SMART Goals for Smart Women

Welcome back to another week of Women’s 

Weight Training Web Edition.

       This week’s topic is goal-setting, which I wanted to talk about since all of you are here for a reason. We set goals because we want something, but merely writing your goal down is not enough to achieve your goal. You must do a few other things as well.

Intent

What is your intent?

Do you intend to sit on the coach and wish your goal would come true? Do you intend to lose 25 pounds in 40 days? Whether you tell your goal to yourself, a friend, or you write your goal down you must have the intent or determination to go after your goal if you want to ever achieve it. Additionally, your goals should be SMART goals.

Motivation

       Your motivation (what is driving you to behave in a particular way) will affect your intent. Motivation can be tricky because different things motivate us and if the wrong things are motivating us then our intent to do something may only last from a brief moment to a few days.

Let me give you an example of how motivation affects our intent to exercise:

       There once was a girl who wanted to go to Florida with her friends for Spring Break 2014. Her and her friends would sit outside on their lunch break and talk about what they would do to get skinny for their trip to Florida. They agreed they would work-out for two weeks 7x/week with no rest for two hours a day and do abs every day. She didn’t really like exercising because she never saw the weight-loss results she wanted, but she knew she could stick to a short-term exercise routine, especially because her friends were doing it with her.

       This example is a great example of how and why we fall off the band wagon. These young ladies are determined to exercise for two weeks straight at an ungodly pace and effort because they believe they will be rewarded. The ultimate reward for them is to be skinny, look good in a bathing suit, and possibly attract attention.

       When we are externally motivated, that is, our behavior is regulated by the fact that we feel we will be rewarded, we feel coerced or obligated by someone or something, we are less likely to stick to that behavior and to enjoy it.

       Even if you are externally motivated, it is still quite possible to achieve your goals! Remember I said something about setting SMART goals? SMART stands for specific, measurable, assignable, realistic, and time-related. To break this down for you so that you can see how this can be done, I will use an example which you have given me from Women’s Weight Training.

Goal: To do 10 un-assisted push-ups by May 31^st.

Let’s turn this goal into a SMART goal:

Specific: She wants to do 10 un-assisted push-ups by May 31^st.

Measureable/Meaningful/Manageable: 10 push-ups by the end of 2.75 months.

• This goal largely depends on the person’s fitness level. For someone who is just beginning a fitness program, 10 quality un-assisted push-ups within 2.75 months would take some work. They would need guidance, a balanced routine, and to be building up [both] upper body and core strength prior to performing even one quality un-assisted push-up. Progression is important and many people become impatient with this. Remember the girl who didn’t see weight-loss results? She became impatient, she overworked herself, and did not follow a progressive routine. 

       In my previous experience, I would begin by starting out with push-ups on the knees until my client could do proper form for at least 10 knee push-ups. Then we would progress to incline push-ups on a bench until she perfected those for at least 10 push-ups. Once this was accomplished she would move to regular push-ups. Nevertheless, she would be working on core strength, bench press, shoulders, triceps, back, biceps, and even lower body throughout her program.

Assignable/Achievable/Attainable:

• Again, this depends on the person, their level, skill, ability, or talent. Look at the time-frame you have assigned yourself. Losing 25 pounds in 40 days is not attainable nor would it be healthy. For someone who only needs to lose 5 pounds, a 25 pounds weight-loss would not be attainable. For someone who is 40 pounds overweight, a 25 pound weight-loss would be attainable, but not in 40 days because a healthy weight-loss is estimated around 1-2 pounds per week, not per day.

Realistic/Result-based:

• You will see that many of these relate to one another. Progressive goals will allow you to see tangible results. This may take up to a few days depending on how much you practice to a few weeks. You can track your progress with a journal or notebook. Tracking your mood is another great way to see how your exercise progress affects you. We often don’t realize that while we are working toward our goal, there are many other processes at work too such as psychological processes and it is important that we reflect on how our thoughts play into our emotions. When we don’t see results we tend to get frustrated and want to give up. Practicing breathing techniques during this time period can help to alleviate some of the stress associated with trying something different from what you’re used to. If you set realistic goals and you’re following through with them, trust in the process!

Time-bound/Time-related:

• How can we reach a goal if it is endless or we don’t know when to stop? When we don’t have goals we aim at nothing, but when we have goals we aim for something. Thus, it is important to set a time-frame, even if you have to readjust. Readjusting is part of being self-aware of what you feel and what your body is doing or becoming. Readjustment must not be mistaken for failure. When you set a realistic goal and a time-frame that is also part of that realistic goal, you are working toward what you want, right? Failure is going to be part of the learning process. However, if you fail to look at this time as a time to periodically adjust you won’t improve. Instead, you will just stay stuck, feel guilt, shame or disappointment, and ultimately fail to move on. Failure is part of improving!

So there you have it. Goals help pull us in the direction we want to go. If we didn’t have goals we would aim at nothing. I suppose that’s not a bad thing, but sooner or later, we want to go somewhere.

Everyone has different motivations for what they choose to do. These motivations affect us in different ways and can leave us feelings overwhelmed, tired, or on the other hand, very happy. Setting SMART goals will help you discipline yourself wisely so that you can achieve your goals no matter what is motivating you.

Determine what is motivating you today to achieve your goals. Remember that it is okay to readjust. I have posted your short-term and long-term goals. Use the SMART goals format to adjust and think about your own goals and how they might influence your intent to exercise or your overall health. Are they realistic? Is there something more you can do to make it attainable? 

Feel free to email me and ask me any questions you have! 

 “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.” –Henry Ford