Why Most People Fail

REAL TALK ABOUT GOAL SETTING AND EXPECTATIONS

By Ryan Perreault

Most people have a fitness goal, or think they do, along with a slew of excuses and reasons why they haven’t achieved it. Let’s dive into how most people mess up before they even begin.

A health and fitness goal needs to meet these two criteria in order for it to be achievable. The goal needs to be Specific, and there needs to be a Time Frame. Expectations in achieving these goals are often way off and lead to people giving up before they have given it a real chance.

SPECIFIC GOAL

First, remember when you are choosing your goal who this is about. YOU! This has to be something you are doing for yourself! Second, you need to let go of all preconceived notions of what is achievable for you! Just because you have never been lean before, or have always had trouble gaining muscle, doesn’t mean you CAN’T!

It is common for people to choose goals such as “Get Healthy”, or “Lose Weight”, but these are vague and hard to measure. How do we know when we are healthy? How do we know when we have achieved our weight loss goal, when we never set a number? Vague goals allow for complacency to set in and backsliding to begin.

EXAMPLE GOALS THAT ARE SPECIFIC ENOUGH WOULD BE:

Lose 15lbs of fat, Gains 8lbs of muscle, Deadlift 400lbs, Run a marathon, or anything along those lines. Notice these aren’t vague goals such as: Run more often, or get stronger. Be as specific as you can! This makes it easier to plan out!

Having a specific goal can be intimidating. It means there is a chance of failure. No one likes to fail! Most people avoid specific goals for this exact reason. Having a vague goal makes it harder to determine if you failed, but don’t be scared! We are here to help!

TIME FRAME

Next would be choosing a Time Frame. Picking a finish date is important because it keeps you more accountable. This is why I love competitions, or anything you have to sign up for! It keeps you honest when things get hard! For those who aren’t looking to sign up or compete, it is helpful to understand HOW to pick a realistic time frame.

This will be a different process for each goal, but let me give an example of how I do it for fat loss clients. Fat loss occurs at a rate of 1-2lbs per week. Do some simple math and you can figure out how long it should take for you to lose the weight. 20lbs of fat lost will take 10-20 weeks typically. The same can be applied for muscle growth, unless you have already been training for quite some time.

This is where most people really mess up though. The hardest part about achieving a fitness related goal is, YOU MUST BE PATIENT. Results are not linear. You do not just keep getting leaner, or stronger, or faster. You must anticipate plateaus in your weight dropping, and have proper training programmed so you can see continued results.

This is where adherence comes into play. Having a plan and sticking to it will lead to results. Having a plan and sticking to it most of the time will lead to far less results, sometimes no results depending on how far off you go.

EXPECTATIONS

“AM I THERE YET” We have all heard a kid say this 30 minutes into a 5 hour drive before. All of us have also said something similar 3 days into a diet or workout program. Having realistic expectations is a huge part in being successful in achieving fat loss, muscle gains, or hitting a new PR.

THE ISSUE HERE IS; PERCEIVED EFFORT DOES NOT EQUAL THE SAME IN RESULTS.

Simply put, just because something was hard, or difficult to stick to, does not mean you see an immediate result from it. You could diet for weeks before seeing measurable results. You could strength train for months before hitting a new 1RM. This does not mean you are doing something wrong! You just have to be patient.

Fat loss happens slower than we want. Getting stronger doesn’t happen overnight. I use the phrase, “Stay the Course”, quite often with my clients, when I can feel they are getting antsy.

It’s normal, but it doesn’t change the fact that you need to trust the process and stay the course.

The problem is, most people don’t. They fall off. They get bored. The program never stops working, you stop working, and the weight comes back on.

Don’t do something half assed and expect the result as if you did it whole assed.

PUT IT TOGETHER

The next part of this is making the plan. Once you have set your goals, established a time frame, and set your expectations correctly, you need to make a plan. Without a plan, you are sure to fail. The old saying stands true. “Failing to plan, is planning to fail.” Cheesey, but I like cheese.

This is where we come in. We know how to get you to your goals. We have done it. Many times. Without the correct nutrition plan, training program, sleep schedule, stress management protocol, and accountability, you are setting yourself up for frustration and time wasted.

If you need help with anything discussed here, we are happy to help. Reach out to one of our coaches today to find out which program is right for you.