Traditionally, we all love to set goals around the new year. What’s a better way to start the new goal with a fresh year?!
Every year we come up with a way in which we can make changes to help us feel better about ourselves, whether it’s to be more active, drink more water, eat fewer takeaways, start a new hobby or sport. Whatever you want to set yourself as a target for the new year, why not make it SMART.
What is SMART?
S.M.A.R.T. is an acronym to remind you how to set a goal that maps out exactly what you need to do. These goals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
- Specific – Being specific with what it is you want to accomplish is the difference between “I want to lose weight”, and “I want to lose 7 pounds of overall body mass”. The latter is a good example of a SMART fitness goal!
- Measurable – If you have the goal of “I want to be able to walk more”, this is not measurable as ‘more’ cannot be quantified. It can be made into a measurable SMART goal by defining how long you will walk for and how often you will do it. This can therefore be turned into a SMART fitness goal simply by saying “I will walk for 30 minutes on 3 days next week”.
- Achievable – An example of an achievable SMART fitness goal is “I will gain 3kg in lean muscle mass in 8 weeks by weight training 3-5 days a week and increasing their protein intake by 25kg a day”. This is a lot more attainable than “I will gain 20kg of lean muscle in 4 weeks by weight training once a week”!
- Relevant / Realistic – For example, if you want to run a marathon in a year’s time, a goal such as “increasing your chest press weight by 20kg in 3 weeks” is not relevant! Whilst upper body strength might help for a marathon, a relevant SMART goal should instead focus on cardio training. Plus, it needs to include the relevant time frame of one year, not 3 weeks!
- Time-bound – This refers to the timeframe in which to reach a goal. SMART goals in fitness should be time-bound so that there is a deadline to work towards. It’s easier to commit to a goal — and be successful — if you do it for a set amount of time.
Is a Pain Or Injury Stopping You?
If you are being held back from moving towards your goals, we would love to help you achieve them. We will work with you to come up with a treatment and rehab plan that will fix your issues and keep you on track to achieve whatever you have decided to.
Get in touch with us:
01480775912
