There’s a prize for the best answer to this question, so leave a comment and let me know your top health & fitness goals for this year.
The prize for the best comment (the judge’s decision is final!) is a £5 coin, produced by the Royal Mint, to mark the countdown to the London 2012 Olympics. It’s in mint condition, in its original presentation packaging. Comments by the end of June 2011 please.
The most effective set of goals include both short term and long term goals. So for example if you want to lose a stone, your short term goal could be to lose 1lb a week, and your long term goal to reach a certain specific weight by the end of this year.
It also helps to have a mixture of input goals (eg- go to gym 3 times a week) as well as outcome goals (eg – reduce your body fat percentage to 14% if you’re a man, or 24% of you’re a woman, for example).
And make sure you include a nutrition goal, because you can’t out-train a bad diet! It might be to kick the habit of fizzy drinks, or salt in food, or sugar in tea, or drink less alcohol, or a combination of all these things.
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Don’t limit your goals to just weight loss. You might want to change your body shape, become more flexible, be able to run for 20 minutes without difficulty, gain more energy, recover from an injury, reach a certain level in your favourite sport.
improve your sports skills
Whatever your goals for 2011, share them in the comments below!
17 Comments
To take time to dance like a dervish! In other words to make magic moments where one realises how wonderful it is to be alive; to celebrate those, building a type of rapture and happiness that can be shared.
best D
hi David – great comment, getting the most out of life is the best goal I can think of. And physical fitness, good health, and mental health too, are all crucial to getting the most out of life.
After losing lots of weight (thanks to Dom as my trainer), running three marathons and seven half marathons I’ve decided to change my goal for 2011. I ride 19 miles to work every day but that started to get boring so I set the goal of cycling from London to Weymouth with an overnight stay. The thing with goals is they don’t thrive unless exposed to light. So I told my mother (I’m a good Jewish boy) and my partner (who thought I’d never complete a marathon) and colleagues. So long term goal established. Then I thought about the short term. Some training might be a good idea. So I’m doing sixty miles and back this Thursday to East Sussex. As for dietary goals, plenty of fresh produce from my garden (no organic Spanish cucumbers for me). And another goal? Plenty of deep massages to relieve the stress of all of the above. Keep up the good work, Dom. You’re an inspiration. Alan
Thanks Alan – keep up the good work. After all those marathons, it’s a great idea to switch to another form of exercise for a while, and cycling is a great choice. Keeps the body challenged in a different way, and avoids over-use injuries that people often get if they stick to just one form of exercise.
I have the goal to lose fat round my stomach and waist area, and to get more muscle. Not so much to lose overall weight, more to change from fat to muscle. My face also I want to look leaner and more defined. To be honest I think it is the change in my eating as much as exercise that will do it. So that means less sausages, salami, wine, beer, and more vegetables! I can’t afford a personal trainer but I use this Fitness 4 London site for ideas to do exercise at home and out in teh park.
hi Paulo – it’s great to hear you make good use of Fitness4London.com for exercise tips. Good luck with your fitness goals, and keep eating healthily.
hi….such a great idea to keep fit and healthy.like your advice and all coment.best of luck.
hi Rohan – glad to hear you’re liking the site, so what are your fitness goals for 2011?
Running an Half-Ironman this fall. No idea how I’m going to do it, but it’s not impossible 🙂
Half-Ironman sounds gruelling, but knowing your track record of crushing various physical challenges (such as your 100 pushups!) you’ll do great.
Exercise is becoming increasingly important to me, but it’s not about the typical weight or fitness goals. It’s actually about mental focus. The resistance training you get from physical exercise is great for honing your ability to focus on other activities / goals as well. You get more energy, intensity, discipline, self confidence, vitality. That’s really all I care about. I try to push myself to do a little bit more than last time; but I don’t really know how far I run. If I get into the zone where failure is a possibility, and push through it anyway—I feel like I grew.
So true, the benefits of exercise carry over into other areas of life. It’s a great feeling to push yourself beyond your previous best, and this gives you the confidence to excel in other goals.
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I am turning the big 4-0 this year and my goal is to basically maintain the same quality of life that I have been able to do these past 40 years. To be able to still run, jump, play sports, and other fun activities is great for me and hopefully an inspiration to my clients about what is possible with health and fitness.
hi Adam – it’s impressive to be still in peak fitness at 40, sounds like you’re a good role model for your personal training clients. Most people give up after 40 and assume it’s an inevitable physical decline from then on. Nothing is further from the truth!
My goal used to be still being alive at the end of 2011 but since I installed a full length mirror in the bath and got a good look at myself, I am determined to get down to 85 kilos, a weight I have not been for at last 30 years. I already lost 5 of the nasty things with encouragement from the looks Dom gives me each time we pass.
Great comment – you’re doing well Bill – mirror motivation is powerful!