I really believe that to truly be effective in training, fitness, and nutrition, you need to have goals. Without goals, you have nothing to work towards, nothing to focus your attention on, no real rhyme or reason to what you’re doing. But goals can’t just be vague statements with no actual thought put into them. They need to have specific components to make sure that you can actually reach those goals and know exactly when you’ve done so.

Let’s look at an example:

Shittastic Goal:

I want to lose weight and be skinny.

Ok, so what? You want to shed three pounds? 10? 50? If you could lose five pounds, 10 years from now, would that make you happy? Would that be a goal successfully completed? Do you want to tone your muscles? Bench a certain number of pounds? Do you simply want to eat better? Be as specific as possible!

Awesome Goal:

I will lose five pounds in four weeks.

Now we’re talking. It’s specific (five pounds), timely (four weeks), attainable and realistic (depending on where you are in your fitness journey).

THIS is the type of goal that you can really focus on. The type of goal that when you reach it, you will know it, and you’ll be able to give yourself a big ol’ high five for doing so.

So, let's hear them! What are your short- and long-term goals? What are you hoping to accomplish?