The following article, The 5 Reasons You’re Not Succeeding, is a great add-on to our discussion of setting goals from a few weeks back. In this article, Mike Robertson, M.S., C.S.C.S., U.S.AW., lists the top 5 ways that people prevent themselves from reaching their fitness goals.
1. You Haven’t Defined “Progress”
To really start on the path to success, you need to make your goals S.M.A.R.T.
• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Realistic
• Timely
Mike suggests setting goals like, “I want to lose 10 pounds of body fat in the next two months,” rather than “I want to lose some weight”. In order to make ourselves accountable, we need to set measurable goals. Otherwise it’s easy to fall into the procrastination trap. You know the drill. You say to yourself, “Ok, I will start Monday.” Then Monday comes, and what do you know, your department is having a birthday cake celebration for this month’s department birthdays. So you tell yourself, “Alright, I will start Thursday instead.” Then Thursday arrives, and your friend wants to meet for lunch at that really good Italian restaurant that you both love, so you say, “Well, I will jus start next Monday instead”. And the cycle continues.
Setting measureable goals helps you to be accountable. By settings goals and tying dates to them you are giving yourself milestones. This will allow you to measure your progress towards your end goal, which will help keep you on track to actually achieve it.
2. You Suffer from Training A.D.D.
Believe it or not, the only thing that might be worse than not having a goal, is having too many goals! One of my all-time favorite clients is a lady I used to work with here in Indianapolis. When I first started working with her, her list of goals looked something like this:
Be in great shape to walk half-marathons. Train in Pilates twice per week. Take a spinning class once per week. Become a better golfer. Lose 5% bodyfat. Get back to pre-baby weight. Rehab a few minor injuries. Get stronger in the basic lifts.
As you can imagine, this lead to some serious training overload! Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with being a jack-of-all-trades. However, if you’re really serious about one goal, you need to make that your priority. There’s always one thing that’s more important than all the others, even if it’s only temporarily.
Choose 1-2 goals that are the most important and plan them out using the SMART formula.
3. Your Program Sucks
Mike explains that training programs found in the pages of your favorite women’s health magazine, or even…dare I say it…your favorite celebrity gossip rag, are not necessarily the best programs to follow. It is best to find a professional that specializes in designing programs for your specific goals and follow a program that they have put together (either one designed specifically for you, or one that they may have written in a book, posted in an article, or on their website, etc).
4. You’re Not Lifting Heavy Things
We’ve heard it before, and I am sure we will hear it again – lift heavy, no matter what your goal is. Push yourself. Strive to hit personal bests in every workout. Otherwise, you are just waisting your time and spinning your wheels.
5. You Don’t Have a Great Support System
The final reason you may not be seeing rapid progress is the people you have around you. I don’t care if your life’s goal is to get shredded for the beach, to become a concert pianist, or to make a million dollars. If you have a poor support system, your chances of achieving that your goals aren’t good at all.
I absolutely agree with Mike. He continues on to say that it is easy, and comfortable to be “average” and the sad truth is that sometimes those around us only want us to be average, because it makes them feel better about themselves. Don’t let that hold YOU back. You need to surround yourself with people who are genuinely interested in seeing you achieve your best life goals. It’s most often not an easy choice to part ways with people in our life, but sometimes, when we take a step back, we realize, “Wait a minute, what am I truly getting out of this relationship anyway?”
For the full article, posted on www.figureathlete.com, click here.
