2 Helpful Tips for Reaching Your Fitness Goals
Written by Fritz Nugent
Oh great, another goal setting article
What if I told you that I have a nutrition client who, in the span of a year’s time, is now squatting their previous 1RM for 10 reps? Would that get your attention? It got my attention, that’s for sure.
The client I’m referring to is an in-house member at Invictus in San Diego. They came to me a few months ago with a goal to lose weight. They had made significant progress on their own, but they reached a plateau for a few months and could not break through. This is how we broke through their plateau, and got them to their goal.
Helpful Tips for Reaching Your Fitness Goals
Focus on strength training
One of the main things I focus on with all of my clients is doubling down on strength. Whether the client wants to lose weight or gain muscle mass and body weight, gaining strength should be a top priority for everyone. Why would I suggest a heavy emphasis on gaining strength to a weight loss client knowing that gaining strength will increase their muscle mass and potentially push up their scale weight? A few reasons:
- Gaining strength facilitates accrual of muscle mass, and an increase in muscle mass while maintaining one’s body weight equals an equal decrease in body fat mass! If someone gains one pound of muscle and body weight is unchanged, this equates to a 2-pound positive shift, up one pound of muscle and down one pound of fat. The scale shows no change, but now the clothing fits differently, the person’s face might look less puffy, and they feel great.
- Over time, these small daily improvements lead to significant strength increases in every area of the body, and this positively transforms every cell in the body. Bones become denser. Muscle accrues. Mitochondria grow larger and more frequent in number.
Small, manageable fitness goals are the key to success
But that’s not all. While talking with this client last week, they said something that caught my attention. They said the most important change they made was to their mindset.
- If my goal is to lose 100 lbs and I train for a week and step on the scale and I haven’t lost a pound, perhaps I’ll train the next week. If I train for a month and haven’t lost a pound on my quest to lose 100, my confidence in the plan may begin to wane. If I train for three months and only lose two pounds on my quest for 100, I might give up. The goal is simply too large. BUT…
- What if I made the goal smaller and more attainable? 20 lbs. And instead of focusing on body weight each week, focus on improving sleep duration and quality to maximize recovery. Focus on small strength increases to keep myself motivated to keep showing up each week. Steadily begin to remove nutritional habits that don’t align with my goal and replace them with foods and habits which align better. This is sustainable. This is exciting. This is daily improvement, and it’s noticeable.
Smash your goals, then set another one!
I’m really proud of my client. They reached their first goal, and recently set another goal – to move towards their pre-corporate-job body weight. And I would bet the house that once they arrive at this goal, they will be a stronger, healthier, and better version of themselves.
Check out the FREE Invictus Goal Setting Guide
Want to learn more about setting smart, attainable fitness goals? Check out the FREE Invictus Goal Setting Guide. This guide will help you set goals for the year and create a plan to smash them. Check it out!
