Happy 2011!

So here we are in 2011. What are everyone's goals for the upcoming year? I have been thinking about what I'm going to have for mine for a little while and what I've realised is you have got  to be specific. No point in saying, "I'm gonna work out more," or "I'm gonna eat me less crappy food." Nope, no point at all!
These are just too general, do 1 more workout, eat 1 less deep fried Mars bar (honest, such a thing does exist here in Scotland, although mostly in Glasgow - the west coast heathens!) and you have achieved your resolutions. Congratulations. You are still out of shape and overweight!

Then you have to be realistic. "I'm going to get my bench up to 350lbs!"  "I'm gonna never eat anything bad for me ever ever again."
Great, brilliant planning. If your bench is 280 now, then 350 is an achievable target. If you are currently weigh 10st soaking wet and struggle with the bar for 5 reps, then maybe, just maybe, 350 is a teeny tiny bit unrealistic. As for never eating anything unhealthy again, everyone has slip ups, cheat days etc but improving your diet to include more fruit and veg, more wholegrain fibre, less refined sugars etc will be much easier done in stages.

As for my own goals, well here they are:
1. Complete my Personal Training course, should be done by April of this year. I'll be assessing what still is outstanding and setting target dates for each assessment to be completed by.
2. Get up earlier everyday. I've got lots I want to do and since I can't add more hours to the day, then I have to use what is available a little more wisely. ( I have a couple of time management books, but cant seem to find the time to read them!)
3. I'm gonna get 150 (min) workouts done this year. That is 2.88 per week. so I can have 6 weeks with 2 workouts if I dont get them all in. Anything on top of the 150 will be a bonus, and I'll feel a little bit warmer and fuzzier on the inside with every extra one I get!
4. Eat cleaner. I'm going to make a real effort to prepare food in advance to make it easier to not go for the easy crappy option on the run. This will be a tougher one (see No. 2 above!) My initial goal is to consume more fruit and veg and cut down refined sugar and cut out Cokes.
5. Quit my current job! I hate retail, with a passion. That's not to say I don't work hard, I do. But I hate it. Its soul destroying, repetitive, unrewarding and, well I could go on but I think you get my point! Once qualified, the job search to get into a gym begins. I've got a couple of good contacts so that should make things a little easier. I also will be starting to take on my own clients and developing my own Personal Training business. I have a bit of time on this front so I'll be looking at the goal setting etc for this through the first half of the year.


So, there they are. My goals for the year, only 5 of them, but thats not to say there won't be more added. As I work towards each, ticking off the workouts, getting more done, quitting my job, targets will evolve. So as you work towards your goals, re-assess them and keep progressing and pushing your boundaries a little further one step at a time. You can do it.

To finish this post, a few quotes to hopefully inspire you towards what you want to achieve...

"A goal properly set is halfway reached," - Zig Ziglar

"Ask yourself this question: Does this activity move me closer to where I want to be or farther away?" - Larry Winget

“A goal without an action plan is a daydream” – Nathaniel Branden

And finally, “Do or do not. There is no try.” – Yoda

I would love to hear anyone else goals for 2011, I hope you achieve them all!


You can also check out my Twitter feed at B_Fast (http://twitter.com/#!/b_fast)