We know that we need to lose weight and… we know that joining a gym was a good choice. But, what's next. Where are you going? What will it look like when you get there? How will you know if you're there or not if you're not sure where you are going?
The first thing you need to know about goal setting for fitness is that you must be as specific as possible. "I want to drop a few pounds" is not going to cut it. You will want to sound more like "I will lose 20 pound, and weigh 125 lbs. in the next 8 months".
Notice that the second goal was stated in a positive, present tense affirmation. This is how you will write and repeat your goals.
In preparing your goals you should purchase a fresh spiral bound notebook; college ruled is me personal favorite. Then create 10 positive, present tense goals in the form of affirmations and write them down on the first page.
The goals should reflect EVERY area in your life that you would like to see a positive improvement in. Now, many of you may be asking, "why not just write my fitness goals?"
Your entire life and lifestyle determines your level of fitness. A small example – you and your teenaged daughter have been at odds about her new boyfriend. With a family issue like this adding physiological load to your emotional system, your body will respond by releasing stress hormones such as cortisol. Cortisol is a catabolic hormone, this type of hormone sacrifices muscle tissue at the expense of storing body fat. This is a survival mechanism that your amazing body had developed as a result of a need to "fight or flee".
So, it should be obvious that one of your 10 goals should be "I communicate openly and lovingly with my daughter."
Write these 10 goals in your notebook every day. You will be repeating the same goals on a daily basis. This will activate your subconscious mind to go to work for you. When you activate your subconscious mind on a daily basis with positive present-tense goals you will bring those things which you desire into your life much faster than someone who is simply wishing for things to get better.
An old acronym that you may be familiar with is, to make sure your goals are S.M.A.R.T – Specific – Measurable – Achievable – Realistic – Timely.
Well, there you have it... setting goals is the first thing that you must do for fast fitness results!
