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Goal Setting
Every successful person or motivational speaker talks about the importance of having goals. It sounds easy, but setting and achieving goals requires some discipline in both thought and action. How many times have you set a goal for yourself? How many times have you failed to achieve a goal? Now, think about someone you know who could be described as goal-oriented and always seems to be achieving goals. What is different about them? Successful goals move beyond an unrealistic declarative statement to be specific blueprints for how you will reach your final destination. Dreaming is fine, but if you don’t have a clear plan of how to make that dream a reality, nothing will change.
Be Clear about What is Most Important to You. Many people make goals based on something they think they might like or what they think they should do. Don’t waste your time. Our commitments reflect what is most important to us. If you plan to be committed to achieving a goal, you need to be clear about your priorities and what it is you really want for yourself Think about it, how motivated are you when you are working towards something that you feel is a chore or that you have to do it? Now, how motivated and excited are you when you work towards something you love? The key to being successful with the goal process is figuring out what value achieving that goal brings to your life. How will you feel? What will achieving the goal provide for you in your life? What value does it add to your life? Spend the time to get the clarity you need, because it is this clarity of what is most important that will carry you through the challenging times on your journey to reaching your goal.
Developing Your Goal
Be Specific but Realistic. Dreams are big and broad; goals are specific. For example, if you say you want to lose weight, you are being too vague. However, saying you want to lose 10 pounds provides more structure, but saying you want to lose the weight in a week is not realistic. Saying you want to win the lottery is a dream and not very realistic. However, saying you want to increase your income or decrease your debt by a specific amount over the next 5 years is specific, realistic, and provides a framework for creating your plan.
Write Down your Goal. A goal stuck in your head might as well not exist. You need to write it down and look at it often. An architect would never just start building a house without first making a blueprint; your goals work the same way. You cannot expect to get from point A to point B without having a clear, written plan for getting there. When you write down your goal, also write down what value that goal provides in your life so you don’t lose sight of the clarity that led to the goal in the first place.The key is to write your goal in the positive rather than in the negative; write your goal as moving towards something you want rather than away from something you don’t want..
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For example, rather than saying “I want to get out of debt” try something like “I will improve my credit score by x points.” This even works for weight loss; rather than saying you want to lose 10 pounds try working towards fitting into a clothing item or exercising a certain amount of time or eating a specific amount of healthier foods (which will all get you to your weight loss goal).
Create your Plan.Once you have your goal written down, you need to start creating a specific plan for achieving it; consider this your blueprint or roadmap.Break it down to what you can do each day to move towards your goal. Only you can decide how much time that is each day, but make it part of your life. Ask yourself, “knowing that my ultimate goal is X, what does it look like this week or today so that I’m not wasting a moment along the way?” You need to schedule time for your goal just like other areas of your life.
Get Support. Making a change and striving towards something takes energy. Sometimes yours will be low. What kind of support do you need in order to keep you going towards your goal? Perhaps you need to simply tell some people and ask them to periodically check in with you. Or maybe you need to post reminder notes around your house, in your car, at your desk. Maybe you decide your goal is big enough that you want to hire a coach. You know yourself better than anyone and what you need when that old part of you wants to quit; create a structure that will work for you so you are fully supported throughout this journey.
Determine your Markers for Success. How will you know you’ve achieved your goal, and what specifically will it look like? Okay, perhaps that was easy, but how will you know you’ve made progress along the way? If your goal is to lose weight, think of it as ounces per day and making healthier decisions each day; did you eat one extra serving of vegetables or refuse an unhealthy snack today? If your goal is to be more productive, did you get something done today or did you read a motivating book rather than watching television? If you can’t measure your success, then try re-wording your goal
A good goal is one that allows you to measure your success and your progress
Be Flexible.Sometimes your original goal may not have been quite right for you. It may have been too small, or it may have been too big, vague, or unrealistic. You can either beat yourself up because it’s not looking exactly as you planned, or you can go back to your blueprint and make some revisions. The point is not to sell yourself short but to set yourself up for success.
Celebrate! Face it, incentives work. Determine how you will reward yourself once you’ve achieved your final goal. However, don’t forget to reward your smaller success along the way. Give yourself credit for the successes; this will help keep you moving forward towards what is most important to you.
Author: Rosie Ward, MPH, CHES, Intrinsic Coach™; Health and Wellness Director, Northwestern HealthSciencesUniversity
Interested in Starting a Running Program?
Want to take up running? Follow this simple but surefire training program from Runners World.
Worried that you'll take up running and then quit? No chance. Just follow our simple but surefire training program. It just might be the most exciting time in your entire running career. But you won't necessarily realize it. First steps...starting out...the beginning of a great adventure. In fact, in lots of ways, it's sort of a declaration of personal independence. A statement that says, "In a world that confronts me with mechanical convenience and idle luxury at virtually every turn, I have decided, nonetheless, to improve my physical fitness." Later, of course, you realize that running offers so much more than flatter stomachs and muscle tone. For most of us, the mind and the soul gradually tune in to this stimulating activity we call running.
Great beginnings
More than a few training programs—especially the New Year's-resolution variety—are doomed almost before they start. Why? Because the schedules are overly ambitious and complex. Or, in direct contrast, completely lacking in a goal.
The first step for an exercise program (after you get a medical exam) is to ask yourself, what's realistic for me? Think "simple," think "goal," think "long-term."
Unless you are coming from a strong (and recent) background in another physically demanding sport (cycling, martial arts, tennis, basketball, soccer, cross-country skiing), don't jump right into a running program. Instead, begin with a walk/run program. Typical training goals for a walk/run program would be four times per week, 20 to 30 minutes of exercise per session.
"If you're just beginning a fitness program, the best way to start is with walking," says Budd Coates, Health Promotions Manager at Rodale, Inc., and four-time Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier. "Continuous walking will slowly prepare your legs for running and will also help you develop a consistent daily routine."
Coates recommends that a person with absolutely no running background begin with eight straight days of walking—first, four days of 20 minutes, then four days of 30 minutes.
After that initial break-in period, introduce 2 minutes of running, alternating with 4 minutes of walking. Repeat this five times for a total of 30 minutes per workout (see 10-Week Training Plan). The biggest mistake that beginning runners make is they tend to think in mile increments—1 mile, 2 miles, 3 miles," says Coates. "Most of them aren't ready for that; they need to think in minutes of running, not miles.
"The other major mistake is that beginners try to run too fast!" adds Coates. "They get completely out of breath, their leg muscles scream, and, naturally, running isn't fun under those circumstances. So they get discouraged and quit. Instead, they need to begin at a pace that is about the same as a fast walk."
The "talk test" is a simple way to judge your pace. If you are running at a pace that is comfortable enough to allow you to talk with a training partner (but not so easy that you could hit the high notes in an Italian opera), then your speed is just fine for the early stages of a running program.
Based on a 10-week system, Coates's program brings the beginning runner to a complete 30-minute run, without walking, by the 10th week. Once you can comfortably (key word) run 30 minutes without stopping, then you can think in terms of miles per week—perhaps 15 or 20 miles, with five days of running and two days of active rest that might include some alternative exercise, such as swimming, cycling or strength training.
Where to run
Where is the best place to begin running? It's probably not on the street right outside your door, though certainly many runners start there, if for no other reason than convenience. (Golf-course fairways are ideal, but you must have the nerve and leg speed to avoid irate grounds keepers in motorized carts.)
If you can, start on a cinder track at your local school or a path in a public park. Grass can be good, too, but make sure the field is cut close and even. A treadmill at the local health club can also supply a smooth beginning. But a soft surface is the key, so even if you're relegated to the roads, try to run on the silt along the road 's edge. If you must run on the roads, consider the following: choose blacktop roads when possible, and always run against oncoming traffic. This makes you more visible to the driver (especially if you're wearing light or reflective clothing) and also provides you with that split-second or two to dive to the side, if necessary.
Sidewalks may offer better safety from traffic, but concrete is harder than asphalt. For a beginning runner, pounding on concrete is likely to introduce you to some common aches and pains, such as shinsplints, that tend to afflict the novice.
In addition, sidewalks also tend to be uneven—it's easy to catch a toe and trip. And, speaking of uneven surfaces, when you run on the roads, beware of pronounced cambers—roads that are humped in the middle and slope down to the sides. Running on such surfaces can alter your natural running style and therefore increase your risk of injury.
Although admittedly not always the most exciting locale, the track has its advantages, especially for the beginner. It's flat and soft. You can judge exactly how far you've been running and at what rate. This constant feedback helps you progress with minimal risk and also makes it easy to chart your progress.
When you're running on the track, it makes good sense to run in the outer lanes and occasionally—perhaps every two or three laps—switch directions. Running on the tighter inside lanes and in the same direction can put unnecessary wear and tear on joints and tendons, especially if you're not accustomed to running the turns. Also, if there are advanced runners conducting timed sessions on the track, it's considered proper etiquette to leave the inside lanes open for them.
Hills will eventually be an ally in your quest for fitness. Physically, hills build muscular and cardiovascular strength. Mentally, hills add a challenging touch to an advanced workout and therefore can be a good weapon against boredom. But both uphill’s and downhill’s add entirely new and taxing elements to your running.
Olympic Marathon gold medalist Frank Shorter once referred to hills as "speed work in disguise." Treat hills as such; you'll probably be ready to run a hilly course about the same time you might be ready to attempt an introductory pace/speed session on the track. Therefore, avoid hills in the very early stages of your training program and introduce them in very small doses (and sizes) after you've logged more than a month of flat running at a comfortable pace.
If you do eventually add hills to a program as you advance beyond the beginner stage, start with some slight rollers; save the mountains for the future. Be particularly careful to avoid pounding on the descents. As with flat running, hills that feature grass and paths are preferable to hard surfaces.
Regardless of where you walk and run, do some light stretching before you begin the workout. Most runners believe stretching reduces muscle tightness and allows for a more comfortable stride action.
10-Week Training Plan
The following running schedule was created by Budd Coates, Health Promotions Manager at Rodale Inc., who instructs a corporate beginning running program. Coates has taken no runners and, in 10 weeks, helped them reach their goal of running the 3.5-mile Chase Corporate Challenge.
Before you start with this schedule, get your legs ready with eight days of walking: walk for 20 minutes a day for the first four days, then increase to 30 minutes a day for four more days. Now you're ready to begin with week 1.
Each week of the program, do your run/walk workouts on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, and take Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday off.
10-WEEK TRAINING SCHEDULE
Week 1
Run 2 minutes, walk 4 minutes.
Repeat 5 times.
Week 2
Run 3 minutes, walk 3 minutes.
Repeat five times.
Week 3
Run 5 minutes, walk 2.5 minutes.
Repeat four times.
Week 4
Run 7 minutes, walk 3 minutes.
Repeat three times.
Week 5
Run 8 minutes, walk 2 minutes.
Repeat three times.
Week 6
Run 9 minutes, walk 2 minutes.
Repeat twice, then run 8 minutes.
Week 7
Run 9 minutes, walk 1 minute.
Repeat three times
Week 8
Run 13 minutes, walk 2 minutes.
Repeat twice.
Week 9
Run 14 minutes, walk 1 minute.
Repeat twice.
Week 10
Run 30 minutes.
Note: After completing week 9, if you feel tired, repeat this week of training before moving on to week 10.
Do's and Don'ts
DON'T begin a running program without a full medical exam.
DO tell someone where you'll be running and when you expect to return. Carry some identification and a quarter for a phone call.
DO watch out for cars, and don't expect drivers to watch out for you. Always run facing traffic so you can see cars approaching. When crossing an intersection, make sure you establish eye contact with the driver before proceeding.
DO consider trying some light stretching exercises prior to your walk/run workouts to reduce muscle tightness and increase range of motion.
DO include a training partner in your program, if possible. A training partner with similar abilities and goals can add motivation and increase the safety of your running.
DO dress correctly. If it's dark, wear white or, better yet, reflective clothing; if it's cold, wear layers of clothing, gloves or mittens and a wool ski cap to retain heat. Sunblock, sunglasses, baseball cap and white clothing make sense on hot days.
DON'T run in worn-out shoes (check them for broken-down heels or very smooth areas where you "toe off").
Don't run in shoes—such as basketball or tennis sneaks—that are designed for other sports.
DON'T attempt to "train through" an athletic injury. Little aches and pains can sideline you for weeks or months if you don't take time off and seek medical advice.
DON'T wear headphones when running outside, whether you're training or racing. They tune you out from your surroundings, making you more vulnerable to all sorts of hazards—cars, bikes, skateboards, dogs, criminals.
DON'T run in remote areas, especially if you are a woman running alone. If you don't have a partner, run with a dog or carry a self-defense spray. Don't approach a car to give directions, and don't assume all runners are harmless.