So you've set a committed New Year’s resolution to lose 10kgs or
to climb the stairs to the office without having to catch your breath at the
top. But a couple of months in, you're wondering why you've barely started to achieve your goal. Or what happened to your exercise plan to get you there!
Now, there are a couple of problems here:
1. Your goals were not SMART goals and
2. You had no PLAN of action.
Because,
SMART goal + action plan = SUCCESS
Why are SMART goals different from other goals? And why
are they important?
It’s all in the acronym! You're more likely to achieve your goals if you make them: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and within a Timeframe (SMART!).
Narrow down what you would like to achieve. That is, ‘to improve my running’ or ‘more cardio sessions per week’ are not specific enough.
How are you going to measure your change over time? This important to show you your improvement and will add to your motivation when you can see the change. Think: waist circumference for ‘toning’ or photos to see a physical body change. Or perhaps the number of push-ups you can do. Timing is also a great form of measurement eg the time it takes you to run 5k.
It is VERY important to have starting measurements (usually a repetition number/time/numerical amount) to effectively calculate your progress!
You have to be able to attain your goal. For example, if you’ve never lifted weights or trained before, you wouldn’t try and lift 70kg in 2 weeks, would you? It would be much more likely for this goal to take months. Increasing weights in smaller increments whilst concentrating on lifting form would be far more successful.
Your SMART goal has to of course be applicable to real-world possibility and situations. For example, a very unrealistic goal would be to hold a 20kg weight plate above your head for 24 hours, run at 80km/h or walk on air! Even the most well trained individuals on the planet would definitely not be able to do these things as they are beyond the realm of human capability (at the moment)! A more down-to-earth example might be a goal to compete in the London Marathon without the means to get there.
Whether you set short or long term goals (ideally both!), you must include a
time to achieve them by, a ‘due date’. This will keep you
accountable and ensure that you are on-track to achieve what you want to! I strongly recommend setting "mini goals" to break big goals down in to more manageable chunks.
- Complete 20 full push-ups (on toes) with perfect form, in eight weeks
- Reduce waist circumference by 10cm in 3 months
- Climb 20 stairs without feeling "puffed" at the top (measured on a Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) scale), in 3 months
- Complete a full 30 minute FIITLATES session without needing a rest, in 2 months.
Set 2 goals right now, one short and one long term to start with. Then break those goals into mini goals. This makes it easier to see what you need to achieve on a smaller scale. If you set too many goals it can be overwhelming, so just start with 2. Our goals also must change as we improve, never settle for plateau!
