Goal Setting in Fitness and Nutrition

A goal is the result or achievement toward which effort is directed. Without setting goals in exercise or nutrition, there is far less value and purposeful direction; and they need to be measurable and realistic. For example, a thin teenager weighing 120 pounds wishing to weight 220-pounds of muscle is both specific and measurable. However, he cannot hope to achieve such a physique, especially not soon and probably not without growth-enhancing drugs. Therefore, in this instance, the goal to gain 100 pounds of muscle is specific, it is measurable, but it is unrealistic.

Non-measurable goals, such as "I want to lose fat and get lean," will never be realized since the term "lean" is subjective with no objective measurement. What is lean to one person may not be lean to another... or perhaps it is "too lean". Once the individual obtains a supposed state of leanness, will that person know that he has achieved that goal or will his perception of what he thinks is "lean" change because of higher standards and greater expectations? On the other hand, if a trainee indicated that he wants to reduce body fat to a level of ten percent, then he has a measurable goal – one that can be quantified.

Next, to achieve goals better, trainees must provide a measurement and do so in the smallest amount necessary and within reason relative to past accomplishments. Don't aim for something greater than you could ever have achieved in the past. Moreover, the more distant the goal, and the smaller the increments, the more likely the success of obtaining the goal. But it should be noted that a goal must require some degree of effort and challenge. If the goal is too small or easy to obtain, there is little incentive or sense of accomplishment or pride.

Goals can be measured in terms of outcome and performance. An outcome goal refers to that which a person is aiming to achieve, such as lifting five pounds more in the bench press next workout or a far greater weight over the course of several months. There is little flexibility in this type of goal – either it is achieved or it is not. Performance goals refer to the process through which a person achieves those goals, including both the short- and long-term. Performance goals are much more flexible, and allows a person to reorganize a strategy from day to day in order to meet the outcome goal(s). Performance goals are associated with less anxiety, since there is flexibility and, as a result, should be emphasized in an exercise and nutrition program. It can be upsetting not to achieve an outcome goal, but if all the steps leading up to the outcome were done to the best of your ability, it is easy to maintain motivation in preparing for the next outcome goal.