GLEN TITHER HEALTH & FITNESS ARTICLES
Website: www.gtpersonaltrainer.co.uk
Email: glen@gtpersonaltrainer.co.uk
SETTING ACHIEVABLE GOALS
There
are many essential components to achieving success in most things in
life. However, having the right vision and motivation to start, put
yourself through and complete those tasks is paramount. This is why it
is important to first of all set achievable goals.
If you don’t know exactly what you want to achieve how will you know when, or if, you have achieved it?
Most
diets and exercise programmes fail because of unrealistic or inadequate
goal setting. By outlining, and focusing on, realistic and achievable
short term goals your long term goals will eventually fall into place.
Finding
motivation to exercise, or stick with exercise on a regular basis,
isn't always easy. Demanding work schedules, family commitments and
illness are just a few of the things that may interrupt your fitness
routine. However, the following points should help you decide on, and
set out, your short term goals correctly.
BE SPECIFIC.
Research
shows that specific goals are the most motivating. A specific goal is,
for example, to reduce your personal best 5km time by 30 seconds within 6
months. Many people just say they want to get faster. This goal is far
too general to really motivate you in your training.
MEASURE YOUR PROGRESS.
Simply
saying that you want to get faster is not enough detail. You need to be
able to chart and document the progress toward your goal. One way to
measure your progress is to document your performance at set intervals.
In the above example you may want to time your 5km performance once a
month so you have a good measurement.
Adjust if necessary. Your goals
need to be flexible enough to accommodate any unexpected challenges
without becoming obsolete. An injury may force you to modify your goal.
If your goal is to run a certain marathon and you are injured, you may
need to change your goal to do the half marathon, or even a different
event. An injury doesn't need to mean you abandon all your plans. At the
same time, you may find you are progressing quickly and need to raise
your goal. Another important aspect of goal-setting is to keep them
focused on personal action. Don't forget to consider not only what you
want to achieve, but how you plan to achieve it.
BE REALISTIC.
Start
where you are, and increase your goals accordingly. If you have never
run 5km it's probably not a wise goal to say you want to run a marathon.
While that may be your long-term goal, in the short-term you may want
to start with a 3km, then a 5km, progressing to a 10km, then a half
marathon, on the way to your marathon goal. This sort of progression is
healthy, realistic and achievable. Also, keep in mind that as you become
fitter, and near to your full potential, the room for continued
improvement gets smaller. Similarly, if your goals are too simple, you
won't feel much satisfaction by attaining them. Only you truly know what
is realistic for you.
AGREE TIMELINES.
Look again at the
first example - reduce your 5km time by 30 seconds within 6 months; this
is specific and time-based. Without a time line there is a tendency to
get bored. You may also need to set mini goals with shorter timelines to
keep you on track e.g. reduce your personal best 5km time by 5 seconds
in 1 month. Consider the previous example of working up to a marathon by
completing shorter distances first. Each of those becomes a separate
goal with a shorter timeline. In general, goals that stretch out beyond 6
months are too long to keep you interested and motivated. Try to
re-evaluate your goals every 2-3 months.
