Posted on October 23, 2014 by Jenny Cromack

Something that is central to the work we do with personal training in Leeds is goal setting. Without goals it is impossible to achieve anything because there is no finish line, no test, no goal! It can be as simple as one more repetition of an exercise, or 2lbs of fat loss in the next 14 days. It doesn’t matter what the goal is, however what matters is the goal is agreed and written down somewhere. Rather than tell you how to set your goals, here is a great exercise to do right now that I picked up from Tony Robbins which will solve hot to achieve your fitness goals.

STEP 1- GET CLARITY 

For this step you need to find out exactly where you are in relation to your goals, now this is actually far more complicated that saying I’m at 12 stone. You need to sit back and have a look at your life in detail.

• What has led to this weight gain?
• What has lead to this inactivity?
• Why has it got this far before you’ve decided to make a change?
• How many hours can I dedicate to this goal?
• Have I quit at things in the past… why do you quit?
• What works for me… what has worked in the past with any goal in your life
• When am I most weakest… do I have friends that lead me astray?

If you spend one whole day jotting things down in a notebook about where you are in relation to your goals I think you’ll surprise yourself. Most people realise that they have things in their life that are stopping them being where they want to be, it may be that you have toxic friendships, an unhealthy relationship with work, some form of addiction be it to food, television, sugar etc.

Without clarity though you are ultimately doomed to fail, being true with yourself is very hard but ultimately leads to success.

STEP 2- GET PURPOSE

Again this is more complicated than it seems, just simply wanting to look good in a bikini isn’t enough for long term success, you need a WHY!

• Why do you wake up in the morning?
• Why do you go to work?
• Why do you have that friendship group over others?
• Why do you need to go out drinking every weekend?
• Why do you feel a need to have 4 takeaways a week?

There is a famous quote from Eric Thomas that always resonates with me “When you get to the point in life when enough is enough, you’re hurting, and you feel like you can’t take it anymore, just keep GRINDING, that’s when doors begin to open. That is the time to dig in and Grind/Work! It’s not going to get any easier, but you have to find something within that will push you! Find your WHY, something greater than yourself to move you, and every dream will become a reality”

STEP 3- GET MOMENTUM

Knowing where you are and why your doing something is only the foundations, this step is the hardest you need to take action. Les Brown said “The graveyard is the richest place on earth, because it is here that you will find all the hopes and dreams that were never fulfilled, the books that were never written, the songs that were never sung, the inventions that were never shared, the cures that were never discovered, all because someone was too afraid to take that first step, keep with the problem, or determined to carry our their dream.”

Step 3 involves you taking action now, not tomorrow or next week, this minute of this day!

Ultimately setting SMART goals is important but following the 3 steps above will lead to greater success not only in your training and physical health, but all aspects of life.