We begin the year full of confidence, ready to smash our goals! Unfortunately, however, many will slowly lose this motivation and forget the goals they set in place after only a short time into the year. I want to teach you girls how to set realistic goals that you can stick to!

When it comes to goal setting, I like to follow the S.M.A.R.T acronym!

Get SPECIFIC

Really try to pinpoint exactly what you want. ‘I want to get fit and healthy’ is a great start, but what are you going to do to get fit and healthy? Write down a gym schedule, get an activity tracker and stick to a meal plan that includes heaps of micronutrients! My 8-week programs provide both training and meal plans that are specific to your body goals so they are a great place to start!

Examples of specific goals –

• Make training a part of my lifestyle! This can be at the gym or at home, but it will be a specific amount of days per week.
• Improve my running time over 5km
• Decrease my body fat levels by 1-3%
• Increase my squat, deadlift, bench and chin-up PRs
• Learn the basics of all the key lifts by following a consistent program or getting coaching
• Increase my daily fruit and vegetable intake to 5 serves of veg and 2 serves of fruit
• Learn to do a chin-up unassisted!

Make it MEASURABLE

Once you have your specific goal, how are you going to measure it? If your goal is to be fitter and stronger this year, then it could be a great idea to do a fitness test at the start and end! Test your cardiovascular fitness and any lifts that you want to improve, then set a specific number that you want to improve your results by. Keep reminding yourself of these numbers and working towards them to stay motivated throughout the year!

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Keep it ACHIEVABLE

Put your goals into perspective and really think about whether it is possible for you to achieve them. If you have one huge goal, for example buying a house, then maybe break it down to something that you can actually achieve within the year or a specified time period. Aim to save a certain amount of money towards the house instead! If we set huge and unrealistic goals, then we are less likely to continue working towards them, when we realise it may not be achievable within the year.

Ensure your goal is RELEVANT

Does your goal align with your lifestyle and priorities? If you set a goal to hit the gym 5 days per week, but you also want to study full time and work enough hours to save a certain amount of money, then it may be time to prioritise your goals. Which is the most important to you in the next 12 months? Decide this and then adjust your goals accordingly, so that they all remain achievable.

What is the TIME FRAME?

You have completed the first 4 steps of your SMART goals. Now you need to put a time frame on them so that you can work backward from that. Have the end date close enough that it stays at the top of your mind and you don’t lose motivation, but also give yourself enough time to actually complete it. If your time frame is the entire year, then I would suggest setting mini-goals and milestones throughout the year to keep you on track. I have been competing for years, so this has been a really good way to set specific time frames and achievable targets. I have my competition dates locked in months in advance and I am able to plan my year around these dates.

This goal setting method is tried and tested and effective when implemented. I want you girls to create goals that are setting you up for SUCCESS! The best way to dial in this process is to take some time out to think about your goals, write them down on paper, and display them around your office or home to keep it at the forefront of your mind.

One of the most important factors of setting goals is believing that you will be able to achieve them, and you always have the power to adapt to your circumstances. Life is going to constantly through obstacles at you, there will never be the “perfect” time to achieve certain goals. When you set out to achieve a target be prepared for the fact that you might need to navigate around blockers. I cannot tell you how many times I have set out for a big picture goal and be thrown a curveball. But the difference is that I don’t give up on achieving this goal, I adapt to my circumstances and overcome it. This is exactly what I mentor my #LSFbabes on as well, not only overcoming physical blockers and achieving the extraordinary but also mentally completely changing the game.

So if you are more ready than ever, let’s make this year a goal-crushing one to remember!