By Michael Krueger
To get anywhere, you have to have a plan. You need to know where you are starting from; what route you will take; and, of course, your destination. It sounds simple enough, but in reality, it can be far more difficult than you imagine.
When it comes to choosing a path to health and fitness, it can be extremely complex because there are so many different programs, products, and philosophies to wade through. Far too often, we are impatient and focus only on the ultimate goal and forget that a journey is made up of many small steps.
So, how do you set reasonable long-, mid-, and short-term goals?
The Plan
Let’s get one thing out of the way right from the start: This isn’t going to be easy. A fitness goal involves mental, physical, and emotional hard work. That’s just the way it is; nothing worth doing comes easy. To quote William Goldman, author of The Princess Bride, “… anyone who says differently is selling something.”
First, create a short-term goal you can accomplish today and write it down. For instance, simply decide to work out today. It doesn’t matter much what you do for your workout, but decide to do it and then do it. Next, write down what you did and set a new goal for tomorrow. Once again, it doesn’t matter much what it is, but decide what it will be and write it down. By doing this, you’ll make a commitment to yourself, build forward momentum, and keep yourself on track.
As you probably noticed, I didn’t suggest that you pick an ultimate, world-record-beating long-term goal or even a midterm goal, for that matter; the big goals come with time. I once had a firefighter say that his goal was to win the Combat Challenge. I said maybe it would be a more realistic goal to show up for his workout next week with a completed logbook that showed he did his other four workouts and stuck to his diet. He was not amused. Somewhat predictably, he missed his next workout and when he did show up the following week, his logbook was curiously thin on workouts and dietary information. By the way, he hasn’t won the Combat Challenge either.
So, I’m going to go forward on the premise that you have done better than the previously mentioned guy. You have been setting up and knocking down short-term daily and weekly goals. Now, you have a better idea of what you are capable of achieving a few months out, so it’s time to set a 12-week medium-term goal.
Here is where it gets complicated, because you don’t know what is going to happen next week or two months from now. Your work situation may change, your family obligations may change, and your motivation may diminish, causing you to doubt whether your goal is achievable or not. Well, so what? Keep doing the best you can until the date you have set forth as your goal day of reckoning has arrived. The fact is, it doesn’t matter whether you make it or not; what’s important is that you keep working toward it and not quit. Quitting will give you nothing, where failure will give you knowledge.
It’s a tough pill to swallow when you fail. We are taught from the beginning that failure is the worst thing. Failure isn’t such a big deal, but quitting is. When you learn from failure, it is no doubt a hard-earned lesson, but if that lesson is properly applied, it will almost guarantee success the next time around. Quitting teaches you nothing except how to quit, and that’s easy.
Whether you failed or succeeded to meet your goal, you need to examine what happened and why. Even in failure, there were more than likely some successes. Perhaps you got in 80% of your workouts, and those you missed were mostly unavoidable. Maybe you lost a few pounds of fat or gained a pound or two of muscle, which would be a good thing and something to be celebrated. Then again, maybe you found that training five times per week was just too much, or that there is no way you are going to consistently get in an hour workout on a regular basis. Take this information, and integrate it into your next 12-week goal.
Now make a new 12-week goal. By the way, 12 weeks isn’t mandatory. If you want to do eight or 16 weeks, that is fine; just pick an amount of time that is challenging and appropriate for your goal. If you learned from the previous go round, your new goal should be better suited to your capabilities. It won’t be less challenging but perhaps more realistic.
I don’t have a clue as to what you want to accomplish in your fitness life. Strength and endurance are the obvious big categories, but what you specifically need or want to work on is very personal. Setting a long-term, achievable goal will play off what you’ve learned short- and mid-term, yet it will still be some major unchartered territory. Dream big, but plan conservatively; you can always adjust up, but adjusting down isn’t fun.
Long Term
I’ve been playing this fitness game for a long time, and I still haven’t got the long-term goal thing down. (In fact, with my new indoor rowing protocol in full swing, I’m even struggling with good/achievable short-term goals, bit I press on nonetheless.) What I think I want today isn’t always what I want in six or 12 months. What I believe to be doable sometimes turns out to be an impossible dream, given the time I’ve allotted.
I’ve come to accept that long-term planning isn’t my strong suit, although looking back over the years, I have achieved most of what I planned but not necessarily on the timetable I had hoped for. Early on, I was besting my goals weeks in advance; I was flying, then everything started to slow down. It was then that I realized that this was the time to set my real long-term goals, because this was the true start of my training. Up until now, I was just finding the starting line. Now, on the one hand, that is really humbling; on the other hand, it is liberating beyond belief.
Since that day (about 10 years ago), I have made slow but steady progress. My long-term goals have changed from year to year, and I’m fine with that. Originally, I thought I could set the world on fire given my rate of improvement, but now I’m more comfortable with a little progress on a regular basis. I’m never going to be the best of class, but I can still be the best I can be.
Always Changing
Since injuring my foot earlier this summer, I’ve had to adjust my goals. The rowing is great, but I hope to soon add running back into the mix in pursuit of my round-the-world mileage goal. For the moment, I’m enjoying the new challenge of rowing, but running around the world is still chiseled in stone as my ultimate running goal, and I will not be denied.
I have a 5,000-meter rowing goal written down, and it is, to say the least, a challenge. I still have so much to learn as to technique and pacing that I don’t know if the timetable is doable. I haven’t been at it long enough to know what my rate of progression will be, but I’m looking forward to finding out. That’s what fitness pursuits are all about: learning about yourself and what you can do. It’s about doing your best to improve a little bit every day.
So, whether you are new to training or an old hand, set a “today goal” and knock it off, then a “tomorrow goal” and knock it off too. One short-term goal leads to one mid-term goal, and soon you’ve created a fit, healthy, and happy life for yourself.
… so, what’s YOUR “today goal”?
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.
