Fitness Goals - The Long & The Short of It

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

06 Jul 2006 05:04 AM

We talked about stimulating your routines yesterday so we can get out of the mid-summer fitness slump. Today, we're going to discuss our fitness goals. We do monthly check ups here and we've even set up a month long exercise regimen with our Spring Forward to Action Challenge. In August, I'd like to host a back to school challenge and invite readers to post their goals, stories and successes - but let's do this one-month at a time.

Take some time today to evaluate your personal fitness goals. We begin by throwing out the expectations of others. If you've been away from your fitness regimen or program for some time - then go ahead and get an appointment your physician and get a physical. It's always a good plan to design your goals around what you know. Be sure to ask the physician if there are any exercises you should avoid and if you have bad joints, if they can recommend any.

If you can afford it and you've been doing the same routine for a while or you are looking to get started again - consider contacting a personal trainer online or off - and consulting them about designing a program for you. There are lots of opportunities out there including PUSHtv, Fusion Fitness, Trainer to Go and more. If you'd rather do it on your own - then you need to plan accordingly.

Set Long-Term Goals

We need to set our long-term goals that we can achieve in the next three to six months. Perhaps you'd like to go on a hike in six months or you'd like to participate in a marathon. Whatever your goal is - you need to establish it in order to design the framework for the rest of the goals you will work on in the short term and the immediate.

My long-term goal is to be in the right shape to handle a fifteen-mile walking event by January. The fifteen-mile is a rather generic number, I know of at least two 10-mile walks that will happen in January, but I want to be able to push a little further. If I can complete one or both, I'd like to use my fitness to raise money for some good causes such as the Breast Cancer Walk for Awareness or the Breast Cancer 3 Day and more.

To do this - I need to lose about 5 percent of my body fat by January and walk a mile in 15 minutes or less. This would give me 3 to 4 hours to complete my 15-mile walk.

So my long-term goals are:

• Lose 5 percent of my body fat
• Walk a 15 Minute Mile
• Be ready to walk a 15 mile marathon in 6 months

In order to achieve my long-term goals, I need to work on my short-term goals. So my short-term goals are going to be:

• Walk 60 minutes a day on the treadmill 4 times per week
• Walk 60 minutes out doors 2 times per week
• Utilize weight training twice a week to improve my muscle strength and endurance as well as to help burn more calories
• Use Yoga to promote flexibility and stretching - perform it 15 to 20 minutes every other day
• Time my 1 mile walk and improve it by 30 seconds or more.

Yes, my short-term goals are a great deal more detailed and they are ambitious. But my workout program and current level of fitness makes this plan doable. I've been at this level before and it's just a matter of setting the pace and maintaining it.

My Immediate Goals:

These are the goals that I plan to do right now in the next day or two:

• Perform a 30 minute walk on the treadmill this morning and 30 minutes in the evening
• Stretch out both before and after the walk
• Weight train for fifteen minutes, specifically targeting large muscle groups

When you figure out your long-term, short-term and immediate goals - you design a road map that makes deciding what exercises you want to do and plan to do easier. It also takes the guesswork out of where to start when you get to the gym.

For me personally, I like being able to mark things off as done on my list of things to do as done - I get a great deal of personal satisfaction. What are your long-term, short-term and immediate goals?

Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

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