When we speak in terms of goals, we have long term goals and short term goals.Long term goals, of course, are the things that change and enrich our lives. They are typically measured in months, years, and ... in some cases ... decades.
Short term goals, on the other hand, are typically measured in weeks. With respect to fitness, 6 weeks is enough time to observe a measurable change in fitness levels, even if only marginal.
Things like increasing the total number of push ups you can do by one or two, or reducing your resting heart rate by a single beat per minute aren't life altering changes to your health and fitness, but they do matter enormously on a couple of levels.
For one, even those small changes require a diligent level of commitment to your training. You can't make progress without putting in the time. All progress, even a single added push up requires some effort.
But more important than that, these small, measurable, positive improvements bring us one step closer to what can sometimes seem like an intimidating long term goal.
Short term goals can be further broken down into weekly goals, daily goals, and, at the smallest possible measurable level, an individual exercise workout goal.
What, indeed, would you like to accomplish during your workout today!?
You'll come up with your own unique collection of inspiring workout objectives, but here's a small collection to start with. I have 7 ... one for each day of the week.
My only rule is that you can use each workout goal only once per week! (whether you use my suggestions or your own exercise goals).
1. Simply show up. My 4th grade math teacher used to tell us that 80% of your grade in life is just showing up! This is especially true for fitness programs. Simply packing your bag and getting to your workout is almost always the hardest part.
2. Try something new. Whether it's a new exercise, a new piece of equipment, or a different way of performing an exercise, try something you've never done before and concentrate on how it feels.
3. Work harder than on any other workout this week. Expect it to be uncomfortable, but take comfort in knowing that the hard work will pay off.
4. Spend some extra time stretching today to work on flexibility. Don't worry too much about exercise intensity, but instead, focus on complete range of motion and your breathing during exercise.
5. Focus on form and technique. Get a friend or your trainer to pay close attention to how you're using your body.
6. Fixed for time? Squeeze in an exercise quickie! Get it, keep moving, get in a few sets, and get out. All business, head down grind it out in half the time workout.
7. Complete some extra cardio today ... at least 60 minutes. Use this as a bit of extra calorie burning on a resistance training day, or your long slow cardio event.
