Physical Health

Setting a SMART Fitness Goal

Posted by HIM on Wednesday June 1st, 2011

We’ve all thought about getting into shape. Maybe it was putting on a favorite pair of jeans that just didn’t seem to fit right anymore, the sore shoulder from the start of ball season was a reminder that we didn’t do much over the winter. Or maybe the bombardment of advertising and news documentaries that tell us we are an unfit society has finally sunken into our reality. 

Whatever it is that’s been making you think about pursuing a healthier lifestyle, great! Now it’s about how to follow through with the idea.

Study after study continues to tell us the best way to success is to set some type of goal. This will be different for each of us, and should be something that will actually make us put the wheel into motion to physical self-improvement. For some it may be about being able to walk the dog, climbing the Grouse Grind, or running in a 10 km race. For others it might be about being able to climb the Grind faster, walking the dog farther, or turning the 10 km race into a marathon. Whatever it is that’s going to put you on the road to your own personal podium is up to you. When making personal fitness goals there are many things you want to think about to help make that goal a reality. One of them, which help’s to cover the most bases, is a common acronym for goal setting. That is the acronym of S.M.A.R.T.

This is nothing new. S.M.A.R.T. has been around for a long time. It stands for Specific, Measurable, Action Orientated, Realistic, and finally, Timed. When making a goal, these five cues are worthy of thought and consideration.

To help explain this I’m going to give you a bit of a personal story. A few summers ago I finally tried something I had always wanted to do, Ocean Kayaking. I loved it instantly. I knew within the first 30 seconds that I had found something that I wanted to have as an activity in my life. The next few days were not near as much fun however. I was so sore through my arms and core I new if I was to continue with my latest found favorite past time, I was going to have to strengthen a few things up. Plus I decided that crossing Howe Sound and back would be a cool thing to do. Thus my “Specific’ goal’s where already before me, no pain and a specific distance that I would like to paddle.

These two goals are easy to measure. Having no pain is obviously a no brainer. How sore was I the day or two after I’ve been out on the water? Also, the ability to get across Howe Sound and back is easy to measure as well. By using these two ideas as a measurement I would be able to have instant feedback. At least with the soreness part anyway. Working up my stamina for the trek across Howe Sound and back was going to take some planning both for my safety and my stamina.

The action part of this evolved rather easy as well. Obviously I needed to hit the gym, lift some weights and work on my core. I’m rather fortunate to have a long history in sport and fitness (being a trainer and all) so seeking one out for myself was not a necessity. For many this would be the time to look into finding a Trainer and/or arming yourself with information about what it is you’re trying to accomplish.

Now comes the part about being realistic, this is where we have to take a good close look at what it is we are about to set out to do. Complete honesty with ourselves is vital Bounce your idea off the heads of others that you both trust and love. Delusions of self grander or to high of a goal could potentially leave us exhausted, feeling hopeless and like a failure. You want the goal to be challenging enough so that you have to work hard but not so difficult that you have little to no hope of attaining what you’re chasing. Goals should be stepping-stones, one small goal leads to another, then another and so on. For my goal I felt that I would be able to achieve my small journey if I gave myself the time needed to build my stamina. This leads me to the last point.

Time. Put a date on it. Give your self an appropriate amount of time to follow through with your plan. Use caution and thoughtfulness on this point as well. Allowing yourself to much time gives you the opportunity to procrastinate, where not enough time could bring about injury, or again failure, because you just didn’t allow yourself the time to develop in a manor in which you could achieve what you where hoping to do.

One thing that’s not included with this acronym is to write it down. Everything I have ever read or been told about goal setting is that your chances for success increase greatly if you put pen to paper. Place it where you’ll see it every day. Remind yourself of what and why you want to succeed. For most of us we are not going to the Olympics but again, our own personal podium is the point of the matter. Making personal accomplishments keep us motivated to continue our healthy lifestyle and remember to take the time to enjoy the smaller accomplishments along the way.

Written by:

Dominic Turgeon

Add Your Comment

Submit comment