals, your exercise must be EFFECTIVE!   This means that training is involved; whether you decide to hire a personal trainer, read up on effective exercise methods, or simply begin an exercise regimen on DVD, you will reach your goals much more quickly if you learn the "right" way to exercise...and yes, there is a right way to work out...actually, there are several right ways to work out!  I know it is easy to think that more "movement" is the goal, and so whatever you decide to do, it will work for whatever fitness goal you have.  This is simply not true; there are effective and ineffective ways to exercise, and it is important to know what they are.  Consider this, how good were you at your chosen profession in your first month of employment?  Compare this to having a few years of experience under your belt; I'm sure you were more efficient at your job after having been there one year as opposed to your first month.  The reason is because you learned how to do your job better over time, right?  You had to learn from others' experiences, firsthand observation, and practice how to be the most effective.  Exercise is no different; you learn from observation and practice how to exercise correctly; or in other words, how to get the most benefit from your workout.  So here are a couple of tips for how to be an "effective exerciser":

1. Create an overall goal for your workout, as well as a goal for each individual workout session.  You will never make progress if you don't know where you want to be in the future.

2. Choose a mode of "continuing education" - hire a personal trainer, invest in a DVD workout set from a REPUTABLE instructor (emphasis on REPUTABLE!!!!!), ask someone who knows "what's what" in your local fitness center for pointers to help you reach your goals.

3. Don't be afraid to ask questions, or get someone to critique your workout.  You won't learn if you don't ask; people who are effective exercisers and know how to help others become effective are not mind readers, they won't know to help unless you ask.

4. Be COMMITTED.  Beginning and continuing an exercise regimen does not happen by accident, it happens on purpose.  If you don't make it a priority, no one else can do it for you; no one can want to work out for you; you have to want it for yourself.  A workout buddy is a great "investment"!! 

5. If you currently have goals and an exercise regimen in place, but you have reached a "plateau" in your workout where you are not seeing the results you used to see, you need to change things up.  Don't be afraid to change your workout.  A workout must evolve, this is essential to reaching your goals because sooner or later, your body will get used to what you are doing, and you won't see the same results you used to see.


More to come on creating goals and "continuing education"...

Why This is Here

This blog is created to address questions regarding fitness, nutrition, and wellness in general.  In my years of experience as a coach and personal trainer, there are some questions regarding fitness and nutrition that I have heard often, so I'm sure they are common to others as well.  My hope is to be able to address these questions, and many more, in a more public forum so people can learn how to become the healthiest, most physically active version of themselves.  Exercise and nutrition myths also abound, and I look forward to examining some of these more closely.  For people who want to get healthy, I want to make it as easy as possible and provide resources to reach that goal.  I know it can be overwhelming to try and find the best way possible to reach health goals, and that the information about the "best" way to reach these goals is often mixed at best - not because there is not reliable information available, but because products and services in the health/wellness industry may just be trying to sell you something that has no basis in scientific fact or clinical research.  Trying to sort out the "reliable" from the "unreliable" information can be difficult, and I want to help you wade through as much of it as I can.  I want my years of experience in coaching and training, and my current pursuit of becoming an exercise phsyiologist to benefit others in their pursuit of health.  With this goal in mind, my blog will include entries regarding exercise as well as nutritional concepts.  Some entries will include workout tips, creating goals, or how to work out with purpose, and some will deal with healthy eating tips, getting the best from your shopping trip for your family, etc.  I sincerely hope that every reader will find some benefit in applying the forthcoming information!