Hi guys, Kris from Custom Fitness here, your personal trainer in Amarillo. Today I am going to share a secret with you that some of the most successful, one-percent, people utilize to achieve what they most desired: Brad Pitt, Michael Jordan, President JFK, Muhammad Ali, and even Bill Gates. If you want other tips or would like a chance to put this secret to work, give us a call and we’d be happy to set up a consultation: 806-322-3188.
Unless you shape your life/health, circumstances will shape it for you.
Achieving the health and body you want requires work, sacrifice, investment, and persistence. Those things are tough, I’ll be honest. Sometimes just the thought of how work someone is going to have to do is enough to scare them away. Unfortunately, those same people will look back months, (days, years) later and wish they had just tried.
How many times in your life have you not done something because it wasn’t the right time? Or you didn’t have enough money? Or you felt like it’d be awkward? Too many times, I bet. Our minds are great at coming up with excuses to get out of doing something tough. If you take the one-percent approach (yes, we’ll get to it) you can put those excuses to bed and feel satisfied at the end of the day.
In my career as a personal trainer in Amarillo, I always ask clients what they want to get out of our sessions. Most people don’t ever bother going beyond the surface when it comes to explaining why they are here. They will ramble off these vague goals like: I want to lose weight, I want to feel better, I want to gain muscle, etc. are surface goals. Hard to measure progress on something so subjective, right?
I want you to take a deep breath, quiet your mind, and think. What do you really want for your health? What EXACTLY are your goals and WHY do you REALLY want to reach them?
Here is the secret…ready? To make those goals happen:
Write them down.
Only three percent of people have written goals and only one percent review those written goals daily.
Be a ‘One-Percenter.’
There’s no sense in working harder if that work isn’t moving you in the direction you want to go.
Of that one-percent, most people use a technique called S.M.A.R.T. goals to help further sift through their vision. I find having clients follow this same procedure in order to have them and my team have a mutually understanding of the expectations.
Let’s take the example above, “I want to lose weight”, and work it through SMART:
S – Specific
You have to be specific when you are writing out your vision. It should answer the questions “how”, “what” or “Why”.
Example: I am going to lose weight for my vacation so I can wear my favorite swimsuit.
That answers the ‘why’ question. Good.
M – Measurable
To keep moving forward we as humans need to see progress, thus our goals must be measurable. Having evidence that we are on our way to success, will propel us to continue improving ourselves. Typically this is something you can read and say “did it happen?” Yes or no. That’s measurable.
Example: I am going to lose 50 lbs. for my vacation, so I can wear my favorite swimsuit.
We can look at this goal and look at ourselves in the mirror in our swimsuit and decide if we did or did not meet our goal.
A – Achievable
Is this goal actually doable? At Custom Fitness we like to hear goals that will stretch you as a person and will challenge what you once thought you knew about yourself. We want to make you stronger and better, but we do it with small changes over a long period of time.
Example: I am going to lose 50 lbs. for my vacation so I can wear my favorite swimsuit.
Now, depending on how early you set this goal, 50 lbs could be tough, but achievable. However, if you’re reading this 2 months before boarding your plane, losing 50 lbs is not safe nor healthy, so it’s not achievable. Let’s say, the achievable goal for someone starting in May would 8 lbs.
R – Relevant
Your goal has to have a real life application. Sometimes we are swayed by the images we see in marketing campaigns and think, “Oh, I need to look like that.” PFFFFT. No you don’t. You need to look how you want to achieve the things you want to do. If I want to hike a mountain summit, my body is not going to look the same as a prima ballerina. The muscles are trained differently, but that isn’t going to make my success any less worthy.
Following others won’t always get you to where you are wanting to go which is why it’s so important to have a plan that is unique to you, your body and your situation.
Example: I am going to lose 50 lbs. for my vacation so I can wear my favorite swimsuit while I swim in the blue waters of the Bahamas.
Cool! You want to swim and wear a swimsuit that’s been gathering dust in your closet. Now I am getting a picture of what exactly we need to do to get you to that goal.
T – Time
Goals need to have a deadline. They give you a sense of urgency and help keep the small milestones that need to be reached as a priority in your mind. We need to have a finish line to cross or know when the end is getting near — that all the hard work is paying off.
Example: By June 15th, 2017 I am going to lose 50 lbs. for my vacation so I can wear my favorite swimsuit while I swim in the blue waters of the Bahamas.
Do you see how when you read the final goal, it is so much more visual than “I want to lose weight?” Have a picture in your head is really going to help motivate you when the times get tough and your brain starts telling your body…”No just stay in and eat that extra cookie, no one needs to know.” Your goals will.
Becoming part of the one-percent isn’t hard, but you must have the self-confidence to challenge your current situation. I’m convinced that if the want is big enough, you can do almost anything. As always, if you have any questions about our personal training, nutrition counseling, or group classes and programs, please contact us at: info@customfitness.biz or 806-322-3188. At Custom Fitness we are YOUR personal trainers in Amarillo, Texas. Have a great day everybody and good luck with your smart goals.