Athlete's Diary

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Do You Want 6 Pack Abs, Heavier Lifts? Or Both?

We've hosted lots of awesome Zoom Chats with our athletes in the past year, and one of the main topics was Goal Setting, creating a system to reach your goals, understanding the purpose behind them, and seeking motivation to reach them. ⠀

It was interesting to see our athlete's different perspectives about their goals, unlocking new goals, letting go of old ones, and focusing on realistic ones. What was more interesting is how we came to realize that many of our athletes’ goals are influenced by various external factors that made them question… “Am I doing what I really want? Is this really my goal?”

  • We want to look good, but we also want to perform better.

  • We want to squat heavy, but we also don’t want our legs to get too big,

  • We want to improve our gymnastics skills, but we also don’t want muscular arms.

  • We want to increase our stamina and endurance, but we are also afraid of losing our strength.

Sounds relatable? THAT’S NORMAL. We are all in the same boat. Athletes, recreational athletes, coaches, etc… We’re not going to be dishonest by telling you that you can achieve all your goals at the same time. Every goal has its journey, and it’s important to identify your goals and understand the purpose behind them. So how can you know if your goals are really yours?

Identifying Your Goals

3 Words: Realistic, measurable and specific. Yea it may be awesome to have a coach tell you that he/she can make you shredded, gain muscle, run faster, lift heavier, and also walk on your hands. But, too many goals that do not align with each other will result into slow progress, stress, frustration and demotivation. Narrow down your goals, and work towards optimizing the results.

Is Your Goal Yours?

After you’ve identified your goal, make sure you understand that your goals are yours. Ask yourself these questions:

  • Are you influenced by the social media accounts you follow?

  • Are you pressured by your environment to perform or look a certain way?

Sometimes, we find ourselves super comfortable with what we are doing and how we look, but environment, friends, family and social media may start making you feel weird or uncomfortable with yourself. It can be difficult to tell the difference between something we want for ourselves and something our friends and family want for us. However, you must keep in mind that many suggestions are given out of love or fear, but lack the big picture of what you want for yourself.

What is Your Why?

Now that you have identified your goal, and assured that this goal is yours, it’s time to find purpose behind your goal. Ask yourself these questions before taking action:

  • What is your Why?

  • Why do you want to train a certain why or look a certain way? What is the purpose behind it?

  • How will reaching that goal make you feel? How will it change you?

  • Will this goal help you achieve greater things? How will it improve your life?

Wants VS Needs

Many of us would like a shredded 6 pack, but do we really need it? Wanting something is different than setting it as a goal to chase after. We all want many things in our life, but are we working towards them as our specific goal?

Is your approach to reach your goal optimal?

This goes back to environment and social media, which play a huge role in shaping our wants and our needs.

It’s Okay For Your Goals To Change

There are long term goals, but also short term goals, so goals do not have to be eternal. It is totally normal for your goals to change as you may encounter many changes in life/family/career, etc… For example, if you are not a paid athlete, it is okay to change your goals and work towards longevity and health vs performance and competition.

We invite you to reflect, answer the questions, narrow them down, prioritize them, MAKE THEM YOURS!

Stand by your goals and work with a coach to achieve them. ⠀

Now, what are your personal goals?⬇️⠀

Nadine