PERRY BUCHANAN: Work SMARTER to achieve fitness goals

Like most important endeavors of life, a fitness program should have a well-mapped-out plan. In designing a fitness program, we too often jump on the bandwagon of whatever the current popular fitness fad may be. If we’re bombarded with media ads and stories about some program claiming to be the hottest thing since 1991, it’s hard to resist jumping on board.

Although it’s good to keep things fresh and find ways to make your fitness experience more enjoyable, changing for the sake of changing is not a successful model to follow. Some things may still be working for you after 28 years, but other things don’t stand the test of time and should be changed often.

The first step in any plan is to set a goal. This simple act, when done correctly, will instantly give you the feeling of success. A poorly thought-out goal can lower your motivation. Think SMART! You may already be aware of this much-used acronym that was coined in the early ’80s. There are quite a few variations of this acronym. One of the most difficult, yet important fitness goals should be maintaining your results once you hit your target. With that in mind, I have added two steps to the SMART acronym. Here’s how to make your goals SMARTER.

SPECIFIC: Mark Twain is quoted as saying “I can teach anybody how to get what they want out of life. The problem is that I can’t find anybody who can tell me what they want.” What do you want to accomplish with exercise? Do not be too general or vague. An example is “I want to lose 23 pounds of body fat” vs. “I want to lose weight.” Your goal should be clear and well-defined.

MEASURABLE: You have to be able to track your results to measure your progress. What gets measured, gets managed, and will depend on what your specific goal is. You can measure pounds, body fat percentage, inches and blood pressure. It could even be fitting into some pants that you haven’t been able to wear or maybe just measuring the improvement in the way you feel.

ACTION-ORIENTED: A goal without a plan of action is just a pipe dream. Your course of action should be relevant to your goal and be results-oriented. When setting your specific goal, set some action-related goals, not just outcome goals. In the above example you could set a goal to walk 30 minutes, five days per week and switch from drinking soda and sweet tea to drinking only water every day this week.

REALISTIC: Your goals need to be sensible but significant in order to motivate you to change. “Shoot for the stars and you may land on the moon” is a great saying, but in reality you should just shoot for the moon. True success requires 100 percent commitment, and a goal that is unattainable will not motivate you to stay committed. Set goals that are stretching, but you are setting yourself up for failure and frustration if you aren’t willing to commit or if you’re not able to realistically attain the goal.

TIME-BASED: Set an exact time to achieve the goal. Every great goal is set on a time line. Keeping the above steps in mind, give yourself an exact date and time that your goal needs to be accomplished. Your time line should match up with your realistic step. If you have a major fat loss goal, then break it down into smaller attainable goals. Time frames provide a sense of urgency to help motivate you.

EVALUATE: This step will keep you accountable. Once you complete the time scheduled to reach your goal, your results should be evaluated. This will be a learning experience going forward. What worked, what didn’t? Adjust your goals to account for obstacles that may occur or availability of resources.

REWARD and REPEAT: More than just giving yourself a pat on the back, plan to have a more tangible and significant reward once you complete your goal. Then set your next goal and repeat the SMARTER process. Every motivation stems from either an expectation of pleasure or an avoidance of pain. By rewarding yourself, you will increase the pleasure of reaching your goal and be able to endure the temporary pain and discomforts to get you there. Follow the guidelines above for a smarter way to reach your fitness success.

Perry Buchanan, owner of PT Gym, is certified as an exercise physiologist through the American College of Sports Medicine, and fitness nutrition specialist through the National Academy of Sports Medicine. Email him at [email protected]. Follow @ptgym on Twitter.