Fitness Goals: See. Write. Speak. An Exercise in Success.

Are you ready to make your fitness goals a reality?  Let’s discuss some effective techniques to make that happen because it is about more than just exercise, it is about having the right mindset.  Let’s talk about the importance of visualization, writing down your exercise goals and verbalizing them.

Visualization.  This is the act of forming a mental picture of you achieving your goal.  It is like having a mental practice session or rehearsal in your mind of the goal you expect to achieve.  The mind is a powerful tool and your body will respond in harmony with what your mind is depicting.

Writing Down Your Goals.  Equally important is the physical act of writing down your goal.  Until a goal is written down it is just a dream, a thought, idea or wish in your mind; once written down it becomes something tangible.  Goals are well defined.  It is how we will achieve these dreams.

Verbalization.  Even more important than writing down your goals, is verbalizing your goals.  Like visualization, the subconscious picks up on these verbal cues and your body in turn responds to what your mind is saying.  In addition, verbalizing your goal to others instantly creates accountability.  When you speak your goals to those around you, you create a support system that will help you to achieve your goals.

Never underestimate the power of the mind.  I read a great book recently by Tom Venuto, The Body Fat Solution.  This book is different because it is more about the psychology, emotions and social challenges of sticking with your program than the particulars of nutrition and training science.  While I wanted to get to the exercise fundamentals, he spent the majority of the book discussing the power of the mind and being in the right mindset for your exercise program in order to achieve your fitness goal.  Now I know that to be successful you need to start by getting your mind in order which is why he dedicated so much of the book to it. It’s the most important part of the fitness equation.  Interested in learning more about Tom Venuto and his programs?  Visit him at his Burn the Fat website

Smart Exercise Goal. Achieve Fitness Success.

You’ve made the decision to regain control of your health and well being through fitness and exercise, now is the time to set your goals. The best way to succeed is to set SMART goals.  What do I mean when I say smart?  Well, I don’t mean that your goals up until this point have been unintelligent.  SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound.

Specific.  This is pretty straightforward.  What is it specifically that you would like to achieve?  Your goal must not be ambiguous but should be easy to understand.  To say you want to lose weight or gain muscle as a goal is not specific enough.

Measurable.  You must be able to measure your goal so that there is no question that the outcome has been attained.  Your goal can be measured in terms of inch loss, pounds lost, clothing size change, cholesterol drop etc.

Attainable.  When setting a goal it is important that it can be realistically attained.  Take care not to make your goal too easy or too hard because both have a tendency to affect your motivation.  If you achieve an easy goal too quickly, you may be tempted to return to your old habits.  If your goal is too difficult, you risk giving up before you achieve it.

Relevant.  A relevant goal needs to be applicable to your personal needs and abilities.  While a goal of completing a triathlon is an admiral goal, it will be difficult to achieve if, perhaps, you don’t know how to swim.

Time-bound. Lastly, the goal must have and end time by which you can measure that it has been completed.

An example of a non-SMART goal may be:  I want to improve my walk time.  Now, let’s take the same goal and make it SMART:  I want to be able to walk 4 miles in 60 minutes by August 1st.  Goals can be further broken down into short-term and long term.  A long-term goal may be to lose sixty pounds in a year; this goal can be broken down into shorter term goals, such as losing fifteen pounds in three months.  Another long-term goal may be to run a marathon; a short term goal may be to run a 5k.  By setting SMART goals, whether short-term or long-term, you will be on your way to fitness success.