Yet another warrior headed to the gym for an evening of conquering feats and some scheduled maintenance. Hitting the weights, sweating it out on the treadmill, stepping up and down in class; but what is the goal for this workout? Digging even deeper, what is it you are trying to achieve by being active and working out: Do you want to improve your health, maintain or improve your shape, lose unwanted pounds, or gain some much needed muscle...or is it a combination of each?
No matter the answer, you won't receive a great deal from activity if you haven't completely defined what it is you want to achieve.
Following are several suggestions to assist in an often-difficult task of assessing yourself and evaluating where you are in relation to where you want to end up. Without this evaluation process, it will be difficult to formulate any concrete goal(s).
Whether a novice or experienced fitness specialist, everyone will benefit from a strict evaluation of what it is they are currently trying to achieve. Think of what specific changes you are going to make. Healthy is not what you look like, but often looks serve as an indicator; hence the healthier you become, the better shape your body becomes.
Traditional Evaluation Methods
Oftentimes people rely on the relatively ineffective evaluation methods, such as height/weight charts, body fat testing and performing a physical fitness evaluation in an attempt to find out where they need to improve. Though these tests can offer some important information and have a proper place in the whole scheme of things, they are not personal enough and have had inconsistent results.
The following suggestions direct a successful approach to setting goals that are less rigid, but prove highly effective and could be used in conjunction with the physical tests.
Suggestion 1. See It
To improve your goal setting evaluation process, look in a full length mirror, either without clothes or in a swimsuit. Try to access your physical appearance by noting the areas that need work, but at the same time, be sure to note the areas that you are happy with or where you see recent improvements. What do you like? What needs improvement? This is the time to make a serious evaluation of what you see and what you want to see.
Suggestion 2. Brand It
Another suggestion is to pick up a fitness, fashion or other favorite magazine to find a body type that is similar to yours, one that represents the physical state you are interested in seeing in your mirror. Be sure to only concentrate on those in the publication that have similar body frames as yours to get a more realistic vision of what you use for an example.
If you think it will increase your motivation, cut the picture out and put it in a prominent place about your home (refrigerator, common door) to use as a reminder.
Suggestion 3. List It
The next step is to make a list of important points or ideals you desire. After you have listed the major changes to accomplish (and don't go overboard; 2-4 changes are plenty), put them into a single summary sentence. This sentence can serve as the reminder of your goals when you are putting on your running shoes or traveling to the gym. Again, if it helps, put the list in a high traffic location (under the picture!).
For instance:
If you listed that you want to 1) lose my love handles, 2) gain some muscle in my arms and legs, and 3) lose my extra 15-20 lb, you could summarize this into an easy to remember sentence: I am working out to lose 15-20 lb. shape up my waist, and tone my arms and legs.
Suggestion 4. Picture It
Go ahead; dig up that old picture, the one that represents the era when you had the body that you envision for yourself today. Was it high school, college, or last year, or maybe the picture is just closer than you are today. Add a couple of wrinkles and that same body is still there. If this picture exists, this alone can offer your idea of a goal for today.
If this won't work, it may be better to use bad pictures that make you look worse than you do.
Suggestion 5. Visualize It
This is possibly the most important of all of the suggestions offered. With the tools provided in the earlier suggestions, you should have some idea or image that represents what you are about to accomplish. Now, this is most difficult part: Imagine It. Visualize your changes when you look in the mirror. Take all those phrases that explain what you are going to look like, take the pictures from the publication, take your old picture of how you used to look -and start to visualize your "new body". Use your imagination and conceptualize how you will look with these changes.
If you can't visualize or conceptualize your new look, it will be more difficult to achieve because it will not feel as real or as obtainable. Now you are ready for actually setting goals and given some time and consistent effort, it is possible to achieve your vision.
Remember:
YOU have the POWER!
Darren Rieck
