If You Fail to Plan, You Plan to Fail.

It’s been rehearsed by many… Carl W. Buechner (Writer and Theologian), Ben Franklin (Founding Father, scientist, politician, musician, inventor…), Winston Churchill (Regarded as one of the Greatest Wartime leaders in the 20th Century)…

And it relates just as well to fitness goals as it does to Business, Personal Development, Being a Leader, Knocking out Daily Tasks, etc.

Today I am going to give you 3 steps to go by to achieve a fitness goal every single month!

I have two contrasting examples of my fitness training that demonstrate good and bad planning.

Scenario #1:

Planned And Succeeded!

A few years ago, I decided to compete in a body building show.

Step 1: I sought out coaches to help me with diet and programming.

I found coaches; My timeline to be stage ready was about 4 and a half months. I was given a workout plan and diet to begin straight away.

Step 2: I made changes in order to follow this program and diet.

(though written as a simple step, it took me a month to change my eating habits and follow my workouts as I was supposed to). But having the “plan” laid out in front of me gave me the exact standard I needed to follow in order to succeed.

Step 3: Stay determined, stick to the plan and ultimate goal.

(In order to “represent” my coaches, I had to be at a certain point a few weeks before my show in order to go on stage).

After the first 2 months, I saw results and trusted the plan would work. This gave me the motivation and determination to stick to it! Even when I got tired, busy, overwhelmed, and broken down.

Step 4: Success! Not only did I compete in my very first Body Building show in the figure category… I won Overall Champion!

This experience taught me that I can accomplish more than I had ever dreamed or thought possible, just by having a plan, and taking it one day at a time.

Scenario 2:

Failed to Plan, and in turn, Planned to Fail:

Tessie’s 10k disaster.

I have never been a runner… In fact, I have never run more than 6 miles at a time in my life. So, naturally, I wanted to take on the challenge of signing up to run a 10k (approximately 6.2 miles)

Step1: I signed up for a race online about 2 months away, not knowing if that was a long enough training period.

Step2: I tried to outline my own training schedule leading up to the race… I kinda googled, sorta guessed, asked a runner friend way too close to the actual race date.

Step3: About a month in, I still had not practiced running more than 3 miles at a time and my endurance was not up to par.

Step4: Fail and Bail! A work opportunity came up the same day as the race about 2 weeks in advance and I bailed on the race!

“Oh, darn I have to work” became my excuse/cover-up for the truth: “I didn’t plan this out because I was scared”…. bottom line.

Here are the 3 Steps to PLANNING your Success in Achieving a Fitness Goal. You will notice in the examples above where I went wrong in the latter, and right in the former.

Step 1: State your “EDUCATED GOAL” clearly- Is this achievable in a month? Who can I ask to help me? Coaches, friends, accountability partner?  Most importantly, have a purposeful answer to WHY you want to accomplish this.

Example: Goal= I want to be consistently going to a kickboxing class 3 days a week by the end of this month…Because… Kickboxing is my favorite way to exercise and I always feel great afterwards and I know it directly relates to my overall well being and health! I am depriving myself if I don’t go!

Help: I will ask a friend to come with me at least one day a week. I will schedule the days I can make it and adjust my calendar to prioritize it.

Step 2: Here’s the planning. Outline week by week the steps you will need to take to meet your goal. Where should you be halfway through the month? One week in?

Example: My first week, I will only hold myself to going to kickboxing 1 time… If I get more in… Bonus! By week 2 I will go at least 2 times, etc.

Step 3: When, not if, but WHEN you fall off course… go back to your WHY and pick up wherever you are. Not bailing on yourself will feel really good and a success in itself. By getting back on track, we may surprise ourselves that a little set back doesn’t have to derail us…. but giving up completely? Well,

If the train slows it’s roll, it will eventually still reach the destination, and likely pick up momentum along the way. If it stops dead in its tracks… well, you know the answer.

Full Steam Ahead! You Can Do Anything!!! What’s your Fitness Goal this Month?!

Mine is to be doing a high intensity cardio weightlifting workout 2x per week, and to do yoga once a week!