Target Small Steps on Your Way to the Bigger Goal
If you think about it, setting ourselves goals is part of our every day existence. Even getting up in the morning! We do it without realising it to help us get through life. Saving money for a holiday; planning to catch a train; cooking a meal – all these activities and many more require us to establish timescales, limits and processes which help us to achieve the outcome we want.
Research has shown that setting goals can enhance performance at every level of physical activity – from the casual home-exerciser, to the Olympic-level athlete.
But how many times have we decided to aim for a goal we have established in our minds and, despite our best efforts, have struggled and failed to reach it (or even get near to reaching it)?
And this is the big problem with setting over-ambitious targets; you’re ok starting, but after a while, if you look as though you’re not going to reach it, it’s very tempting to give up. And if you don’t achieve it, you can feel so demoralised that you don’t bother trying again!
I guess it’s at times like this when we realise that we should have stuck to the rules which say ‘only set targets that are achievable’. SMART Goals are Specific, Measured, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound.
So, I’m all for creating “micro goals”. Just as the name suggests, these are little goals which are attainable and, when achieved in sequence, lead towards the accomplishment of the objective of the ‘bigger picture’.
It makes absolute sense to “break down” a process into manageable chunks to enable progress along a path which results in your arrival at the ultimate goal: whether that be improved flexibility; increased cardio-vascular capacity; enhanced muscle mass etc.
You will notice that your a PT will set you exercises that will “challenge” you sufficiently to make you push yourself, but not so far as to cause you strain or injury. Sessions will be structured to build towards your objective via the achievement of ‘micro goals’.
Recognising potential and adjusting the demands of the activity to suit each client is a key part of a PT’s expertise. Equally, that is their way of ensuring that you achieve your objective in the most efficient and effective way, and never remain in the ‘comfort zone’. Your exercise regime of smaller goals will be easier to stick to than trying to go for the end result too quickly.
So, your “takeaway” from this collection of musings could be that exercising for fitness is always “work in progress”. Don’t stress about “going for broke” and rushing to reach the ultimate goal in a super-quick timescale. Make it a calm, deliberate and planned route to your own particular “summit” and you’ll get there, with achievements and little ‘wins’ along the way too!
Acknowledgements
befitnessandpt.co.uk 