How Goal Setting Can Improve Your Results

Are you working out just to workout, or do you have a specific reason?  Have you been doing the same workout for years?  You know it’s good for you, but do you wonder what exactly exercise can do for you?

Goal setting is possibly the most important part of exercise.  Without stating what you’d like to accomplish, there’s no way to achieve it.  So what can exercise do for you?  With proper direction and motivation, exercise can affect many positive changes, including the following:

· Improvement in a specific sport

· Decrease the risk for diseases (arthritis, Alzheimer’s, various forms of cancer)

· Increase flexibility

· Better balance and coordination

· Avoid or get rid of joint pain

Setting goals takes several steps, but is easy.  You must begin by questioning yourself. “What do I want to accomplish?” “What is my current health status?” “Is this goal a credible goal?” “What are the steps I need to take in order to get to my goal?”  You must follow these questions by establishing a way to measure the movement towards your goal; for example, a valid fitness assessment.  Track your workouts. Write  down your activities and their difficulty levels.  Lastly, you must be prepared to do a full re-assessment after three months and make any modifications to keep you on course.

Some examples of valid goals are; “Improve my tennis game” “Get rid of my knee pain” “Walk down the street and not be afraid of falling” “Be able to bend over and touch my toes” “Climb stairs without getting winded.”

Goal setting gives your workouts a focus.  Rather than just going through the motions, pick a direction and work hard to achieve what you want!

Written by Micah Josephson, Personal Trainer for FACTS Fitness