Goal Setting: It’s More Than Just a Goal

With most things in life, there are reasons why we do something. We go to school to educate ourselves in hopes of a job. We date in hopes to find someone we can tolerate for a long period of time. And we go to the gym in hopes to look better, be stronger, or just increase our level of badassness. Almost everything we do is done for the reason of reaching a goal. Some of these goals are ingrained and second nature, but others are harder to come by. Ask the majority of people at the gym what their goals are and they will say, “I want to lose weight”, or “I want to be healthy.” These “goals” are very bland and broad. It is hard to truly be motivated with a goal list like this. Goals need to be specific and categorized. Weekly goals, monthly goals, and long term goals should all be a part of the picture and tracked throughout the journey. Without these there isn’t a real reason to do the things we do.

Selecting a Goal

Before starting off to the gym sit down and think about the things you want. Maybe you want to lose some pounds to reach a certain weight or maybe you are looking to get stronger to improve your daily functioning. Take the end goal and break it down into check points. These may be weeks, months, or even years. Some of these may be weight related where others are more related to the tasks needed to lose the weight. Goals such as eating breakfast every day, going to the gym four days per week, or even sleeping eight hours per night are great check point goals. They are items needed to get you to the end goal and without them you may never see that ideal weight.

Goal Writing

Take some time to write out a goal sheet. Start with the big goal and work down. What tasks are needed, what time frame is wanted, and what is realistic to your lifestyle. Sometimes this may be hard if you are new to the gym. At CPI we have offered some help to goal setting to take some of that stress out of your life. The “Through the Ranks” system is a series of goals, both performance and aesthetic, developed to give you incentive to train. Everyone wants to look better but it takes improvements in strength and endurance to get there, so things such as 300 yard shuttles, box jumps, deadlifts, and pull-ups have been placed in order on a goal list for everyone to work towards. With each checkpoint a prize is given to reward the hard work. Through completion of the ranks we can promise that there will be not only improvements in the way you look and also in the way you feel.

Make it Happen

Goals are a must when it comes to success. Specific goals are even better. Develop a list of goals both short- and long-term, figure out what actions are needed to reach those goals, and get to work. You are much more likely to achieve a goal if it is written. So write it down and keep it somewhere you will see it every day. Keep focused and work hard towards each short-term goal until the long term goal is met and celebrated.

For information on CPI’s goal setting system feel free to contact us and see how we make fitness goals simple!