Skip to main content

Setting goals...and ACTUALLY achieving them!

You have a goal. Good news, step one has been accomplished. Now, how are you going to attain your goal? Is it realistic? Are you ready to commit? If you answered yes to all of these questions then read on and let's do this together!



Goal setting 101 


Have a realistic and attainable goal. 


Being realistic about your fitness level is most important. If your goal is to be able to do a handstand in the next 3 months then mind over matter simply isn't enough. Know your weaknesses and be ready to improve upon them.



Create a pathway.


Consider your goal to be the top rung of the ladder and you are currently standing on the bottom. You've got some steps to take - slowly and carefully so that you don't fall and injure yourself. Using handstand as an example - you've got to be able to balance your weight...upside down. Think about what has to happen in your body. Core strength, balance and stability, wrist and upper body strength, not to mention just basic anatomical and working knowledge. Talk to a trainer, research it online, gather your knowledge. Know that you should be able to do "these certain things" prior to attempting a handstand. You have to get stronger and smarter!



Make it routine.


Practice everyday! I know it sounds easy enough but trust me when I tell you that you will get discouraged. You will get frustrated and tired. You will make ridiculous excuses for yourself. Stop it! Practice. This is SO important. This is your working step and without the work you will still be standing at the bottom of the ladder at the end of your timeline. I tell my clients (and do this myself) to pick 5 songs they LOVE, songs that motivate and inspire them. For those 5 song you will focus only on your goal, you will practice and find success. That's 10-15 minutes out of your day. Do it every morning and every night. And in between do it at the gym or with a friend or just because you want to.




Write it down.


Put you plan on paper. Again, be realistic in mapping out your intended path. Your plan should include:

1. Your goal
2. Strengthening and conditioning exercises for the appropriate areas of your body
3. Skills to master
4. Your workout times
5. Your progress
6. Timeline - this is optional. I personally don't set timelines. I do set measures of success along my path



Track your progress.


Documenting your journey helps you to see the progress you're making, however small the steps. It allows you to celebrate your success. Keep it in a journal or create an Instagram account, share it on Facebook or Snapchat or whatever other social media outlet you enjoy and let others encourage your success too. Not only is it motivating but it will also help to hold you accountable. Have a friend or trainer check in with your progress every week. Look back at it often. You will notice if you are lacking in a specific area of your training and if you are struggling with one of your steps.



Don't give up!


Never give up, never surrender! You've got this. I believe in you, you believe in you and you are a righteous badass with a goal to accomplish. DO IT!!!


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Curious Case of Creative Movement - Part 2 - Carissa Laitinen - Kniss

The Curious Case of Creative Movement Part 2 What It Is As an incoming freshman at TWU, I thought I knew what movement was, what dance was, and how to create it and perform it.  I thought wrong.  I had excellent training growing up, far superior to most young girls going to dance studios.  We were required to take Pilates, taught good foundational elements, excellent technique, and I had some of the best teachers in the nation.  I was afforded opportunities to take classes from world renowned teachers and artists of dance.  I attended classes with professionals from Joffery, American Ballet Theater, The Royal Winnepeg Ballet, and former prima ballerinas from the Russian Ballet Academy.  I went in a strong confident dancer that freshman year and was knocked flat on my ass with knowledge that made my brain melt and my heart hurt.  I was attending one of the top ten universities in the nation for dance an...

Yoga isn't for me.

Yoga. Often I tell people they should try yoga. And often I watch their faces contort with such abhorrence that I can barely make out the person I'm speaking to. Yoga. Why the fear? Why so much hate and disdain? Why so many excuses? I'm not flexible...I don't have any balance...I'm too fidgety. PEOPLE! (yes I'm shouting) This is why you start doing yoga! Allow yourself to be a beginner. When you learned how to ride a bike did you just hop on and ride like the wind? No, you had a few stumbles but you kept trying because you wanted that freedom. That is exactly what you will experience with your yoga practice. But in the end...freedom. Freedom to connect from within yourself, freedom to feel and move and freedom of your worries and cares even if just for a moment. With all that being said, let me take you back to the start of my yoga practice... 5 years ago I could not touch my toes. Seriously. I couldn't do the splits, I couldn...