Goals and How to Set Them

By Michael Krueger, NSCA-CPT

 

After doing the assessments from my previous column, you should have a sense of where you currently are in the fitness continuum. If you did well, I’d like to hear about it–what type of workouts you do, how you schedule your time, and if others in your department share your enthusiasm. In future columns, I will discuss more advanced program design variables to keep you interested and progressing. However, if the tests uncovered some areas in which you are lacking, it is time to address them before they get any worse.

Whether you are a successful trainer, a lapsed athlete, or exercise averse, I’m going to tell you about a tool you may use to improve the chances that you will attain the level of fitness that, as a firefighter, you need and desire.  

Setting SMART Goals

Generally speaking when someone starts working out, “getting in shape” is the vague goal they have in mind. You may have heard that when you set your goal it should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely, or “SMART.” This is a systematic way for you to apply focus to what may be a somewhat fuzzy process. Using this format is a generally accepted way to create a program tailored precisely to your personality, desires, and needs, which allows you to assess your progress against a specific set of criteria. It works in part because there is overlap between each action, with one flowing into the other. 

Specific

Perhaps your goal is to become a fitter firefighter. Actually that is pretty vague and is in fact two goals. The first is to be physically fitter and the second is to be a firefighter. I’m going to address the former as a specific goal, and it will give you a solid physical base on which to achieve the latter.

First you need to know what needs improvement. It doesn’t really matter how good or poor your current condition may be; there is always room for improvement. That being said, if you haven’t done the assessment from the previous article, now is the time to do it.

Let’s just say that you have decided that your strength needs improvement, your aerobic capacity is lacking, and you can afford to lose 10 pounds. These are your outcome goals. The actions you are going to take to achieve these goals are lifting weights, running and cutting 500 calories per day from your diet. These are your process goals. You can take each of these specific activities and apply the overall SMART process to each, thereby creating a very personal and specific roadmap for success.

Measurable

Once you have tested yourself, you have a baseline from which to judge your progress. I don’t recommend using firefighting skills to make this assessment. That is adding another set of variables, making it difficult to get an accurate reading as to the efficacy of your exercise program. The skills training is something to work on as a separate activity. The building of exemplary fitness is just a means to ensure that you have the strength and endurance to train your firefighting skills to the utmost.

Say you have set a weightlifting goal of increasing all of you lifts by 25 percent and a cardiovascular goal of improving your 12-minute run by 200 meters. Your weight loss goal is to lose one pound of fat per week. All of these are very specific outcome goals and are easily measurable. In addition, you will review your training and food logs every Sunday night to assess the effectiveness of your program, your consistency, and effort; this is a process goal.

The process portion is a little more complicated. You will need to keep scrupulous records as to your activities so that you will be able to note successes, problems, and progress, which will then allow you to adjust method, intensity, frequency, and volume. 

Attainable and Realistic

I put these two together because they are very closely related. When choosing goals, you don’t want to set the bar so high that you have little if any chance of making it but not so low as to not be a challenge. If you have given sufficient thought to your goals, have linked them to what is really important to you, and have taken into account your current fitness level, then you have probably chosen realistically attainable goal.

A goal may be physically attainable but not realistic to attempt at this time because of any number of factors. Often, the demands of life will intrude and waylay your plans before you even get a good start. You may be physically capable of running a sub six-minute mile, but the training required to do so at this time simply isn’t possible with all the other responsibilities in your life. So right now, it just isn’t realistic.

If you haven’t been honest with regard to your starting level of fitness or your ability to be disciplined in sticking with your program, you have set yourself up for failure. Realistic and attainable doesn’t mean easy, but it should point toward something you can readily accomplish. It means you understand what you are capable of at this time. This assessment will change as you become more physically skilled and mentally and emotionally focused. What may not be realistic and attainable today may be routine in six months.

Be honest with yourself, and don’t be afraid to adjust your initial goals up or down. You aren’t “cheating” by doing this; you are simply adjusting the process goals on the way to achieving your outcome goal. Being challenged, but being successful as well, will keep you motivated and on track. Remember to record any changes in your logs. It is important to know and remember why you have made adjustments to your initial plan.

 

Timely

You have a timetable in mind; you simply want it “NOW!” Of course, we know that “now” isn’t a reasonable timeframe. For some people, holding off on a very specific ultimate target date is a good idea. This idea ties into the realistic, attainable aspect of goal setting. While this may fly in the face of much conventional wisdom, I have found it to be true. Let me explain why.

Despite your best efforts in setting your SMART goals, you still may overestimate or underestimate your abilities, discipline, support, and desire. You have never have tried this before, so you didn’t have enough information to really know what you wanted or what you could accomplish. Who knew you would love running so much that you have progressed way ahead of schedule or that your spouse would get a new job and turn your workout schedule on its head?

If you set the bar too low, you may have cruised right up to the goal ahead of schedule. If you understand why this happened, lack of accurate self-assessment or a nonchallenging goal, this can be a good learning experience that will allow you to set a new more realistic timeline or a more difficult goal.

If you overestimated yourself, what was a seemingly timely goal becomes a huge, looming, unattainable deadline. Once you realize there is no way you are going to meet that deadline, you might quit in frustration, make up excuses, or blame someone else. Ultimately, you end up accomplishing little and feeling like a failure. In reality, all you have done is miss your goal, and this is a part of the path to success. Now is the time to review your initial process and outcome goals. By examining your logs, you’ll see what worked and what didn’t in the context of those goals. Then simply reapply the SMART process and come up with a new plan.

 

SMART Success

SMART goal setting is a tool that you will need to become adept at using through practice, adjustment, and personal application. Don’t expect everything to just fall into place the first time you attempt to apply it. It is difficult to use well and can be a humbling experience. Because this is not a cookie cutter approach, it requires a great deal of personal integrity and openness to experimentation and adjustment to get right. We are all different, and what works for one may not work for another. It takes time and effort, but it does work.

Be flexible as well as disciplined, keep good records of what works and what doesn’t, and pay attention as to why. Your ultimate success will depend on your increasing self-knowledge and your ability to apply that knowledge and make adjustments over time.

Does this mean a specific process or a specific outcome? You may say that you want to run or lift weights; this is defining a specific process without a specific outcome. If you say that you want to “be a fitter firefighter,” that is a specific outcome, but it needs a process attached to it. You need to define “what, why, and how,” and it is necessary to reconcile the process with the outcome.

Let’s say you have stated that your desired outcome goal is to compete in the Combat Challenge. Defining the process would involve assessing your physical fitness as well as your firefighting skills. It is helpful to describe the process using action-oriented words such as “build,” “improve,” and “implement.”

Why do you want to do this? Be honest with yourself on this point. If your motivation is internal and personal, you are much more likely to succeed. With the Combat Challenge example, it might be because to you this competition is the ultimate test of a firefighter’s fitness and skill in a purely athletic environment.

Why is this important now? It is likely that something happened that triggered in you a desire to change. It is a good idea to understand your motivation, because it gives you an insight into yourself that may help you stay positive and on track. Occasionally motivations are reactions to a negative experience. As a firefighter, you may feel you are getting older or that your skills are not up to snuff anymore. While these are certainly situations that need to be addressed, they can be stated in more positive ways.

How are you going to get to this ultimate goal? These are your ultimate outcomes, your long-term goals. You affirm that you will improve your strength and cardio efficiency. Why is obvious–you aren’t as strong as you would like to be and your endurance isn’t so hot either. How are you going to do it? You will lift weights to get stronger and use the stair stepper to improve your endurance.

Is “what” your desired outcome or is it what steps are needed to achieve that outcome? They are certainly linked, but the order in which someone approaches them implies two very different mindsets.

 

Michael Krueger is an NSCA-certified personal trainer. He got his start in fitness training while serving in the United States Coast Guard. He works with firefighters and others in and around Madison, Wisconsin. He is available to fire departments, civic organizations, and athletic teams for training, consulting, and speaking engagements. He has published numerous articles on fitness, health, and the mind-body connection and was a featured speaker at the IAFC’s FRI 2009 Health Day in Dallas, Texas. E-mail him at MKPTLLC@gmail.com. 

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