Goal Setting for Performance, Not Looks

Goal Setting for Performance, Not Looks

Here at Chicks Lift, our philosophy is about encouraging women to develop more meaningful/fun fitness goals. Whilst wanting to ‘lose 10kg’ is a valid and may be a necessary goal for you, what happens when you have achieved that goal? That’s when commonly we fall back into bad habits and the weight creeps back on. Then we have to do it all again.

Instead, we prefer performance based goals, for example, my goal is to achieve a chin up, unassisted! This requires me to improve my strength and fitness – which coupled with a healthy eating plan, should see me lose weight as a bi-product of this goal. But instead of getting complacent once I’ve reached my goal, performance aims have a way of motivating you to go further, and therefore continuing the good work. You essentially keep raising the bar.

So rather than focusing on ‘looks’ goals (i.e. I want to lose 5 kg, I want to look good naked, I want to gain muscle, I want to “tone”), instead focus on performance goals such as “I want to run 5km without stopping”, I want to master the deadlift and deadlift 120kg. These type of goals will see you focusing on something that is different from your own physical appearance, which we are rarely entirely happy with anyway, no matter where we end up on the scales. The physical changes will simply happen as a by-product of working towards our performance goals. How good is that?

Do you have a goal right now? If you don’t, how do you keep motivating yourself to get to the gym and exercise without one? Goals are crucial to progress and motivation. But they need to be broken down into small, achievable goals so that you have lots of little wins along the way.

There are three factors to consider when you start making your goals;

1. Why? Being able to answer this question in detail is key to finding your true motivators that will keep you focused. You need to know your real motivator and use it to remind yourself and drive the change. Simply stating ‘to get ripped’ is not strong enough to push you through the whole way. How about to get stronger so that I can play football with my teenage son for half an hour on the weekend? What are your key drivers?

2. Attitude. Life is a number of ups and downs and it is how we react to certain situations that ultimately shape us and see us to where we are. Being positive and shutting down negative talk and influences is important. Just like you need to feed your body with good food you need to feed your mind with positive and inspiring thoughts. Surround yourself with supporters, but ultimately it is you that needs to take responsibility for your actions and attitudes.

3. Discipline. This is about putting your plan into action and sustaining your efforts to achieve your goal and beyond. It depends on your actions, habits and perseverance.