Now that I have hopefully convinced you that you need to ditch the wishful, nonspecific resolutions and write down some concrete goals, I am going to help you make those goals bulletproof so you can happily check them off January 1, 2015.
S = Specific. Your goal should be specific rather than general, and should be clear and unambiguous. Details are everything. What do I want to accomplish? Why is this important? These specific reasons, purpose or benefits of accomplishing the goal should be kept in mind.
M = Measurable. The second criterion stresses the need for concrete criteria for measuring progress toward the attainment of the goal. If a goal is not measurable, it is not possible to know whether you are making progress.
A = Attainable. Your goals should be realistic and attainable. While an attainable goal may stretch you in order to achieve it, the goal is not extreme. In other words, you want your goal within your reach, but high enough that you have to go for it. If not, you would already have it in your possession.
R = Relevant. This stresses the importance of choosing goals that matter. Does this goal seem worth my time? Do you believe you can achieve it? If you answer yes, this is a relevant goal to you.
T = Time-Specific. Grounding goals within a time frame and giving them a target date helps you focus your efforts on completion of the goal on or before the due date. SO MANY PEOPLE may goals without a deadline and therefore don't achieve it! Both your long-term and short-term goals should have an end point.
*The S.M.A.R.T.E.R. method also includes Evaluation and Re-evaluation. This means constantly reviewing your goals to make sure you are making meaningful progress and your plan is working. If it is not, you need to make changes!
For example, for my last weightlifting competition, I wrote the numbers I wanted to hit on my phone and my workout log. I looked at them everyday and trained my hardest to hit them on the day of the meet. As a result of my determination, I got third place. Now the medal is hanging next to my letter that is taped on my wall so I can look at them both for daily motivation to do even better at my upcoming competition in July!
Daily, Weekly, & Monthly Goals
A daily goal for me is something like "Eat 145-150g of protein every day", "Workout at 7:30 pm" "Get at least 7 hours of sleep"
A weekly goal is "Workout a min. of 5 times each week," "Get in HIIT or 1 mile run 2x this week on Wednesday and Saturday," and "Lose 0.5 lb this week"
A monthly goal is typically an amount of weight I aim to lift for a specific movement, like a new PR. Usually it is something like "By January 30th Clean and Jerk 70 kg." It can also be related to body fat % or body weight, like "Weigh ____ lb by the end of the month." If I am reaching my weekly goal of 0.5 lb a week, then by the end of the month I should also hit my monthly objective.
See how nicely our goals work together? YAY SYNERGY!
Remember to write these goals down as well and check them off as you go. Celebrate every victory!
It's All About Commitment To A Plan
Develop a plan to follow at the gym and a way to track your strength/weight loss progress. If you want to eat a healthier diet, evaluate what you are eating and follow a lifestyle diet such as the Paleo diet. If you want to gain muscle, see if you are eating enough or too little protein/carbs/fats for your goal and make a meal plan so you can grocery shop and meal prep accordingly. If you also skip breakfast or eat fast food for lunch due to time constraints which is sabotaging your weight loss, commit to waking up 15 minutes early to make a healthy breakfast and pack a lunch for work so you stick to your plan. You can also download an app to track to calories/body weight like MyFitnessPal or an app like myWOD to record your lifts and see your progress over long periods of time.
For me, I make sure every day before I step into the gym I know exactly what I am doing for my main lifts and assistance lifts, including how many sets and reps and what percentages I am aiming to hit. I recommend if you do not have a coach or trainer to help you program, check my recent blog post Lifting Program for Beginners to create a plan to hit your fitness goals. I also follow a mostly Paleo diet (which I modified to include greek yogurt and rice) and track my macros every day to make sure I am eating high protein to support protein synthesis in order to get stronger and leaner. My fitness and meal plans help me stay on track all year long.
Have a healthy and happy New Year,
Leighann