Louis Dorman’s Rule #3: Goal Setting

Posted by Maria Kang on August 9, 2007

We’re celebrating his birthday by sharing his gifts of fitness wisdom this whole week. Thanks Louis!

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If you’re bored with your life – you don’t get up every morning with that determination to do things – then honestly you don’t have enough goals.

On mornings that I didn’t feel like getting up and doing cardio, I would lay in bed and then I would start to think about my goals and my reasons for achieving them.

I would then get up and do my cardio and enjoy it because I knew that there are three types of people in this world – those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who wonder what the hell happened.

We all have that choice. Only you can decide which type of person you want to become. Personally, I have always wanted to make things happen.

One of the main reason most people never accomplish their goals is that they don’t define them, or ever seriously consider them achievable. One of the biggest tragedies of fitness it’s not reaching your goal, but not having a goal to reach for.

When you determine your goal, you have made the very most crucial decision in your new lifestyle. You have to know what you want in order to reach it. So I suggest you don’t think small goals, because you will only have small success, but if you plan for huge goals you will have made life-changing accomplishments.

As you reach your goals, you gain further motivation to reach for higher goals. Here are 5 tips achieve the goals you plan for and obtain the results you deserve.

Set Daily, Measurable & Realistic Goals:
If your only goal is to lose 50 pounds it will take you a while to feel successful. Because it can take awhile to see these results. Instead, set daily measurable, achievable goals that allow you to feel success every single day. Keep a weekly journal and set goals each day for what kind of exercise you will do, how long you will workout and how hard you will exercise.

Track Your Progress:
After you set your goals and write them down, you will want to also track your progress. Be sure to write down your daily achievements to compare to your goals. This will become extremely motivating as you see yourself achieving your daily/weekly goals.With consistent exercise, you will also see your workouts becoming easier and your ability to work harder and longer. This might happen faster than visual results on your body, such as definition. Many people become frustrated and quit right before big changes are about to happen, because they don’t see the results in the mirror. Seeing measurable progress on paper will keep you motivated while you work towards the bigger goals you have set.

Get Feedback – Even If Its Objective:
You may know what a good workout feels like – you have that “high” after exercise, or you have energy all day long. But do you know what an effective workout feels like? It is hard to know how effective your workout is when you wait for weeks or months to see the results.What if you could see how many calories you burned? Using a heart rate monitor can tell you if you are working too hard or not hard enough.

An accelerometer can tell you all day long how many calories you are burning and keep you motivated to move! When you look for ways to add activity to your day it becomes a great way to instantly see results.

Avoid The “All Or Nothing” Mindset:
So you had plans to exercise five times one week and the first day something happened and you didn’t exercise. When this happens, many people give up on the rest of the week. This is known as the “All or Nothing Mentality.” Keep away from this – it doesn’t work.If you approach your exercise and nutrition program in that manner, you set yourself up for failure. Allow for flexibility in your exercise plans and missing one workout day is not realistically a setback.

Be Accountable!
You might need someone who will also hold you accountable for your exercise. Working with someone like a personal trainer, a coach or a friend will give you the support you need and you can work together to identify obstacles from keeping your commitment and develop strategies to overcome these barriers. Most people need far more support, follow up and accountability than they think to start and maintain an exercise program.Fitness is not just about reaching a destination, it is a journey where you will learn so much about yourself and grow from your experiences to achieve many accomplishments. Keep your short term goals in mind, and enjoy the journey to reaching your ultimate fitness goals.

Fitness Cure