Goal Setting, By: Hugo Rivera

Without goals we are like a ship on the middle of the see just drifting away with no sense of direction. It just goes with the flow, so to speak, and if it ever gets anywhere it is just by mere accident.

In order to achieve success in our bodybuilding/bodyshaping program, our should be clearly defined and engrained in our brains. Otherwise, like the boat on the example above, if you get anywhere it will be by mere chance.

Have you ever noticed that some people go to the gym year after year and they always look the same? I have approached people like that and asked them about their goals. Nine out of ten times they don't have a clear definition of what they want. Therefore, if you don't know where your target is, how can you hope to shoot at it and get it?

As a small exercise, I would like you to take out a small piece of paper (or open up Word or your text editor in your PC) and I want you to write two things. The first thing will be your long term goals. Be specific! Write the measurements that you will have (Chest, Arms, Waist, Thighs, Calves, Forearms), your body fat percentage and your total body weight. Please, don't limit yourself to what you think you can achieve; write down what you want (However at the same time, if you are a male bodybuilder and you want 28 inch Arms, know that such goal is unrealistic. Shoot for 20 inches instead). So did you wrote down your long term goals? If not, stop reading and do so now!

If you are reading this paragraph I will assume that you wrote down your long term goals. Now, the problem is that such goals look so far away. Well, every long trip starts with the first step, therefore, now I want you to write your short term goals. Short term goals should be analyzed every 8 to 12 weeks. Obviously, short term goals are going to be smaller than long term goals. However, by adding smaller short term goals, you will get to your long term goals in due time. When you write down your goals, be positive and have no doubt in your mind that you can achieve them. This is crucial! (Next week I'll talk about this). So go ahead and right now write your short term goals. Do it in the following format:

For the next _____ (choose 8, 10 or 12 weeks) weeks I will:

Lose ______ pounds of fat

Gain ______ pounds of muscle

Weight ______ pounds

Have Measurements of:

Chest ______

Arms ______

Thighs ______

Calves ______

Waist ______

Once you have all of those goals written down, write down what ACTIONS will you take for the next 8, 10 or 12 weeks to get there. For instance:

Action Plan:

I will eat 6 balanced meals a day (1 every three hours)

I will wake up to exercise and do cardio first thing in the morning three times a week.

I will do 6 weight training sessions a week.

I will get 8 hours of sleep (7 minimum) every day.

I will drink 1 gallon of water a day.

I will only have 1 cheat meal a week.

Also, if you want to, take pictures of how you currently look (be sure to also document, current measurements, bodyweight, body fat, etc....). This is a great way to stay motivated as when you look at your pictures from now, and then you look at pictures of yourself a year later, you will see a huge difference.

Now that you have written all of this down is time to get to your actions. Today is Sunday so you can start clean tomorrow. If you follow your action plan religiously and you miss your goals by a bit, DON'T DISCOURAGE! You should have seen progress anyway (here is where pictures really pay off; get a digital camera) and this is what we are shooting for; constant progress as this is what will get us to the goals we want.

If you missed the mark due to the fact that you did not follow your action plan to the letter, don't punish yourself for it. Just set your new goals and be more determined in following your action plan so that you get there this time.

If you mess up your plan for a day, don't drop the whole thing and quit. I see this very often! If you encounter one of those days, just recover the following day by starting the plan again.

Now that you have goals, go ahead and put your plan into action so that you can go ahead and achieve them. Next week, we will talk about how to program your mind in order to follow the action plan that will get you to the goals that you so desire.