I recently started working out again, and I thought I'd pass on something critical for people doing the fitness thing as well, or any sort of self-improvement stuff. I'm going to focus on the fitness aspect, but it's not too hard to extrapolate.

Often, when you ask someone what their goal is for their fitness program, they'll respond with something like "to get fit".

Fit for what?

The definition of "fit" varies depending on the person. Chances are, it's different for a Navy SEAL, olympic athlete, or someone who just wants to be able to walk across campus without losing their breath. The trouble with having a vague goal like "getting fit" is that you're less likely to stay on it, and it's harder to know when to up the intensity of your goal. (I want to get.. fitter? Than fit? ..Yeah.)

I was taught in KIN 143 to use "SMART" goal setting:

S - Specific: Instead of "I want to get fit", how about, "I want to improve to running my route in 20 minutes instead of 25", or "I want to increase my maximum weight lifted by 10%". Helps to keep it positive; stuff like "I need to lose 10 pounds" can be more of a hindrance than a help.

M - Measurable: Numbers are good. Instead of "I want to improve my strength", "I want to lift x lbs in x exercise"

A - Attainable: Pick an overall goal that is achievable. Becoming an olympic level marathon runner from a sedentary lifestyle in a month is an example of what wouldn't work.

R - Realistic: Sort of redundant, but I take the "R" as regarding the overall strategy to your goal. That is, pick an Achievable goal that can be reached with Realistic methods. So, working out 3 times a week for a beginner, for one hour each day, is realistic. 5 days a week for 3 hours each day is not.

T - Timely: Set deadlines/check points in terms of time for yourself. This gives you a clear target for your fitness program. For example, by the end of four weeks of my training program, I expect to see 10% increase in strength overall. If I beat that, great. If I beat it by a lot, I know to make the next goal harder.