Goal Setting

In my experience, the most important aspect of fitness is not the balance between aerobic and anaerobic exercises; the perfect balance of carbohydrates, proteins and fats; nor the number of repetitions to complete with each exercise. The most important ingredient in a healthy and fit lifestyle is setting proper goals.

Proper goals should be divided and subdivided in to long-term and short-term goals. We all do this daily without much thought.

A good example would be grocery shopping. When we go shopping, our first goal is to arrive at the store. Our next goal would be gathering each item on our grocery list. After placing each item in to our basket, we would make our way to the cashier. We pay for our groceries and make our way home.  Our short-term goals were arriving the store, gathering each item on our list, and paying the cashier for our groceries. Our long term goal was to complete our grocery list and return home. 

Another great example is reading a book. We don't consciously make these goals, but they are made regardless. Our first short term goal in reading a book is to reach the end of page 1. Once we've reached the end of the page we begin page 2. We basically wash, rinse, and repeat this with each consecutive page until we reach the end of the first chapter. Once again repeat with chapter after chapter until finally reaching the end of the book. Mission Accomplished! Not only did we complete our goal but we also received hours of entertainment, or loads of knowledge(depending on the type of book).

Goal setting is extremely important in fitness. Without goals, we would have nothing to determine our diet, exercise routines, or expectations of our results. Why would we even bother if we were not receiving results. That's why we exercise in the first place, Right?