Posted on January 09, 2014 by Jenny Cromack

Christmas is over and the New Year has begun this is a perfect time to set yourself a fitness goal. Whether you want to lose weight, get lean, gain muscle, become stronger or run your first ever 10k there is no time like the present to achieve your fitness goals in 2014!

For many people the hardest part is getting started it can be extremely daunting….if you’ve never been in a gym before these can seem scary places, putting your trainers on for your first run can fill you with dread…but go for it, you won’t achieve your fitness goals if you don’t! If you are feeling apprehensive do not be afraid to ask for help, remember everyone was once a beginner and they had to work hard to get to where they are currently in their training.

The main reason people fail at achieving their desired fitness goal is due to lack of planning, motivation and understanding leading to poor progress resulting in the mindset that it’s impossible.

A great way of ensuring you achieve your fitness goal is by setting SMARTER fitness goals

• SPECIFIC- Goals should be as specific as possible for example. I want to lose 2 stone in weight by my wedding on September 22^nd

• MEASURABLE – Goals should be measurable this will give you something to work towards. For example I can take my weight once a week to keep me focused
• ACHIEVABLE- Goals need to be achievable to prevent disappointment. To say for example I want to lose 2 stone in 6 weeks would not be achievable and therefore result in failure.
• REALISTIC – Unrealistic goals will lead to disappointment if you already had a low % body fat you may not be able to lose that much. Would it then be more realistic to look at circumference measurements and dress sizes?
• TIME COMMITMENTS – Working towards any fitness goal requires hard work, dedication and allocation of time. If you are committed you need to commit time to train, eat and plan. By blocking out time slots for training, eating and shopping it will ensure that you always have time to train hard and always have a healthy meal to eat. If you haven’t got time you have to make time.
• EXCITING – Both your fitness goal and training has to be something you enjoy and are excited to work toward. It is important to vary your training sessions to prevent boredom and your end fitness goals needs to be something you’re excited to work towards and will motivate you to be persistent.
• RECORD – All your fitness goals, training plans and food diaries should be recorded this will ensure that you remain motivated and on track with your progress. If you want to lose weight logging your weight once a week will allow you to compare what you eat, how you have trained against how much weight is lost. If you put weight on but can look back and see that you ate unhealthily and exercised less that week you can come to a conclusion of why you have gained weight so can work to amend this.

This smarter approach can be used to plan long term fitness goals but just as importantly to plan mini goals as well as training programmes. A lot of people don’t achieve their goals either because they don’t understand what training they should be doing or are following a generic plan that is not personal to them and their individual needs. It is important to follow a fitness programme that is specific to help you achieve your long term goal. If you need guidance from a beginners perspective or are a confident gym user a programme tailored to you by a personal trainer could be the difference of stepping up your training with a different perspective and fresh eyes on your goal it will help you achieve your long term goal sooner. Mixing up your training and challenging your body will help it adapt quicker and more efficiently.

It is important to set SMARTER fitness goals to ensure you stay motivated, focused and work had towards your fitness goals. There is no time like the present and no such thing as I couldn’t ever do that. Grab the bull by the horns and achieve something great in 2014.

LH