The American Council on Exercise says set goals according to the "SMART" method. Make them specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound. Without setting goals that adhere to these guidelines, you likely will lose sight of your prize, remaining unable to track or monitor your progress toward your goal. For instance, rather than setting the goal, "I want to lose weight," make it SMART by saying, "I want to lose five pounds in a month." Although long-term goals help determine a "finish line" of sorts, the book "Psychological Dynamics of Sport and Exercise" emphasizes the need to set short-term goals to provide yourself with feedback, keep on target and allow for ongoing goal adjustment.
Cardiovascular Exercise
You can easily set short-term cardiovascular goals. Start with what you know about yourself: your current fitness level, your current exercise schedule and your long-term goals for cardiovascular fitness. If you currently don't exercise but in the long term you would like to walk in a 5k race, you can formulate your short-term goal. For instance, you might want to walk for 15 minutes at a time, three days this week. At the end of the week, you can look at your progress and decide to increase your work. Then make adjustments to your next short-term goal, keeping your long-term goal in mind.
Strength Training
Short term strength-training goals can help you start a workout program or guide you to increase your overall muscular strength or endurance. Depending on what your long-term goals include, you might want to simply start lifting weights twice a week for 20 minutes, or you might want to increase the load on the weights by five pounds this week. Set a deadline for tracking purposes, and make your goals specific, measurable, attainable and relevant. If your long-term goals include increasing upper-body strength, you don't want your short-term goal to ignore upper-body strength-training exercises. If it did, your goal wouldn't be relevant. You also want to make sure you don't bite off more than you can chew. If you haven't weight-trained in years, setting a goal to strength train for two hours a day, seven days a week probably isn't attainable.
Flexibility
Flexibility often is an overlooked component of fitness, but it's one that significantly affects health and well-being. If you would like to increase flexibility in your hamstrings and lower back to decrease back pain, your short-term goal might include stretching your legs and back for five minutes a day for a week. This goal is SMART. It is specific, it is easily measured, it is attainable and relevant and it is time-bound. After a week, you will know exactly where you stand in relation to this goal.
References
- ACE: Reaching Your Goals the SMART Way
- ACSM: Realistic Goal Setting Helps People Stick With Exercise
- "Psychological Dynamics of Sport and Exercise, Third Edition"; Diane L. Gill and Lavon Williams; 2008
