The SMART choice

I must emphasise, once again, how important goal-setting is when you are on a journey to become a fitter, healthier individual … or improve on anything in life!

And there is a SMART and simple way of doing it.

I really am a huge fan of setting goals as they give you a target to strive for every day and remind you what you’re working towards.

But if goal-setting is so good, why do 99 per cent of the population fail with their New Year’s resolutions?
Let’s look at one of my personal goals: I want to be 95kg by Christmas without losing any strength.

When setting any goal, the SMART principles must be considered, let’s go through these principles using my goal as an example:
* Specific – the goal must be as clear as possible, my own, for example, talks about fat loss and maintaining strength. Bad example: ‘I want to get in shape’.
* Measurable – we want to be able to measure the goal so that we know if we’ve accomplished it. As I’ve given myself an exact weight, my goal is measureable by hopping on the scales. Bad example: ‘I want to lose some fat’.
* Achievable – it must be possible for you to achieve your goal otherwise you will get unmotivated when you inevitably don’t achieve it. I know I will be able to lose 5kgs in 10 weeks. Bad example: ‘I want to be on the cover of Men’s Fitness by December’.
* Recorded – by writing my goal here in GulfWeekly I have placed my goal on record, you may wish to record it privately or where others can see it.
* Time-related – if your goal isn’t time-related you will forever put it off, notice how I’ve given myself until December to achieve my goal. Bad example: ‘I want to lose 5kgs’.

And there you go! By combining last week’s advice along with these SMART principles, you now have all the tools you need to set a goal and start closing in on it today!