What should my goal be?

What should I be aiming for?

How do I know if I’m progressing?”

These are some of the more common questions my clients ask me – and I’m sure a lot of you have similar questions.

We all need some sort of measure of success to know that we’re making the best use of our time in the gym, and making every single calorie and macro count in order to reach our goals. A milestone, a marker – some kind of indicator that reinforces what we are doing and allows us to think, Hey, I’m on the right track – let’s keep this going!”
 

MEASURING SUCCESS

At times, nothing can be more motivating than seeing progress. On the flip side, nothing can be more discouraging than feeling you’re stalling, or worse – gulp – going backwards.

One of the most common measures of “success” has typically been … (drum roll) the body weight scale (ugh!).

In a black-and-white world, numbers going down on the scale typically means you’re succeeding, while numbers going up on the scale means you are failing. But this is a very old-school, outdated way of thinking in my opinion.

I cover why this is not necessarily the case in several past Tip Me Tuesdays, including Gaining Vs. Losing Part I and Gaining Vs. Losing Part II.

Because body-composition goals can take quite a long time to achieve, and because your body endures quite a few changes that can cause weight and measurements to fluctuate in ways we can’t quite understand, weighing and measuring your body isn’t always the most accurate indicator that you really are progressing towards your goals.

This is evident if you have participated in any of Nicole’s Transformation Challenges and are completely new to the required nutrition program and the strength training and cardio workouts outlined in the program. There is an adjustment period and your body will endure all sorts of changes while adapting to new demands being placed on it.
 

ACTION-FOCUSED RESULTS

Changes in body composition take a lot of effort and discipline over a long period of time. Seeing small results can be encouraging and motivating, but because of this, focusing on results may make you feel defeated and disappointed.

So, instead of focusing on results, shift your focus instead to the actions you need to take in order to see those results.

For example, instead of worrying so much about weighing and measuring yourself, shift your focus to weighing and measuring your food! Results come only from actions you’ve taken: getting your workouts in, grocery shopping, meal prep, food journaling, drinking water, getting plenty of rest and recovery, to name a few.

Here are steps you can take that focus on the actions, not results, of your progress. If you achieve these tasks, you know you will be successful!

1. Plan
Each week, make sure you have a game plan for what you need to do on a daily basis for that week in order to reach your goals. This means planning out your nutrition, workouts and cardio, prepping and weighing your meals ahead of time and making sure to map out your rest days.

2. Do It
Each day, do everything you can to reach each goal you’ve set for yourself for that particular day. Did you food journal? Did you get your workout in and push as hard as you could? Did you give that day your best? If so, you have achieved success!
 

“THE ACTION SANDWICH”

Your primary focus, energy and drive should be on the actions you take each day – not the results. Think of it as a sandwich: your actions are the “meat” of the sandwich between two slices of “plan” and “results.”

Let your plan guide you into action. By focusing on your actions and giving it your all, the results will come!
 
 
RELATED CONTENT
Tip Me Tuesday: Fight The Fear
Tip Me Tuesday: The 4 Cs
Tip Me Tuesday: Are You Really Hungry?
Tip Me Tuesday: My 45 Day Summer Abs Challenge Experience
Tip Me Tuesday: Gaining vs Losing Part II
Tip Me Tuesday: The Heart Of The Fitness Process

 

ABOUT NAOMI RABON
Naomi-lighterBIOOne of the trainers on Nicole’s elite NW Fitness Training Team, Naomi is a certified Personal Trainer and Fitness Specialist through the National Academy of Sports Medicine. She is a NPC Figure competitor who has been involved in the health and fitness industry for over 12 years.

Go here to find out more about training with the NW Fitness Training Team!