You've decided you want to set goals? Great! You need a plan. To maximize your success in reaching your goals, you must take the goals out of the "thinking about them" stage and committing to them by making a plan. Would you drive across the country, from New York to San Francisco, without a map? Would you set off on your trip without any planning? Would you get in your car, turn the ignition, and expect to arrive in San Francisco without any preparation? Of course, not! If you want to arrive at a destination successfully, you must have a plan. The same is true for your goals.
Setting goals is a powerful process for success. The process of setting goals provides direction and insight. Establishing goals helps you choose where you want to go in your life. Whether you have weight loss goals, personal, or professional goals, making a plan is essential for you to achieve them. It is not enough to think about them, floating around in your head without any foundation. You need to write them down and develop a plan with strategies for success in reaching your goals.
Create categories to organize your goals. Examples of categories are Personal, Career, Education, Family, Health/Fitness, Financial, and Self Improvement. Next, list your goals in the respective categories.
SPECIFIC - A specific goal rather than a general, broad goal. A general goal would be to "Exercise." A specific goal would be "Join a gym and workout three days a week." Another example of a general goal would be "Drink water." A specific goal would be "Drink 64 ounces of water throughout the day." List the goal in detail. List your goal in a way that you can check off the steps you've accomplished in order to achieve it.
MEASURABLE - Create milestones for measuring your progress toward the accomplishment of each goal. When you measure your progress, you stay on track, remain focused, reach your target dates, and motivate you to reach your goal. By making it measurable, you have a sense of accomplishment as you move forward in your progress. An example is to "Join a gym and workout three days a week" by indicating on your calendar the three days you worked out. Another example is to keep track daily of each eight ounce glass of water you drink. If your goal is to eat three meals a day and two planned snacks, either list the foods in your eating for that day or check off "Meal 1, Meal 2, Meal 3, Snack 1, Snack 2." One good day of achieving your daily success creates momentum for the next day and the next, etc.
ATTAINABLE - Make sure that your goals are attainable so you can determine ways to achieve them. If a goal is attainable, once you define the goals and details to get there, you start to develop the attitudes, abilities, skills, and the steps you need to take to obtain success to reach your goals. If your goals are unrealistic or overwhelming, you won't be excited and enthusiastic to begin to accomplish them. If your goals are attainable, you move closer and closer to accomplish your desired goal outcome. A cycle of momentum and success will be created.
REALISTIC - A realistic goal must represent an objective that you are willing and able to work on. Every goal should be something you can visualize yourself reaching. In goal setting, if you can't see it, then it is difficult to achieve it. If you believe you can reach your goal, then it can be accomplished. See yourself accomplishing your goal by practicing visualing success. If it is a weight loss goal, shut your eyes and visually see yourself standing on the scale and seeing your goal weight. Visualize yourself shopping, picking up a certain clothing size or style, trying it on and it fits you beautifully. If you have a fitness goal, such as participating in a competitive walk/run, visualize the finish line. See yourself approaching it, throwing your arms up as you reach and cross over it.
TIMEFRAME - A goal should be defined within a certain period of time. Without a time frame associated with a goal, there is no sense of when you will reach your goal. Give your goal a deadline so you can work toward accomplishing your goal. If your goal is to lose a certain amount of weight, when do you want to lose it by? If you leave your deadline open-ended as in "someday", you do not have a sense of when you will achieve your goal. If you ground it within a time frame, "by September 1st, then you've already put into motion accomplishing your goal. Don't leave your timeframe as open ended. Create the commitment and dedication to your goal by giving yourself a timeframe. State your goal to create ways to enjoy your success.
Helpful tips in setting your goals:
1. Write your goals in a journal or in a special place so you can see them. Marking them in an organized manner allows you to note your progress or fine tune your goal as you work toward it.
2. Share your goals or post them as a reminder for is a good way to help you get and stay on track with those things most important to you. As an example, put notes of your goal on your bathroom mirror, on the refrigerator, in your car, or at your desk.
3. Write your goal as a positive statement. Express your goals in an affirming manner. Reflect your goal in an empowering way. For example, I won't keep junk, snack foods in my desk drawer. Instead, I will keep healthy foods in my desk drawer.
4. If you have multiple goals, assign priorities to each of them. By prioritizing your goals, you avoid feeling overwhelmed by too many goals. Prioritization of goals also keeps you focused on the ones most important to you.
5. Organize your goals. Organize them in a way that allows you to feel in control rather than a long wish list. Some categories could be Health, Fitness, Organization, Time Management, and Financial.
Goal setting also serves as an important way to:
*Choose what is important for you to achieve and accomplish in your life.
*Focus on your own personal priorities of what you desire in your life.
*Keep you motivated and inspired in a positive mode of self-improvement.
*Build your self-confidence and self-esteem based on the successful achievement of reaching your goals and making them a reality in your life.
When you have achieved a goal, congratulate yourself. Celebrate your accomplishment and achieving your goal. Take the time to enjoy reaching your goal and the steps you took to get there! Fully feel the fulfillment in your success. Reflect on the progress you made towards your goal reached and how you can apply the same persistence and determination to other goals. Embrace the self-confidence and self-esteen you have in mapping out your journey to set goals and the destination you feel of accomplishment and achievement. YOU DID IT!
To the average individual, weightlifting and running might not really seem to go together. However, adding a weightlifting component to your daily running workout can make a huge difference to your training efforts.
Weightlifting or weight training can have some obvious benefits to any individual who incorporates it into a workout or training program. Weightlifting increases the rate at which your body burns calories, it reduces the risk of certain diseases like diabetes and heart disease, and it even improves digestion and mood.
For runners, weightlifting has some added benefits, including increased muscle, tendon, and ligament strength, as well as overall muscular endurance. Generally speaking, weightlifting for runners helps strengthen non-running muscles, which besides reducing the risk of injury, will also give your body the strength it needs to get through those tough running workouts.
A typical weightlifting routine for a runner involves lifting light weights and doing multiple repetitions of a lift. This is the opposite of individuals who lift weights in order to build muscle. These individuals typically lift heavier weights, using few repetitions.
If you're sold on the benefits of adding weightlifting to your running workout, here is one approach to consider. Your needs (and abilities) may be different than those of your neighbor, so the amount of weight you lift and the number of times you lift it can be changed.
Since your body (specifically your muscles) needs time to rebuild and recover after a workout, this particular weightlifting workout is meant to be done three times a week, every other day (i.e. Monday, Wednesday, Friday), although again you can play around with the days in which you do the workout.
Sample Runners' Workout
Squats - If you're just starting out, you may want to consider using a machine (i.e. Smith machine) to do squats. This will ensure that you will focus more on form and balance, which will in turn decrease the risk of injury. For the more experienced lifter, you can use either barbells or dumbbells.
Bench Press - Again, here you have the option of using free weights or a machine.
Chin-Ups - Here, you can do the full-body or leaning variety. Full body chin-ups require you to do just that - lift your entire body. The leaning chin-ups on the other hand, involve lifting up only part (about half) of the weight of your body.
Stiff-Legged Deadlift - Great for the lower back, hamstrings, glutes and erector muscles, this exercise should be done with your legs stiff, but slightly bent.
Abs and Crunches - Weightlifting tends to strengthen the muscles on the back part of your body. Abdominal workouts will keep your front in as good a shape as your back.
Since the workout in this case is designed for runners and not weightlifters, it is important that you stress repetitions over amounts. In other words, don't worry about how much weight you (or the guy next to you) is lifting. In most cases, you can do 2-3 sets of each exercise, with 15-20 repetitions per set. Choose weights that you can manage relatively easily.
If you find that you get tired after just 10 repetitions, consider dropping down to a lighter weight. You should be able to lift the weight at least 15 times per set.
In terms of the number of sets, most experts agree that one is as good as three, so how many you do depends on where you are in terms of experience and ability. Generally, 3 sets of 15-20 repetitions are considered standard among runners.
In no time, you'll be well on your way to becoming a stronger runner. Not to say that you're going to look like Hulk Hogan running down the street, but you will certainly be in better shape to survive the real workout - running.
Both Cathy Wilson & Richard Black are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Cathy Wilson has sinced written about articles on various topics from Fitness, Lose Weight and Fitness. Cathy Wilson is a weight loss life coach. Cathy lost 147 pounds six years ago. Her passion is helping clients achieve their weight loss and life goals. Cathy works with clients to create a weight loss life plan that is customized to each client. Cathy is. Cathy Wilson's top article generates over 90500 views. to your Favourites.
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