Goal Setting

     The first step of any journey should always be to determine the destination.  I am talking about setting your fitness goals in particular.  Most people have heard of SMART goals, but for personal goals, I prefer the SCAMPI model. The acronym is as follows...

Specific

Challenging

Achievable

Measurable

Proximal

Inspirational

    This is similar to the SMART model with a few changes.  Specific is often overlooked in fitness goals, it is common enough to see "I want to lose some weight".  It would be helpful to define how much is "some".  Challenging is necessary because conquering a difficult problem will give a sense of accomplishment.  This is balanced with Achievable.  When a goal is impossible it only ends in defeat.  Measurable is another item that is often skipped over.  It is difficult to determine if a goal of "looking better" is accomplished, but hitting a body fat percentage can be objectively checked.  Proximal refers to how close it is, similar to timely in the SMART model.  Goals should have a deadline rather than be open-ended, this helps to push you to get it done.  Inspirational is tied to your individual motivation.  Understanding why you want to achieve this and how it will improve your life helps push you in the right direction.

    An example of a solid goal is "achieve a weight of 180lbs with no more than 15% body fat within 12 months so I can be at a lower health risk".  The next step is to write it out and post it somewhere that you will see it regularly like on your mirror where you get ready each morning and night.  Then you should think through the vision of how that impacts your life and what would make it different than the one you are living now.