Setting Appropriate Goals to Get Started

So the time has come. You have decided to get into shape and become that lean mean calorie burning sex appeal machine that you know you have inside. Well unfortunately I have to tell you to stop right there.  Before jumping head first into a fitness program it’s important to have the proper goals to get the job done.  The goals you set will have the biggest impact on your outcome.  So what is considered an appropriate goal?  First I’ll tell you the number one goal in history that has caused the majority of the public to fail in their fitness attempts. 

“I want to lose weight and get back to the weight I was in (insert said period here)”

Yes losing weight is the number one goal for most people, and it is not so much a bad goal as much as to general.  With a broad goal such as this it makes it way to easy to get frustrated and in the end drop your fitness program.  Shedding pounds is a combination of lifestyle choices.  The only truly effective diet out there is a healthy combination of exercise, nutrition, and lifestyle. What is a good goal to set for the beginner? Easy, make them short term and achievable.  Something that can be accomplished with a little hard work within an eight week period is perfect. Such as

“I’d like to be able to run for 20 minutes without walking by (xxxx)”

“I’d like to exercise for 30 minutes five days a week by (xxxx)”

“I’d like to be able to do 30 push-ups by (xxxx)”

These are just some simple but very effective goals which can be achieved reasonably easy for the beginner.  You’ll notice a few similarities with each of these goals.  First they all have a very specific objective stated: run for 20 minutes, exercise for 30 minutes five days, 30 push-ups. They all also have a set time that you hope to reach this goal.  By doing this you hold yourself to your goal and see a realistic definitive out come.  Setting short term goals like these will lead you to your ultimate goal much quicker and with less frustration then trying to hit it out of the park every time you exercise.

So everyone get out there, set some basic goals and achieve them.  Just remember to big a goal will have you frustrated real fast and ultimately make wanting to exercise very difficult.  The more fun you have achieving your goals the more likely fitness will become a life long habit for you so go have some fun getting into shape.

As a side note, be sure to align your goals to be attainable with the fitness level your at right now, not the fitness level you hope to be at three months from now.  Setting goals beyond your capabilities is a guaranteed way to get frustrated.

Endurance = Strength = Speed

Good luck with your goals
Matt