Starting an exercise program doesn’t seem to be a problem for most people. After all, many of us begin every year with a club membership and lots of good intentions. However, sticking to the plan is another story. According to fitness specialists, dropout rates are as high as 50% in the first six months. As a trainer, my goal is to improve exercise adherence. Therefore, I would like to suggest one thing: exercise with a goal in mind. This is because when you have something concrete to pursue, you’ll be more likely to stick to your program. In addition, it is easier to create a plan of action when you know exactly what you want from your training.
While some people seem to be able to maintain an active lifestyle just for its intrinsic benefits (the joy of exercising, if you know what I mean), most of us need external factors to keep motivation high in the long run. External motivators may be previously agreed upon rewards (such as buying a new dress) or expected activity outcomes (such as gains in strength and stamina). There is nothing wrong with that as long as you perceive the whole experience as a positive one. On the other hand, forcing yourself to exercise (and hating it all the way) just to drop a few pounds may not be the right path. This creates a feeling of punishment associated with exercise, which is converted into repulsion. To make things worse, if your efforts do not lead to the desired weight-loss in the time frame you expect, you’ll be frustrated and will end up abandoning the program. Keep in mind that weight-loss depends on several factors, many of which are not under your control. Thus, even though weight-loss is the most common fitness goal, it is not necessarily a good one.
My proposal is to shift your focus to performance. This means engaging in physical activities with a performance goal in mind. You don’t have to be a professional (or even a recreational) athlete to want to improve your performance. Virtually anyone can set performance goals. For example, if you are a newbie exerciser, a great way to start is with a walking program. Walking is the perfect exercise for beginners because it does not require special skills or initial investments, it is safe for most people, and it is convenient. (It is quite easy to find a place to walk around your neighborhood.) As you get used to the new activity, you could set the following goal: to participate in a 5K walk/run event in a couple of months. This provides you with a concrete objective to pursue. Every time you go for your daily walk, you’ll have that goal in mind, which may motivate you to continue when obstacles appear in your way and you feel inclined to give up.
This is just one example, but you could apply this principle to many sports and activities. You may choose to get prepared for a skiing trip or a hiking event. You may want to improve your golf swing or your tennis abilities in order to enroll in a local tournament. If you are into yoga, you may aspire to advance on your practice and finally try that “super-cool” but challenging arm balance. Or, you can stipulate your own personal challenge such as performing a set of eight pull-ups or twelve full push-ups. Choose something that is challenging, yet doable. Most importantly, find something that is meaningful to you. Remember that if it is irrelevant, you won’t feel compelled to pursue it.
Once you’ve decided what you want to achieve and the time frame in which to do it, the next step is to break it down into small, manageable weekly goals. This is a fundamental part of your plan of action and you want to be as specific as possible. Determine how many times per week you’ll train and the duration of each session. Being realistic is essential for your success, so take into account possible roadblocks and come up with strategies to overcome them. To make your goals reliable, write them down in a calendar and check off every session. Record your progress, adjusting your weekly goals as needed. Let’s say that you’ve decided to participate in a 10K run which will happen in three months. If you never ran that much at one time, you know that you’ll have to run a little bit every other day to get your body used to running long distances. This way, you can prepare a detailed plan (or ask a fitness professional to design one for you), in which you gradually increase running mileage every week until the day of the event.
It is very rewarding to achieve a performance goal because you can see and measure the results. It gives you a feeling of accomplishment. However, don’t feel discouraged if you did not get there on your first attempt. If you didn’t achieve the desired outcome, reflect about the process and try to discover what went wrong. Was your goal meaningful enough to provide motivation for training? Maybe your goal was too ambitious, or you were too optimistic when you designed the training program and didn’t account for possible roadblocks. The bottom line is: analyze the process, adjust your goal, and try again. You will eventually get there.
If you have achieved your goal, analyze the process, looking for all positive aspects of the experience. This may increase your motivation for the next round and improve exercise adherence. Take a week to rest and reflect, then set another goal and restart the process. You may choose to increase the challenge or simply repeat the process. It is whatever works for you.
Setting performance goals is a great strategy to keep your interest in an exercise routine. It provides you with a clear purpose to exercise and you can easily visualize your success. This may keep you active long enough for you to finally see the pounds drop.