Setting SMART Goals for a healthy body and mind.
Setting a SMART goal gives you a plan, creates motivation and allows you to track your progress throughout.
SMART stands for:
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant
Time specific
Let’s break this down step by step and see how we can set goals we know we can achieve.
1. Specific
Once you have a general goal outlined e.g. I want to squat a heavy weight for 1x rep. You want to break it down and get specific with exactly what you want.
Some great questions to ask yourself at this time include:
What exactly do I want to achieve?
Where will I achieve this goal?
Who is involved in this goal?
Why do I want to achieve this goal?
How will I achieve this goal?
Now you can make your goal more specific…
“I want to squat 100kg at my gym without a spotter to prove to myself that I can do it.”
2. Measurable
Set out some criteria for your goal so you are able to track your progress. This will ensure you know if you are working towards your goal and if/when you have reached it.
Ask yourself: “What is the indicator of my progress?”
Some easy ways to track your goal, depending on what it is, could be to:
Track weight on a google sheets document or on your phone
Track your steps with a pedometer
Write down the amount of water you drink per day
Measuring your goal will also keep you motivated as you can physically see progress happening however you decide to measure it.
Example Continued:
“I want to squat 100kg for 1x rep at my gym without a spotter to prove to myself that I can do it. I will measure how much I squat each session and aim to increase the weight as often as I can.”
3. Attainable
Now it is time to see if your goal is acceptable for you. Look into your current resources and see if your goal can be achieved. This means looking into the effort, time & cost involved.
If you are missing something to help achieve your goal, what are you missing? Can it be obtained? If not, look at aligning a goal that is attainable for you. This also means your goal is within reason. You will not squat 100kg in a month if you have never squatted before. However, squatting 100kg in a year or so would be more attainable.
example Continued:
“I would not be able to set the goal of squatting 100kg if I did not have access to the right equipment and if it wasn’t a priority for me.”
4. Relevant
You must take a hard look at yourself and be honest with yourself.
Is your goal relevant to you?
Is it high on your priority list?
Do you really want this goal?
Are you willing to give up 30 minutes of Netflix to go and train your squat?
Ensuring your goal is relevant to you and aligns with your personal values is important as it will mean you will go after this goal with an internal drive.
5. Time Specific
Your goal must include deadlines. Make sure your deadlines are realistic and can be flexible to a degree. Ensure your goal has a start and finish date/time. This attaches a sense of urgency to your goal and can help keep you motivated.
Ask yourself: When do I want to achieve this goal?
Off the back of the last blog post – Short Term Goals to Reach Long Term Success. Another thing I will add that isn’t necessarily part of the SMART process. Creating smaller goals within your big goal to help keep you on track with progress and help motivate you.
our final example goal:
“I want to squat 100kg at my gym without a spotter to prove to myself that I can do it. I will measure how much I squat each session and aim to increase the weight as often as I can. I will start Monday 1st September on a squat specific program with my coach. My current squat is 80kg and I aim to be squatting 100kg for 1x rep by December 24th as an early Christmas present to myself.”
Finally, once you’ve achieved your SMART goal, try setting a few smaller goals.
For Example:
“Add 2.5kg to my squat each week for 3 weeks before having a deload week.”
This goal is specific to the individual and outlines what the goal is, who is involved, why they want to achieve it, how they will achieve it and when they will achieve it by.