I was recently reflecting on a comment that a client made to me. She mentioned that she felt like she wasn’t getting any stronger, despite our sessions together. Instead of getting defensive or making some kind of snide remark, I tried to think about what the real problem was. She was obviously frustrated because she didn’t feel like she was making progress, but why? Was she not consistent in her training? Not doing her homework when we weren’t together? Was it me? Unfortunately, the answer was yes- it was me.
It wasn’t until I really sat down to think about it, did I come to realize that I made a huge mistake when we began training together. When we first met, I went through my typical list of questions that I ask all my new clients: any medical conditions or injuries… previous exercise experiences….struggles, etc. We even went over her expectations of working with a personal trainer. These were all important pieces of information that I needed to make sure that we were both on the same page. 
Here’s where I made my mistake: I never asked her what her goals were or, more importantly, why they were her goals. We never discussed her timeline and whether her goals were realistic and attainable.
Anytime someone begins on a new journey, there needs to be an end goal; otherwise, how will you know when you reach it? It doesn’t matter what the goal is. It could be to lose weight, exercise more, eat healthier or even get more sleep. What ever it is, you must decide what the goal is and make it SMART- Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Reasonable and Time- sensitive. Let’s go over each of these.
Specific: Define exactly what it is that you want to accomplish. Do you want to lose 10 pounds? 50 pounds? Fit into jeans that are 2 sizes smaller? Complete a 5K? Participate in a Tough Mudder? What ever it is, you must be very specific. General goals like “lose weight” or “eater better” are not specific; it’s too easy to find excuses for goals like this.
Measurable: This ties into the making your goal specific. How will you tell if you are making progress to your goal? Are your clothes fitting looser? Can you run further or faster? Are you eating at home more? If you can’t measure it, then you aren’t making progress.
Attainable: This one can be hard, because sometimes our goals just aren’t possible. For example, if you are 6 feet tall, you will probably never weigh 100 pounds- at least not a healthy 100 pounds. If you travel 20 days a month, it is unlikely that you will be able to cook your own meals 90% of the time. When thinking about your goals, you simply just need to take the time to see if it is even possible to attain them.
Reasonable: Similar to making sure that your goals are attainable, you must make sure that they are reasonable. Is it reasonable to think you can lose 50 pounds in 20 days? I wish it were. Is it reasonable to think you can lose 5 pounds in 20 days? Absolutely! Thinking about whether your goal is reasonable can be a hard but eye-opening exercise. Most of want to reach our goal immediately. We want to be able to snap our fingers and without much effort, we have reached our goal. Which leads me to the next aspect of goal setting…
Time- specific: Giving yourself a time frame in which to reach your goals is not only a great way to keep yourself accountable but also a key step to make sure that you are continuing to make progress. Many times we have specific events that we are trying to get ready for, like a wedding or high school reunion. This makes having a time-specific goal very easy. However, most of us don’t have specific events to prepare for. Because of this, we are forced to really look at the other areas of goal setting (specific, attainable, reasonable). Can I lose 10 pounds over the next 3 months so that I am ready for swimsuit season? Can I get to bed by 9pm 5 out of 7 days a week?
And there you have it. The 5 steps process. Making SMART goals are a key part to getting where we want to go. Too often, we are impatient and want to be able to snap our fingers and POOF! We have reached our goals. Instead, goal setting and attainment is an exercise in patience and endurance. If we take the time to go through this process, then we have set ourselves up for success.