I am not one to wander aimlessly. I have to have a purpose and a plan and a thing to be moving towards. Makes me kinda annoying to hang out with. My husband would love nothing more than to just chill and go with the flow but the very thought leaves me breathing into a paper bag.
To the same end, I love goal setting. If I have a project in mind I have to figure out when I am going to finish it and all the teeny tiny steps to get there. Welcome to my A-type brain! It is a magical place.
This may not make me the best partner but it makes me a kick ass trainer because everyone needs a fitness goal. It is really hard to wander aimlessly on this fitness journey. It can feel like you are just plugging away and not really heading in any direction, and therefore not making any headway. And we all want to make headway.
So here are 5 factors you want to consider when you are making fitness goals for yourself.
Is it specific?
I want to lose weight is not specific. I want to be stronger is not specific.
I want to fit into my favourite dress is. I want to do 20 pushups is.
Measurable
This one goes hand in hand with specific. How do you measure that you are making progress? Giving yourself a # is going to help you move forward and track your progress along the way. If your goal involves losing 10lbs (although I am never a fan of weightloss specifc goals. Find out why here), you can measure that progress by seeing you have lost 2lbs and have 8 more to go. This is measurable.
Actionable
How are going to put this into place? How are you going to ACT on this goal? Want to do 20 pushups? Putting this into action would be doing 5 pushups every night for week one, 10 pushups every night for week two, 15 for week three, and then finally 20 for week four. This is your action plan. I am a master at breaking things down into actionable tasks. Breaking it down to small steps also helps you avoid overwhelm.
Realistic
The cold hard truth is that sometimes things are not achievable. I will never be a size 0. My bone structure just doesn’t work that way. You want to make sure that you goals are not only achievable for you and your body but also realistic in the time frame you have given yourself. Losing 40lbs in 30 days is not realistic (or healthy).
Timed
You need to give yourself a timeline otherwise that aimless wander creeps in. You want to work yourself up to 20 pushups on your toes? Give yourself a day on the calendar to have accomplished that goal. This will keep you moving and motivated.
Now, the next time you get a minute (Ha!) sit down with a funky pen and a piece of paper and map out where you are on your fitness journey and where you want to go. Head over to the Facebook group and let us know what your next goal is so we can help keep you accountable.
Need help with your goal setting? Take a look at my Ready, Set, Goal! Program where I help you get laser specific on your goals and then give you a step-by-step action plan to move forward with the accountability you need. I will be your A-type buddy.
Happy goal setting!