Post by gymrat on Nov 19, 2012 20:06:02 GMT -5
One of the biggest problems I see in the gym is people doing exercises that are inconsistent with their goals. Yesterday I saw someone doing five sets of one rep in the bench press to build muscle in their chest. (Hint: one rep maxes don't build much muscle)
Of course, the first step to training for your goals is to decide what your goals are. They really can be based off of whatever you want so long as they are follow the following guidelines:
Specific
Mesurable
Action-oriented
Realistic
Time and resource constrained
Some of you might be scratching your heads, wondering what I'm talking about. Here is an example of bad goals followed by a better, revised list of the same goals.
Get faster
Increase endurance
Loose weight
Get a bigger bench
vs.
Run 400 meters in under 65 seconds
Run 1.5 miles in under 13 minutes
Loose 10 lbs of fat
Bench press 175 lbs three times
I hope that you all can see the difference here. And it is a critical one. Setting good goals is the key to making progress in your fitness.
The first list of goals will allow you to say "Oh, I'm fit enough now. I'm strong enough. I've lost enough weight." The second set forces you to look at yourself ans say "Well, my 400 time is where I want it to be, but I should probably do some longer runs because my 1.5 mile time is not doing as well. I've lost 5 lbs of fat which is good, and I can bench 175 two times! I'm almost there!"
I also would ask you to write own your stinkin' goals so you never forget them! It really helps. Do it.
I can't tell you the number of people who come into the gym saying "I wanna get swole!" or "I want to get toned up for summer." You might be one of these people. And that is fine. Most people are like that.
But I promise you that you will see better progress if you follow the SMART plan for setting goals. If you set real goals, you give yourself a powerful tool to gauge your progress and motivate yourself to workout. And there is nothing quite like the satisfaction of getting to cross off that 25 minute 5k, that 25th lb lost, that first pullup.
So bronies, what are your goals?
-gymrat
Of course, the first step to training for your goals is to decide what your goals are. They really can be based off of whatever you want so long as they are follow the following guidelines:
Specific
Mesurable
Action-oriented
Realistic
Time and resource constrained
Some of you might be scratching your heads, wondering what I'm talking about. Here is an example of bad goals followed by a better, revised list of the same goals.
Get faster
Increase endurance
Loose weight
Get a bigger bench
vs.
Run 400 meters in under 65 seconds
Run 1.5 miles in under 13 minutes
Loose 10 lbs of fat
Bench press 175 lbs three times
I hope that you all can see the difference here. And it is a critical one. Setting good goals is the key to making progress in your fitness.
The first list of goals will allow you to say "Oh, I'm fit enough now. I'm strong enough. I've lost enough weight." The second set forces you to look at yourself ans say "Well, my 400 time is where I want it to be, but I should probably do some longer runs because my 1.5 mile time is not doing as well. I've lost 5 lbs of fat which is good, and I can bench 175 two times! I'm almost there!"
I also would ask you to write own your stinkin' goals so you never forget them! It really helps. Do it.
I can't tell you the number of people who come into the gym saying "I wanna get swole!" or "I want to get toned up for summer." You might be one of these people. And that is fine. Most people are like that.
But I promise you that you will see better progress if you follow the SMART plan for setting goals. If you set real goals, you give yourself a powerful tool to gauge your progress and motivate yourself to workout. And there is nothing quite like the satisfaction of getting to cross off that 25 minute 5k, that 25th lb lost, that first pullup.
So bronies, what are your goals?
-gymrat