Goal Setting When Constructing A Cycle

[maki riddington]

TweetOften times trainees lose sight of what is realistic when in the midst of constructing a cycle. They feel powerful and their motivations levels carry them away. When constructing any kind of program, whether it is nutritional, training or anabolics people should try to follow certain steps so that the goals that are set will be met and disspointment and falling off course will be minimized.

Here is an article I wrote on goal setting.


What are your goals ?

"Vision without action is a dream. Action without vision is aimless. Vision with action will achieve" --Anonymous

Is it time for a change, to get in shape or to maybe lose some weight? We all have desires and dreams we hope to achieve in life. These raise some specific questions: do you really know what you want? are you really serious? how much of an effort are you willing to make? what are you willing to give up in order to achieve what you want?

To accomplish the task you¹ve set for yourself, you¹ve got to be prepared. But are your goals really goals or are they just vague, general reminders of something you¹d like to accomplish?

What is a Goal?

"It's a dream until you write it down, and then it's a goal"
-- Anonymous

A Definition of "Goal": The final purpose or aim; the end to which a design tends, or which a person aims to reach or attain. The object of a person¹s ambition or effort.

Based on this definition everyone has goals, but as I've already suggested, there¹s a difference between goals and dreams or aspirations.

I've found the following 6 steps to be effective in determining if one's goals are really goals in the true sense of the word.

Step 1

A goal must be in writing otherwise it's just out there floating around in mental space with all that other stuff. It might be a wish or a dream, but it's certainly not a goal and, most likely, it's not going to happen anytime soon.

Step 2

A goal must be specific and measurable."I want to get into shape" just doesn't cut it as a goal. It's not specific enough. Wanting to run 3 miles in 30 minutes would be more along the lines of something tangible. In order for a goal to be specific it must be quantifiable so you can watch the stages in your progress.

Step 3

A goal must have some sort of personal meaning to it. To simply want to have a 6% body fat percentage by July 1st so you can turn some heads at the beach come summer, has no sort of real value. Now, if you said you wanted 6% body fat for your next competition which takes place in July, then it would be part of your long-range objective to become a champion BB (bodybuilder). It has some value since you¹ll be rewarded above and beyond your ego.

Step 4

Is your goal challenging? If it isn't, then when you achieve it, there¹s a good chance it will be soon forgotten. Using the 6% BF example, if your already at 7% and your goal is to get down to 6% over 6 months, that's not much of a challenge. It¹s better to aim for the stars and then fall on the mountain peaks!

Step 5

Do you have a completion date? Usually it is time that creates the pressure to get a job done. If you¹re not sure, base your completion date on what you¹ve learned from past experience.

Step 6

You must be positive about the goal you¹ve set out to accomplish. "Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal-- nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong attitude" -- Thomas J.

Arming Yourself

Everybody needs to equip themselves with the proper psychological tools as they take their trek towards conquering goals.


Imagine

Can you picture yourself achieving your goal? If you can't, chances are you've already lost!


Visualize

"I'll believe it when I see it." Every time I hear this comment, it makes me want to work harder. Find a quiet place each day, and visualize your goal while sitting there (I know it sounds silly but don't underestimate the power of visualization). There have been studies done in which coaches have had athletes visualize their performance before actually performing it, and the results were astounding. Sometimes I like to load the bar up on the squat rack with the weight that¹s my long term goal. I then unrack it and stand there visualizing myself going through the movement.(I usually do this during a quiet period in the gym, in hopes that I won't look like too much of a weirdo). I know that the goal-reaching day will come.Clearing your head of self-doubt makes your journey so much easier.

Modeling

Find someone who has accomplished goals similar to your own. See how they reached them and what steps they took in the process. I believe Michael Jordan to be a fine example of a goal-setter model. At a young age he was denied the privilege of playing for his high school basketball team. Instead of simply accepting this failure he set goals and took immediate action to achieve them. Next season, he made the team. The moral of the story? To get to where you want to go, set up more than one goal. Have a long-term target and then break it down into steps.

"The most successful people are those who understand the power of chunking; who don't bite off more than they can chew." -- Anthony Robbins

Someone once said to me,"How do you eat a elephant? One bite at a time." No matter how large your objective, if you break your goals down into bite-size chunks they'll lead to ultimate success. And your success, of course, will always depend on how consistent you are at doing your best to meet your goals.

As William Earnest Henley, the poet, once said "I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul."

It's up to you. Don't wait! Set your goals now!

Written by Maki Riddington.


References

1. Staley C .; "Goal Setting,"

[NeverSatisfied]

Tweetgood stuff maki. i am going to interpret this into my cutting diet

[BossDJ02]

Tweetgood read