I've been in the strength and conditioning industry for over 20 years. And on average I'll meet with 20-30 people per month to learn about their goals, to explain how we would help them achieve their goals and ultimately to see if working together would be a fit.
When we take some time to identify goals we will hear the following:
* Improved sports performance - Some athletes want to increase strength and power. Others will want to increase fitness or speed. And they may describe their goals relevant to their sport i.e. a faster first step, a quicker/higher vertical, stronger on the puck etc. Ultimately achieving these puts the athlete in a better position to realize their potential and achieve success.
* Improved health - Sometimes we experience a health scare and this moves us to make a change in our habits related to our nutrition and exercise. Maybe we have a check up with the doctor and we're told we need to make changes or heart problems may be in our future. Or maybe it's not even a scare but we're just tired of waking up stiff and sore every morning? Maybe retirement is approaching and we want to make the most of our post-work years and not having anything hold us back.
* Improved body composition - This is the number one goal of people that go to the gym. Most people want to lose weight, and more specifically, body fat. And there are those who want to increase their body mass usually by adding some muscle.
These tend to be the main goals stated by people looking to get started on a fitness program. They want to play, feel or look better.
And while these are popular and reasonable goals, these aren't the best ones. And I mean best in terms of achieving long term, sustainable success.
In all my years as a coach I have never heard anyone state their goal in the best way possible.
Sticking with the above themes of seeking to play, look or feel better, here are some better to ways to state goals related to each of these.
* For sports performance - I will commit to recording all of my loads and lifts at each workout. I will make sure to do my recovery sessions after sports practice and in between lifting days. I will make sure I am properly fueled before and after every each training session.
* For health - I will journal my nutrition. I will add a new vegetable to my meal plan each week. I will look to drink an extra glass of water each day. I will get outdoors and move for 20 minutes each day.
* For body composition - I will eat more and drink less of my calories. I will aim to be active daily for 20 minutes. I will get 7 hours of sleep every night.
Achieving success in the gym can be challenging enough. There are new movements to learn, new nutritional plans to follow, new schedules and routines to incorporate and more.
Sometimes we need to simplify things a little bit to give us a better chance at success.
One of the best ways we can do this is to decide what we want to achieve? Our goal then becomes figuring out all the positive steps we can take to ensure success. Look to re-frame your goals in terms of the process and you'll be more likely to achieve your outcome goal.
Want some help with figuring out the process goals to achieve success?
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