5 GOALS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT……

5 GOALS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT……

So if you have been getting my emails you will know I like to set goals, targets, events, challenges…..whatever you wish to call them.

I actually with my 1-1 clients spend part of our first session together mapping out this with them, to help them get there!

Specific intentions are crucial…..so as to stop you just meandering through life.

Something you can measure is very important!

I don’t just talk about this, I do this too, with travel, challenges and study every 12 weeks, something to work towards.

Here are a few things you can add to your goal list…..if not all then DEFINITELY a few.

Target 1: Lower Your Body Fat (not everyone)

Ok so we all have probably said or heard people say, ah I would love to lose 5-10 lbs. Likewise, “muscle weighs more than fat” has been bounded about……not TRUE…..1lb = 1lb. Muscle is more dense than fat….muscle is like gold compared to fat being like cotton wool, that takes up a lot of space.

So if you want to lose body fat you should be doing measurements, NOT the scales. You can take pictures, if I had £1 for everyone who said to me “ah Matt, wish I had taken those pics you said about”.

You might use skin fold calipers, we use a very high tech piece of equipment that is based on ultrasound technology to help our clients.

Target 2—Get Stronger

Now I appreciate you don’t want to look like Hulk Hogan necessarily…..but you really do need to make getting stronger one of your goals……if you are worried about bulking (ladies) then trust me you need about 40 x the amount of testosterone, you will need to lift VERY heavy……lifting weights will give you (along with good nutrition) a GREAT shape!

Forget “toning” with light weights…..thats very old school and gets very limited results. Toning is basically less body fat on top of the muscle you have.

Strength is a much more quantifiable way of achieving those goals. You can easily measure this…..

How many pull ups/push ups can you do in 1 minute? What resistance / weight did you use to do the exercise with? How many repetitions can you do before you have to stop?

You may well notice activities of daily life getting easier too. Carrying the kids, lugging the shopping in from the car or on the way back from the shop.

Target 3—Mastery

Now this is for those of you who just don’t get turned on by training just for the training. I happen to enjoy my training, and I accept I am a bit weird!

So here is what you can do. Work on a specific skill. My start on fitness, probably came through my rugby days. But I get it, rugby might not be your idea of good fun!

Why not pick another skill, swimming, boxing, tennis, lifting weights, yoga, cycling… etc etc. Maybe you have already found one of these!?!

Now you need to make specific achievement targets. How about if you cant do a full press up or pull up……learn how to do them (easier with a good coach) or mastering a specific pose in yoga in the next 6 weeks. ( I think I have just found my next challenge as we speak).

By the way the time frame is IMPORTANT here!

Target 4—Make it a LIFESTYLE

Every single day I meet and speak with people who want to look and feel better….whether it be for a wedding, the beach, holiday…..and hell who doesn’t want to look, feel and perform better…..that by the way is 100% cool……what is not cool is talking about doing it and NOT doing it. That is whats known as self torturing! You should stop that!

A long term approach however is much better, as Will Smith says, “if you stay ready, you haven’t gotta get ready”.

Its true…..I saw it at the weekend…..we did a 20 mile Rat Race, 200 obstacles in the mud! Yep….thats what some peoples (6500 of them, me included) idea of weekend fun includes. Some of my clients, smashed it out….they have been training with me for a while now……CONSISTENTLY chipping away at getting better!

What you need to do….Is not let all the hard work you do for a GRAND occasion slip to waste.

You should be making plans for:

1. How to keep to the dates and times you set aside for training.
2. Find a training partner or group of training partners!
3. Block out YOU time.
4. Allocate a budget to do this…..so you don’t end up missing out.

You will find all of the 4 tips above VERY useful in keeping your MOJO!

By all means set your self a 6 week target, to keep you focused but get ready for the time after that!

IT IS 100% A LIFESTYLE! NOT A FAD!

Target 5—EVENT TIME

So you know when you book something and you think holy crap, how am I going to do this……you have booked the right “thing”…..

A fitness based event is perfect….by giving yourself a deadline, some of will like this more than others, but its equally effective for us all.

Give yourself a target to prove you have worked and done what is needed. By the way, this goes long beyond the before and after pictures, which are very useful for target 1 and 2!

There is no messing about here, tell your mates, book yourself a challenge.

So go on just book your first triathlon, 5K , race for life, Tough Mudder, obstacle run, cycle challenge…..

Then work out what you need to do to get there….

Now this is where having a coach is invaluable…..I did exactly that when training for my first ½ ironman event.

I bet you after you do the first one, you will be BUZZING and want to book your next event…

I see that happen A LOT…..

If you need help and want a personal approach to this…..then just complete this survey (with as much detail as possible) and I will get in touch to help you.

Matt

Owner of Functionally Aware Fitness Personal Training 

Voted The UK’s Most Innovative Fitness Entrepreneur 2012

International Best Selling Author of The Fad Free Fitness Formula

Author of The Hot to Trot Cook Book and The Equestrian Athlete Plan

Email: Info@fa-fitness.co.uk / Phone: 07841 136302