You know, the ‘stumble around the gym, mosey-ing from exercise to another, hoping it’s going OK and you aren’t cocking it up’ kind of training?
Just like when you had one or seven (doubles) from the top shelf on an empty stomach kind of mosey-ing . . . where you think you are doing OK navigating the tables (you aren’t) and you are making complete sense (maybe in your head) . . .
Yes, training without purpose is the gym equivalent to drunk-training. Your body is there but what you are doing is all over the show, with no real purpose and not really achieving a hell of a lot.
So what is an intelligent person to do? Well, firstly train sober, and secondly train SMART. Go beyond the “I want to lose weight and tone up” half measure, which simultaneously means nothing and all sorts of things depending on who is doing the talking . . . maaaannn, if I had a dollar for every time I heard someone start off with that as their ‘so what do you want to achieve?’!!
SMART GOALS have been around for ages and can be utilised in life, business, school and in the gym. And while they are not the complete answer (members at CrossFit Horowhenua go through an additional process that significantly helps amp things up and keep them on the boil), anyone can utilise SMART training in terms of their exercise goals as well.
While there seem to be a few definitions of the SMART acronym floating around – the one I believe is most relevant is:
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Relevant
Has a Time Frame
Here’s an example that punches ‘I want to lose weight and tone up’ right out of the ring.
You are going to get SPECIFIC: I will go to CrossFit and do 30 Press Ups
It shall be MEASURABLE: I will go to class 3 x per week and 30 is a number so is measurable
It is ACHIEVABLE: 3 times a week fits your schedule, if you add 5 press ups a week 30 is most certainly do-able
It will be RELEVANT: Attending CrossFit and doing Press-Ups will definitely assist in moving you towards losing weight and toning up
You will give it a TIME FRAME: You will do this for the next 6 weeks until (from # until #) at which time you will reassess how often you go to class and change the specific exercise to another one you will focus on.
Boom! There you have it. Uncomplicated, has a short time frame that is easy to get your head around and all the thinking is done. All you have to do now is get your derriere down to CrossFit with your focussed, sensible training goal (believe me your coach will take care of the rest – no ‘drifting’ in a CrossFit class) . . .
But for now you may have a wine while you work on that SMART goal (only one mind, we don’t want drunk goal setting either)!