Managing Expectations and Setting Attainable Goals

This can be a sensitive and somewhat confusing topic for the majority or people, me included. What is a good goal? How can making goals, both short and long term, help me progress? What is considered a "bad" or unrealistic goal?

The other day, I was having a conversation with a client when she asked me how often should we measure her bodyfat. I told her every 12 to 16 weeks should be sufficient to see any progress that has been made and allow the body to correct for any irregularities that may arise during the period. I explained that if you were to measure every two weeks, for example, that the numbers may not indicate progress even though it is being made.

Now this may not be what some people want to hear. Most people expect to go home after each training session and see a little bit more ab definition, but that is unrealistic for a multitude of reasons. One of the most important duties of a trainer is to have your clients set short term goals that can be reached within a few weeks and have them monitor progress off of cycles of short term successes that will eventually lead to long term goals being attained.

When you reach a goal of any kind, no matter how small, it builds confidence. The confidence to work harder, eat better, and most importantly, keep exercising. For example, I would not allow a client to set a goal of gaining 10 pounds of muscle in 2 weeks because I know that this goal cannot be attained no matter how hard they work. A failure to reach a goal can be extremely counter-productive and even cause some people to give up on exercising all together. Obviously, this is not what we want. If a trainer allows unrealistic goal setting to persist, he/she has failed their client, not the other way around.

Although everyone wants to see progress fast and we live in a "give me now!" society, body composition and physiology can be the ultimate humblers as they are a test of patience and will power like nothing else. Those that can monitor their expectations and and work off of short-term successes will be the ones who have long-term positive changes. Remember, every 500 pound bench press started with a 200 pound PR, and every 5% bodyfat fitness model once dieted their ass off just to get under 10%. Fitness lifestyles do not discriminate by body type or genetic makeup. Those that have sustained successes from the beginning will be the ones who stick around for the long haul.

-Coach Bryce