What Are Your UFGs?

Earlier this year I was really focused on gaining strength.  I set specific goals around 3 particular lifts and set a deadline. To accomplish them, I had to adjust my training plan and mental rehearsal framework.  I had to read about elite deadlifters.  I had to watch videos of heavy squatters.  I had to increase the amount of food I was eating by a lot.

Having accomplished that, I turned my attention to shedding some of the fat I gained (it wasn’t much extra fat, but I still wanted it gone).  So I set specific goals around appearance and bodyfat %.

In fact, my entire annual routine is based on the concept of periodically changing the routine to accomplish different fitness goals at different times of year.

What are YOUR most important fitness goals?

Want to shed 5 pounds of fat by New Year’s?

Want to be able to fully squat 300 pounds by your birthday?

Want to simply look good enough that you aren’t embarrassed at the beach next summer?

I’m going to be sharing more advice with you about goal setting in upcoming articles, but I want to introduce a concept first:  your ultimate fitness goals (UFGs).

See, you probably want it ALL, right?  You want to accomplish everything in as short a timeframe as possible.  I understand.  I’m ambitious and impatient, so my inclination when I set goals is to bite off wayyyy more than I can chew.

The reality is that you can’t do everything all at once.

Over time, sure, you can accomplish a tremendous amount. But for fitness, it’s best to focus on one or two goals at a time and then when you accomplish them you can move on to others.

So what are your most important fitness goals for the next 6 months – your UFGs?

The 8 Primary Fitness Areas

90% of the fitness goals you want to achieve are contained in one of the following 8 areas:

1)           Lose Fat

2)           Improve Endurance

3)           Gain Strength

4)           Increase Muscle Mass [hypertrophy]

5)           Be “Healthy” And Feel Good (subjective)

6)           Maintain everything at your current level

7)           Recover From Injury

8)           “Look Better” [body proportions, composition] (subjective)

It’s really important to focus on an area first, then set your goals.  In other words, pick one of the 8 fitness areas to focus on first.  Then set specific goals within that area.  Maybe pick one more area and do the same.  But really only work on at most 2 areas at once.  And within each area, keep your specific goals to less than 5.

The resulting goals are your UFGs.  Get it?

For example, you might want to shed fat and improve endurance.  That’s two areas.  Now, within the “shed fat” area, you might set two goals around bodyfat % in 2 months and in 4 months.  And for the area of endurance, you might set a goal for a number of pushups by a certain date and a goal of being able to run 3 miles without stopping by a certain date.

These may change throughout the year once you accomplish them and certainly will change throughout your life.

So take some time and think through your current UFGs.  Write them down! Later I’ll be guiding you on how to make these goals better in terms of how you write them, how you visualize, and how you achieve them.  But for now, just make a start!

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Related posts:

1. 5 Essential Tips for Effective Goal Setting, Part 1
2. How to Always Achieve Your Goals, 100% of the Time
3. Goal Achievement For Lazy People – Start With The Right Goals

Tags: Goals