SMART Goal Setting

As personal trainers, we encourage our clients to list/write down their fitness goals. We help them get on the road, and go alongside them throughout the journey. But what about us trainers? Do we spend time considering our own fitness goals? Do we have enough personal motivation to keep our eye on the prize? The truth is: without a specific goal, there is no prize to eye.

I, myself had not set a specific goal since I determined to lose all of my pregnancy weight (and then some) in 2006. I knew I could accomplish a weight loss transformation - so this time around I wanted to do something different.

In the past I had trained for triathalons by increasing my cardiovascular endurance, building muscle mass, and revising my eating plan to a healthier one. Years of this kind of living left me with a relatively constant or maintained physique. And up until this past summer, I felt pretty happy with the way I was. But then I got itchy to take it to the next level. I knew that unless I DEFINED what that meant - wrote it down, said it out loud, and committed to it, that I would achieve a half baked result. "What I need" I thought, "is a SPECIFIC, MEASURABLE goal that I can ACHIEVE over TIME". So I came up with the idea of modeling in a fitness photo shoot - so that I might look back one day, maybe with a grandchild on my knee - and illustrate in living colour the importance of SMART goal setting for a young women.

With my idea firmly in place, I created a three-month plan that determined my meals, specified my workouts, and challenged me to work my butt off every day!

Well, it wasn't easy of course, and there were days when I really wanted to sit back and just have a couple glasses of wine! In order to get through those days however, I kept thinking about my goal and how good I wanted to look in those pictures. When the day of the shoot came, I was really excited. I had lowered my body fat to 16% and had muscle definition in places that I'd never had before in my whole life! It was exceptionally satisfying to see the success of the pictures. It is also a forever reminder of how hard work is rewarded.



There is no feeling in the world like achieving a goal. Short, long, small or large it keeps you constantly motivated. It also gives you a feeling of accomplishment and boosts your self confidence. Achieving this goal for myself has motivated me to reach higher and dream bigger.

I challenge all of you reading this right now to take out a piece of paper and write down five goals you'd like to achieve in the next year. I hope that one of them, is to live a healthier lifestyle.

Theresa Browne is a Spa Lady Personal Trainer and Nutrition and Wellness Specialist. To view her profile or book a FREE goal setting consultation, click HERE.