Setting Fitness Goals Gives Direction to TrainingSetting fitness goals is the first step for giving direction to your weight training program. When I ask clients what their goals are, their answers are to "lose weight" and "tone up".
Good goals should crystallize the qualities you envision. They should include measurable values and dates that clear indicators that you have ultimately achieving your vision, or are making good progress toward them. Set both long-term and short-term training goals. Short-term goals are mile markers--checkpoints of your progress.
Goal statements should be: (a) Specific and (b) Realistic.
Specific means each goal is clearly stated in terms of outcomes that you expect. Each goal should be (a) directly measurable, and (i) state a time line or target date.
For sports, also set goals for outcomes that you hope to achieve in competition. If you are a team sport player, these may goals go beyond the scope of your personal training and performance. For example, win the basketball conference championship, is not totally within your power to achieve by yourself. But you can identify personal goals that you can achieve as a player on a team, such as improving your free throw percentage in basketball or your batting average in softball. You may have mistakenly over- or underestimated your current fitness status, and consequently set your goals too high or low. In Step 2, you will test yourself so you know exactly where you are. After you have a better read, you may adjust your goals by changing the values or time line so that they are realistic and challenging. For more on goal setting, check out Goal Setting Techniques of Great Coaches and Sports Training Adviser: Setting Goals After setting fitness goals (Step 1), follow Steps 2-6: Step 2: Conduct Your Fitness Assessment Step 3: Design Your Training Program Step 4: Implement Your Training Program Step 5: Conduct Your Fitness Evaluation Step 6: Revise Your Training Program
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