Goal Setting

“The major reason for setting a goal is for what it makes of you to accomplish it. What it makes of you will always be the far greater value than what you get.” - Jim Rohn

When you embark on any type of fitness program it is important and helpful to have goals. Most people have very general goals in mind usually having to do with things like improving their health, losing X amount of pounds or looking good in a swimsuit when they go on vacation. This is a good way to begin, but setting smaller more specific goals can be even more beneficial and is often overlooked.

The problem with only setting a larger overall goal is that it is often very daunting and overwhelming. Smaller goals are more manageble and attainable and help to build your confidence as you continue to achieving your overall goal. It is the forest for the trees mentality. If you only look at the big picutre you aren't seeing and celebrating the smaller things you have acheived on the way and appreciating the journey. It is the process of getting to your goal where you learn about yourelf and you discover what you are truly capable of acheiving. Through personal experience and the experience of others I have been able to witness the utter joy of doing something you never thought you would be capable of doing and I wish that everyone could experience that.

My sister recently ran her first half marathon, quite successfully I might add. For months and probably years I told her she should do it and that she could do it, but she was very reluctant because for someone who has not run long distance before, 13.1 miles sounds like an impossible feat. But I knew my sister well enough to know that she was capabile both mentally and physically to do it so I kept pestering. Her husband is also a runner and was also pestering her about it. It didn't matter what we said though, she needed to know for herself so she started small. In the back of her mind she had the goal to run a half, but she didn't focus on that right away. She focused on small goals, like running 45 minutes without stopping. Once she did that her confidence in herself rose and she set a slightly higher goal, like running 8 miles without stopping. This process continued until she worked her way up to 13 (and I think she went up to 14 miles)and he knew she could do it and she signed up for the race. Those smaller incremental goals gave her the confidence to go for the larger goal and she successfully achieved it.

In addition to improving your confidence by setting and achieving small goals, it is also just makes you happy! You know how hard you worked and you did it. I can remember emails and phone calls from my sister that just oozed happiness when she ran 8 miles and then when she told me she ran a full 13 miles without stopping. If you only focus on the large goal, you can forget to celebrate and experience the joy in acheiving the small goals. Enjoy the moment and celebrate your success. Brag about what you have done, anyone who has a problem with it either can't see the joy it has caused in you or are just jealous of that joy. The people who really care will want to celebrate with you because they can see how happy it has made you.

When you are starting a fitness program you may be discouraged that you aren't able to do certain things or are more behind when it comes to fitness then you would like to be. That is quite normal, everyone starts at that level and feels that way but don't let it dishearten you. Comparing yourself to other people will only make you feel bad so instead focus on yourself. We are all unique in our abilities and attributes and if you are working hard you will see improvement.

So if for example you want to have a bigger, more musuclar upper body by the time summer arrives so you can flex and attract all the ladies, focus on the actual exercies. Get on the bench press and if you can only do 3 reps of a certain weight then your smaller goal could be to work your way up to 10. Once you get there, then your next goal should be to bump the weight up 5 or 10 pounds. Focusing on that and not being obsessed with looking like a guy in the magazine you can probably never even look like because he is genetically gifted and airbrushed. You will eventually fulfill your own potential and look he best you can look and that is something you can be proud of.

Right now I have two goals that I am working on. First, I want to be able to do unassisted pullups. Right now I am using the assisted pullup/tricep machine to get me there. I can currently do 10 reps a the 9 setting. I will keep either increase reps or decrease the amount of assistance until I can do one on my own.

I also want to be able to do this exercise, the natural glute ham raise:

Right now I am doing a modified version that looks like this (I put my feet under a machine though):


Focusing on these small and specific goals keeps me excited about going to the gym. I know that each workout brings me closer achieving my goals. They may not be as huge as running a marathon but in all honesty I will be just as excited when I am able to do a pull up.

So when you are starting or continuing to improve your physical fitness, have a large goal in mind but to get there set smaller goals along the way. It will keep you motivated and build your confidence. If you go into a program with no goals however, you are basically setting yourself up for failure. Be focused and you can achieve everything you want.