Setting Long Term and Short Term Fitness Goals

EmpowHer EmpowHer Asks: How could a woman set appropriate goals for her fitness levels and should she set shor-term or long-term goals? Scott Keppel Nationally Certified Fitness Instructor When setting goals and we all need them for whatever aspect of life, we all need to keep that in mind when we’re going for that last rep. You know why am I in the gym at 4 in the morning 5 in the morning or why am I away from my family at this time or work or what have you so setting a goal is extremely important. It’s not only important to set a long term goal but those short term goals also you can measure it. Now everyone is a little different, some people should set a daily goal especially those that are looking to start off because it’s hard that’s why over 60% of our population is overweight or obese because if it was easy that wouldn’t be the case. With the medium bombarding us with this food that food, this special diet, that special diet you don’t know where to turn to. With exercise I mean it’s working out. It’s called working for a reason it’s not easy. You know so keeping that in mind I would set a daily goal that okay, today my goal is to go to the gym and to be there for an hour, half an hour whatever it may be. Today my goal is to not eat any junk food and then that way you don’t set a weekly goal and you look back and like oh man you know I only stuck through to my goals two days because then what happens is you get in this vicious cycle of beating yourself up. So there has to be accountability to your self too. So what I would recommend is 1 to 3 pounds of fat a week is an appropriate realistic goal to lose. Now there again, it shows out there because loser, celebrity fit challenge, all these are people who are losing 12 to 15 pounds a week you know that is not realistic for most people because they don’t have a trainer with them all the time. They’re not away form their family like these individuals are so realistic goal is 1 to 3 pounds of fat a week, remembering that muscle weights more than fat. So not scale weight, if you have never lifted before you’re going to start to build muscle, which well weigh more. So what I would do is take pictures of yourself, how those pictures posted somewhere so every morning you wake up you look at them and you say I don’t want to go back to this place. I don’t think it is as important to take pictures of someone else and say, I want to look like here because that’s someone else that’s not you. You know so just remember where you came from and then where you want to go and set that long term goal and then reward yourself but don’t reward yourself with bad food. You know that doesn’t make sense. You loss 5 pounds so you’re going to have a cheese burger and a couple of beers. You know reward yourself by buying yourself that shirt that you wanted that shows your arms, shorts maybe you don’t like your legs whatever it is but reward yourself with something that shows off your hard work as opposed to hinders the work that you did.