Goal setting can be a thoroughly rewarding process in itself, as for some it can be the very first time that they have sat down and looked at their lives and properly thought about what they want to achieve, whether that’s fitness related, job prospects or even where they want to be living in ten years time.  Only once you have decided on what you want to achieve can you start to work out how you are you are going to succeed.

The most important thing to be aware of before looking at the goal setting process is that it is you who decides upon your goals.  That is not to say that you cannot ask people for their opinion or advice, but ultimately it is just that, their advice and their opinion.  It is down to yourself to take responsibility and ownership for your goals and for that reason you are more likely to stay motivated and when you do achieve that first target it will be an even bigger success and even more rewarding as you have had total control over it.

For a goal to be feasible you must look at a number of things that will ensure that you have given yourself the best possible chance of achieving and which will also act as your motivation.  The first thing that you need to look at when choosing your new goal is to ensure that it is CSMART (yes ,this is overly used within team building, however, for those of you who struggle with your health and fitness related goals in can be an invaluable tool).

C - Challenging

S – Specific

M – Measurable

A – Achievable

R – Realistic

T – Timed

The next thing that can be a huge motivational factor when looking at looking at your goals is that you break your goal down into smaller, if not more manageable pieces.  For example, once you have given yourself your long term goal, give yourself related short and midterm goals that will help you to remain on track and also act as a mental tick off whilst on your journey.  Each of these stepping stones must follow the CSMART rules if you want to give yourself the best chance of success.

I’m going to mention a few specific areas when looking at health and fitness related goals, but as mentioned before this process can be fielded for any decision about your lifestyle or even your work.

If you are looking at weight loss as a goal it is fundamental that you do not get focused on how much you weigh.  This might seem like a strange approach, but if you are using sensible nutrition in conjunction with an increase in your current level of physical exercise you are more likely to be motivated and have an ongoing enthusiasm to achieve your goal if you focus on your size and how you look and feel in your clothes.

Why do I want you to not get bogged down with the sometimes daily ritual of weighing yourself?  Put simply, muscle is denser that fat; you have probably heard that before. So with that in mind you must be aware that as you train you will develop more toned and efficient muscle.  We are not talking about increasing your size and becoming a body builder (unless that is your goal), but we are working towards lean and toned muscle.  A by-product of having all this lean and toned muscle is an increase in your metabolism, but more importantly will mean that you may not see on the scales the amount of weight loss that you had hoped for based on the amount of training that you have been doing.  So if you have been focused and disillusioned by the scales as a result of increasing your training this is why.  So weigh yourself and be aware of your weight, but for a more healthier approach find a piece of clothing that you want to fit into, give yourself a realistic time line and then train and eat sensibly to achieve your goal.

If your goal is to be a particular size and you are using clothes to measure against, be aware that the same size can vary greatly from shop to shop, this may lead you to being de-motivated and disappointed.  One way of getting around this is to measure your waist, hips and chest and then decide what size you realistically want to be.

I have come across a lot of clients whose goal is simply to be fitter.  What does that actually mean?  It is just a general statement that is not specific or measurable and therefore the client has nothing to aim for or nothing to motivate them.  However, after just talking to them for a few minutes they soon realise that they can actually come up with specific results that they want to achieve, whether it is to be able to ride to work in a quicker time or being able to complete the whole 5 km Race for Life without stopping or walking.  Once these goals have been exposed it is just a case of applying the CSMART process.

Goal setting should be an on-going practice, so as you approach your long term goal, you should already be planning your next target and how you are going to achieve it.

Good luck and don’t be afraid to challenge yourself…