Goal Setting

As it's the end of the month your trainer is currently preparing your new programme for next month. They are deciding which exercises to select in what order, what homework to prescribe and what nutritional tweaks need to be made to get you where you want to be.

You can help make their jobs a little easier by giving them some better defined goals. A lot of people say they want to "lose a little weight" or "get fit" or both. These are quite vague goals and don't have alot of power. A more accurate and powerful way of setting goals would be "I need to be fit enough to run 5km by November 1st, 2008" or "I will reduce two dress sizes by my friends wedding on the 2nd of December.".

There are a number of ways you can set a goal, the following is a step by step process which you can use to set a goal:

1. Visualise yourself reaching your goal/s (5km, marathon, beach bod etc.)
2. Write your goal/s down (commit to paper)
3. Give your goal a deadline (set a time frame)
4. Positive Pressure (make a bet with a colleague, tell your partner, tell your trainer)
5. Put the steps in place (work out what needs to be done to achieve your goal)
6. Know when you've arrived (reward yourself when you reach your goal)

Give it some thought, try the above steps and set a couple of goals. Treat this as your homework for the weekend and discuss it with your trainer next week.