Gym

Everyone has a goal in mind when they join a gym, start training or go swimming. It might be as simple as just attending the leisure centre twice a week. But if you really want to make your workouts work for you and see progress in terms of your physical or mental health, then goal setting can help you do this. 

Goals can be anything that you want to achieve. You might want to lose weight, get fitter, get stronger, get faster, feel better. The key to your goals is making them SMART; specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time orientated. This makes your goal more focused, more motivating, more achievable and consequently you give yourself a much better chance of increasing your self-confidence and self-esteem as a result. Everyone's goals are different and will therefore require a unique approach.

Specific: what is your goal?

Write down your main goal. Consider how long this might take you to achieve - this may be focused on an event or a date that you want to have achieved your goal by.

What are the actions that you'll need to do to make your goal achievable? If your goal is a weight related target then this may include looking at the frequency and volume of your physical activity as well as what you eat and drink. 

Measurable; set a goal you can monitor

Being able to measure your progress towards a goal will tell you whether you're making progress or not, and will help determine whether or not the actions you're doing are working. The goal could be a speed related goal for a specific event, or a strength related goal in terms of being able to lift a particular weight. The important thing is to set a benchmark at the start so you know where you are now...and then future measurement can then be related back to this starting point 

Achievable: set mini goals along the way

Breaking your main goal down into more manageable and achievable chunks is a much easier way for us to track progress and see the smaller goals as within your scope - and as such keep you motivated to working towards them. Whilst you may wish to lose 2 stone over the next year, if you set smaller monthly targets, you can focus on the smaller, more achievable goal in the short term. 

Realistic: be the best YOU can be

Whilst it would be lovely to think that we could become the next Olympic champion in the 100 metres, for most of us this is, unfortunately, not going to be realistic! Set yourself a goal that is practical and realistic, that gives you a chance of achieving, and drives you motivationally to it. Having a goal that is too hard will simply be demoralising as you find it harder and harder to reach. However, if you're someone that likes to be stretched and challenged, make sure that your goal does that for you. 

Time orientated: don't lose sight of the bigger picture

Make your goal something that has an end date you can visualise. Setting a goal over the next 5 years is fine, but so many other things can change in that period of time that it might make your goal impossible to achieve. Setting goals for shorter periods of time allow you to focus on them, measure your progress and not lose motivation

Finally

Be kind to yourself - life doesn't usually happen in a straight, predictable line and therefore your goals, and the actions you take to reach them, will inevitably come under challenge by illness, work, family commitments and other things that you might not have accounted for when you set your goal. Appreciating this and understanding that your progress to your goal will also not be a straight line, will help you overcome these challenges and stay motivated to your goal. 

What next? Having achieved your goal, the challenge of what you do next now lies ahead! It could be important to you to maintain your performance level that you've reached, change your goal completely to something different, or re-focus your efforts to continue your existing goal to improve further. This will now require a new goal-setting plan to help you re-focus. 

As always, our staff are here to help you to get the most from your membership and would be more than happy to support you with your goals, and the goal-setting process. 

Whether you've recently joined a Leisure Centre or you've been a member for some time, you have made the decision to invest in yourself, your wellbeing and your health - so how do you now stick to your routine and make sure that it becomes part of a lifestyle change and habit?

Here are a few things to consider:

1. Make it fun - the more fun you have with your activity, the more chance you'll stick with it. Choose something you can do with friends - the social element will help with your motivation whilst you're being more active. If you don't like the treadmill, don't do it! Instead, try another piece of equipment, or a group exercise class, or swimming.  Speak to our Fitness team for ideas.
2. Start small - there's every chance that if you try to do too much too soon, your body will hate you for it and that will put you off going back. Build up the volume and intensity of your chosen activity slowly over time. Do slightly more each session over the first month to give your body the chance to adapt. A workout programme for the gym from a qualified fitness professional will help with this and take into account your starting point.
3. Be realistic about what you can achieve - a body or health transformation won't happen overnight, unfortunately it takes time to create change. You will, however, enjoy the immediate endorphin rush of being active and this will help with your mood, sleep quality and self-confidence. Losing weight or seeing physical changes in your body will take longer. Believe in the process, get advice from a fitness professional and be consistent.
4. Be consistent - developing a routine with regular sessions booked into your diary makes it more likely that you'll commit and keep coming back. If you know you're going to be doing an indoor cycle class after work on a Tuesday, taking an extra bag with your workout clothes to work becomes habit. Having these two or three points in the week that you're committed too makes it much easier than having to think about when you're going to do your exercise.
5. Be ready - prepping what you need the evening before you need it will make things so much easier for you. Pack the clothes, towel, water bottle, toiletries, headphones etc that you need and simply grab your bag on the way out of the door in the morning!
6. Believe in yourself - you can do this. You really can. With a little bit of support from friends and family, a good routine to settle into, an enjoyable activity to take part in and motivation from fitness professionals you've got a great team around you!

You've got this! And we're here to support you on your journey - so whether you need a quick catch up on the gym floor to brush up on techniques or you want to book an appointment to develop or refresh a gym programme, come and speak to us so that we can work together in getting you to where you want to be with your health and fitness.

Successful people are simply those with successful habits.

Brian Tracy, Motivational Speaker and Author.

We are here to help you get the best out of your membership, so here are our top tips for success:

1. By following a training programme in the gym you are more likely to achieve your goals.
   This will help make sure that the effort you put in will reward you with the results you'll see.
   If you have not booked a Programme appointment yet, speak to the team on site.
2. Habit forming is a great way of ensuring progression in made.
   Booking time in your calendar to attend, will make it much more likely to happen.
   Classes are a great way to commit to a regular routine.
3. Programmes should be regularly updated to prevent a plateaux in your results.
   Your training programme needs to evolve with you. What is right for you today, will not necessarily be right in the future.
   As your health and fitness develops, so should your programme.
4. Training with a friend can help to stick to a routine.
   Making your workouts a social event, will make your workouts fun as well as effective.
   Not only do you commit to yourself, but you also commit to your friend.
   Remember, if you refer a friend who joins, then you'll receive a free month as a thank you from us!
5. Always ask a Fitness Consultant if you are unsure of any techniques. 
   Our team are here to help you. If you have any questions regarding your workout and techniques, just ask - that's what we are here for!

By investing in your own health and fitness you have made a great step towards change, so we hope this help you to stay committed and focused and on the right path to success.