Setting GoalsSetting goals for yourself and maintaing a workout log are extremely important when it comes to staying committed to your exercise program. I am a huge believer in setting both short and long term objectives and in recording all of the progress you make along the way. I record virtually everything I can about my workouts, including every exercise I do, the weights used, the sets and reps performed, the type of equipment used, the location of my workout, and if I am doing an exercise that works each side individually, like dumbbell curls for the biceps, I will record whether I lead off with my left or right arm in each set. Plus, I also keep a log of all the supplements I take and I record my body weight and body composition both first thing in the morning and right before going to bed. Now I clearly go to extremes (which may stem from some of my some obsessive compulsive tendencies, but thats another issue altogether) and I am not suggesting that you need to go as far as I do to record your progress. ;-) Still, it is important for everyone to have a general picture of where they were when they first started, as well as where they are heading in their workout programs. Setting Goals If you do not have any clear ideas in mind to progress towards, you will have no motivation to succeed. As mentioned on the page on staying motivated, it is important to develop a mental picture of what you want to accomplish with your diet and exercise programs. If you blindly start a new routine just hoping to see what it does for you without any expectations, there will be no passion, no intense desire that fuels you to push out a couple of more reps or to run that extra mile. If there is no ultimate ambition on the horizon, you will simply never be able to reach your full potential. After working out regularly, most people are actually quite surprised at what they can accomplish and at how committed they can be when given the opportunity. Even on days when the motivation to workout just doesn’t seem to be there at first, by keeping their objectives in mind, many people are still able to dig deep into their energy reserves and put forth a good effort. Three Main Classifications of Goals When establishing objectives for yourself, it is important to focus on concrete, measurable variables. While you may be working out primarily to feel better and gain confidence, these things can be difficult to gauge. By considering other measurable factors as well like your waist measurement, the number of reps performed/the weight used for a specific exercise, or the number of miles you have run in a week, you will have a more focused, unmistakable idea of whether or not you are improving. Of equal importance when setting goals is to set both short and long-term ones. For example, set challenging yet realistic expectations for yourself about how much weight you want to lose within the next 1-3 months, or in the long-term, how much you want to be able to bench press within the next year or two. It may also be useful to to set certain dream goals for yourself- long-term ambitions that may be difficult to define in terms of time but that you have always wanted to achieve at some point in your life. It is not enough to simply think about the goals from all three of these categories and take no action, however. It is imperative that you write them down, look over them everyday and do what is necessary to realize the objective outcome of your desires. With this in mind, there is no power or force to hold you back except that which you give conscious awareness to in your mind. Keeping a Workout Log After you have set clear goals for yourself, one of the best ways to stay motivated with your workouts is to track your progress. The person who works out only occasionally, keeping no record of the sets or reps performed, the weight used, or the miles he has run will continue along this same path, exercising very sporadically and staying in the same place, working towards no defined objectives. On the other hand, the person who logs all of his activities has something to look back on, a way of measuring the progress he has made and a method of estimating where he will be in the future. Establishing written goals and keeping an actual record of your training will prove much more useful than simply making mental notes here and there. The circumstances of daily life can easily cloud the mental visions of a person's great fitness goals and cause him to put off working out until it is eventually forgotten. Be proactive and get a notebook to record all of the physical activities that you complete throughout the week, as well as your weight and body fat percentage taken at regular intervals. Do this and you will be surprised at how easy it is to adhere to your workout routine and reach your final destination.
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