It’s a new year, and soon hordes of people will be flocking to gyms around the world as they try to get a jump start on their oft-made, rarely-kept resolutions to finally get in shape. It takes a lot of courage to set foot in those doors… That’s no small feat in itself. But to keep up with those resolutions, it takes heart, willpower, commitment, accountability, determination….. And a plan.
Amanda and Chad came up with an excellent idea… Starting in a week, we’re dedicating one of the whiteboards at CrossFit Leander for you all to write down your goals for 2014. We want you to think about these…. They can be any kind of goal you want, but they need to have a couple non-negotiable requirements… (I sincerely hope other gyms try to do some version of this as well…. We’re here to HELP YOU, not just take your money and send you on your way.)
Your goal(s) must be measurable. It can be a weight loss goal, a strength goal, a faster mile run, an “x number of workouts per week” goal… Anything you want, as long as you can physically measure it. If your goal is “I want to feel better,” that’s a great aspiration, but you aren’t setting yourself up with a way OF feeling better. And without having a definite plan, it’s easy to get lost along the way.
Also, your goal must be achievable. This is one of the biggest pitfalls of goal setting. It’s very common…. You want to hit the ground running (or rowing) and in all of your excitement, you set an impossible goal without really thinking it through. Then as the weeks go on and on and the ground you’re making is getting slower and slower…. You lose your excitement and your focus, and lots of people just give up. Find something you know will challenge you, but also something that you know isn’t outside the realm of possibility.
Part of setting an achievable goal is giving yourself a reasonable amount of time to accomplish that goal. Losing 8 lbs in a month is possible. Losing 8 lbs in a day is dangerous. And probably not very fun. And possibly really gross.
What we want you to do is to set a 6 month goal, give yourself a timeline, and then set mini benchmarks to hit leading up to the prize. If your goal is to lose 24 lbs in 6 months, give yourself a benchmark of 4 lbs a month… So by the end of month 3, you should be 12 lbs down. If you aren’t, then you need to make some kind of change- work out more, less sweets, sleep more, etc. If you’re over 12 lbs down by the end of month 3, then you know you’re on the right track! Giving yourself mini goals to hit keeps you focused and on track towards your bigger goal, as well as allowing yourself (and your coaches, if you want) to keep track of your progress. You can also add small weekly goals into this as well! Cook 1 new healthy dish a week, or only have cheat meal/meals on weekends or Fridays, or no food after 8pm with a 40 burpee penalty every time you do.
On the board, you’re going to put your name and your 6 month goal in one color. When you reach your goal, we’re going to write that up there as well. And maybe throw you a little party or something… free burpees for everyone. Not really. Maybe. We will celebrate your hard-earned accomplishment with you, then work out a plan for where to go next.
So, spend the next week thinking about what you want for yourself. If you need help, ask your coach! That’s what we’re here for. Nutrition guidelines, fitness-related goals, weight loss goals…. Don’t hesitate to ask, we’re all smarter than we look. You pay a monthly membership for CrossFit, and there’s so much more to that than just a different wod every day. We’re a community. A family. And we’re all here to help, in any way we can. As coaches, we learn all we can about fitness related subjects in order to be the best coaches we can be, and we’d love to share what we can with you. And if we don’t know an answer, I’m almost certain we know where to get it. Even better, it’s *included* in your monthly membership!
Let’s start 2014 off right, with a direction and a plan. Think about what you want, pick a goal that will challenge you while still being possible, and we'll do everything we can to help you get it done!
Amanda and Chad came up with an excellent idea… Starting in a week, we’re dedicating one of the whiteboards at CrossFit Leander for you all to write down your goals for 2014. We want you to think about these…. They can be any kind of goal you want, but they need to have a couple non-negotiable requirements… (I sincerely hope other gyms try to do some version of this as well…. We’re here to HELP YOU, not just take your money and send you on your way.)
Your goal(s) must be measurable. It can be a weight loss goal, a strength goal, a faster mile run, an “x number of workouts per week” goal… Anything you want, as long as you can physically measure it. If your goal is “I want to feel better,” that’s a great aspiration, but you aren’t setting yourself up with a way OF feeling better. And without having a definite plan, it’s easy to get lost along the way.
Also, your goal must be achievable. This is one of the biggest pitfalls of goal setting. It’s very common…. You want to hit the ground running (or rowing) and in all of your excitement, you set an impossible goal without really thinking it through. Then as the weeks go on and on and the ground you’re making is getting slower and slower…. You lose your excitement and your focus, and lots of people just give up. Find something you know will challenge you, but also something that you know isn’t outside the realm of possibility.
Part of setting an achievable goal is giving yourself a reasonable amount of time to accomplish that goal. Losing 8 lbs in a month is possible. Losing 8 lbs in a day is dangerous. And probably not very fun. And possibly really gross.
What we want you to do is to set a 6 month goal, give yourself a timeline, and then set mini benchmarks to hit leading up to the prize. If your goal is to lose 24 lbs in 6 months, give yourself a benchmark of 4 lbs a month… So by the end of month 3, you should be 12 lbs down. If you aren’t, then you need to make some kind of change- work out more, less sweets, sleep more, etc. If you’re over 12 lbs down by the end of month 3, then you know you’re on the right track! Giving yourself mini goals to hit keeps you focused and on track towards your bigger goal, as well as allowing yourself (and your coaches, if you want) to keep track of your progress. You can also add small weekly goals into this as well! Cook 1 new healthy dish a week, or only have cheat meal/meals on weekends or Fridays, or no food after 8pm with a 40 burpee penalty every time you do.
On the board, you’re going to put your name and your 6 month goal in one color. When you reach your goal, we’re going to write that up there as well. And maybe throw you a little party or something… free burpees for everyone. Not really. Maybe. We will celebrate your hard-earned accomplishment with you, then work out a plan for where to go next.
So, spend the next week thinking about what you want for yourself. If you need help, ask your coach! That’s what we’re here for. Nutrition guidelines, fitness-related goals, weight loss goals…. Don’t hesitate to ask, we’re all smarter than we look. You pay a monthly membership for CrossFit, and there’s so much more to that than just a different wod every day. We’re a community. A family. And we’re all here to help, in any way we can. As coaches, we learn all we can about fitness related subjects in order to be the best coaches we can be, and we’d love to share what we can with you. And if we don’t know an answer, I’m almost certain we know where to get it. Even better, it’s *included* in your monthly membership!
Let’s start 2014 off right, with a direction and a plan. Think about what you want, pick a goal that will challenge you while still being possible, and we'll do everything we can to help you get it done!