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Goal
Setting In Sport
Set Yourself
Up For Success |
Setting Goals for
Sport, Fitness & Health
Before beginning any fitness
program, you need to decide what it is you want out of it. Do you want
to improve your appearance or your physical skills; build endurance,
flexibility or strength; or are you trying to lose weight?
Make sure the activities that you
pick meet the goals that you've set.
Set Yourself up for Success
It's important not to undermine
yourself with goals that are too long-term or impossible to attain.
For example; “I want to lose all
my extra weight before summer” could too unrealistic; particularly if you
have a great deal of weight to lose and summer is only a few months away.
Too often goals are an end result
of whatever program we choose, and not a part of it. You have to make
goals an active part of your life by setting achievable goals with
realistic milestones.
It is just like the working backwards
technique mentioned previously. For instance, setting a goal
to lose 10 pounds puts the goal at the end without putting too much
pressure on you right away. You can add to this goal once it is achieved
and so on.
Setting a goal to join an
aerobics class and attend it three times a week makes the weight loss
goal a part of the program.
You will have set a goal that is
achievable almost immediately. This gives you a sense of accomplishment,
which is the incentive required to set and achieve the next goal.
Keep a Record
Write your goals down so you have
something to look forward to as well as back on. To begin, map out no
more than eight weeks of activities towards your first fitness goal.
Working within your lifestyle,
decide on a regular program. It's not necessary to work out every day,
especially when beginning a new program as your body is not used to the
stress. It is necessary, however, to work out regularly.
Exercising every other day is a
safe and realistic goal. Keep track of how much time you want to spend
doing an activity, followed by how much time you will actually spend on
it.
Not everyone is looking at
fitness and health to lose weight. Perhaps you are just looking to
improve your overall health. A fitness walking program can be an easy
way to start your fitness routine and offers many health benefits
including
helping you
to reduce weight, reducing your risk of coronary heart disease,
increasing your bone density, reducing stress and benefiting your
joints
As
part of your goal setting routine try to establish sound
health principles such as getting enough sleep, maintaining a healthy diet and
getting plenty of
exercise.
12 tips for sport and
fitness goal setting
1. What is my current exercise
goal this month or do I even have one?
2. What gets in my way when
starting or continuing a balanced health maintenance program?
3. What is my target weight and
my plan and timeframe to get there?
4. How can I improve in getting
more sleep?
5. What is my ideal overall
appearance hopes?
6. Would a personal trainer help
me develop and reach my goals more effectively and can I afford one?
7. Of the meals I eat each month,
how can I eat healthier, and what can I change in order to eat healthier
without getting bored?
8. What books and classes can I
take to improve upon my health?
9. Is it time for me to go in for
a complete physical and when the last one was that I had
10. How can I reduce or
completely eliminate alcohol, chemical dependencies and/or smoking in my
body?
11. What ways may I be able to
cook in a healthier manner?
12. How can I improve my current
heart rate, blood pressure, and cholesterol count?
It doesn’t matter what your fitness/health/sport goals are. If
you have read the sections on setting goals properly, and this
section about fitness and health, you are set to go.
Always be
honest with yourself when it comes to your personal goals. If you
are unsure as to what constitutes a balanced diet visit
www.foodguidepyramid.com
for nutritional information.
Always
consult a doctor before making any changes to your diet or beginning an exercise
or fitness program to ensure that you will not harm yourself.
