It’s mid-March and January 1st probably feels more than only 2 ½ months ago. As we start to enter Spring, I would like to return to a topic I spent a substantial amount of time discussing in December. Goal setting. Goal setting is a skill and requires thought.
It is one of the questions I ask people when they inquire about joining the studio. The conversation typically goes as follows:
Doug- So, what are your fitness goals?
Prospective member- I want to get into shape.
Doug- Please explain, what does getting into shape look like to you?
Prospective member- You know, I want to lose weight.
Doug- OK, you want to drop body-fat. How much do you want to drop?
Prospective member- I don’t know, 20, no, maybe 30lbs. If I could lose 40 pounds…
Doug- How about strength? Are you interested in getting stronger?
Prospective member- Yeah, I guess I could get stronger, also.
Doug- How about mobility? Everything in fitness is built upon the ability to move well. I can get you stronger lifting a weight overhead, but if your shoulder does not allow that to happen, we must address the movement restriction first.
Prospective member- I guess I need better mobility, too.
This usually goes back and forth, until we eventually arrive at what the person truly is looking for. I gave you this example to provide context, that many people join gyms before reflecting on what they really want to do. If the end destination has not been established, it is hard to chart a path on how to get there. Today, though, I wanted to discuss the next common dilemma. You have established the goals. You want to lose 20 pounds and get stronger. You have determined that a good benchmark for strength is to perform a single pull-up. Both goals are measurable. During the next few months of training, something happens. You change your mind on what you want. By changing goals, is that a form of quitting?
This goal changing happens frequently. We set out to crush a goal, only to later realize that the goal we created isn’t going to provide the feeling or provide the outcome we wanted. I’ve had people tell me they want to lose 20 pounds, and later tell me that it is the shape of their arms or the way they look in a shirt they want to change. That’s a combination of putting on muscle and reducing bodyfat. I’ve also had people want to learn how to perform a specific exercise, believing it will generate a specific aesthetic appearance outcome, and then realize that it’s the feeling of confidence they were after. They observed a fit looking person performing the exercise and they want to be associated with doing things with a person of that stature. That’s fine. What we need to realize is that the goal we used to start the journey is probably going to change along the way. The pull-up may change to how long and heavy you can perform a farmer’s carry (walking with a weight in each hand). The demand on grip and core strength are remarkably similar to pull-ups and has been proven to be a good strategy for performing pull-ups, without ever touching the pull-up bar.
The key is that we must determine what emotion we are striving for. Are we trying to hit a weight on the scale that we saw 10 years ago and to feel that we have beat Father time for the moment? Maybe you want to craft a body that people will take notice of when you enter a room. I like to give the example of standing in line at Starbucks (pre-COVID) and the person behind you asks you the question “Where do you work out?” The given assumption is that you regularly exercise.
What you should know is that the hardest part is starting the journey. Understand that the journey will probably change once you set off. Take comfort that the journey is different for each of us, so try to enjoy yourself along the way.
I’ll see you at the studio.