The world we live in is full of distractions, especially those that keep us away from the gym and working out, in other words, that keep us away from our true passion in life. To many, weight lifters and bodybuilders are someone they aspire to become, a fleeting daydream in a day that is full of many responsibilities and obligations - school, work, family, personal hygiene, etc. We're so caught up in making our livings that we never truly feel satisfied like after a good hard workout. Wouldn't it be great if everything we did in life energized us as much as our training does??? But for many an aspiring weight lifter/bodybuilder, that dream will remain elusive throughout their lives, until one day they finally wake up to their true calling in life and make the development of a physique their priority. Of course, don't quit your day job, just shuffle your priorities around.
One of my favorite motivational speakers is Jim Rohn. Mr. Rohn was 26 years old, broke, with a family to support, when one day he went to work for someone who will end up changing his life. That man was Earl Shoaff, a self-made millionaire. Mr. Shoaff imparted upon Jim one valuable lesson and that was to set goals. At 26, Jim was struggling to support his family, and had not a penny to show for his previous seven years of work. However, through goal setting, Jim was a millionaire by the age of 31. Highly unlikely? Not at all once you understand the power of goal setting. Think about all the things you've accomplished in your life up to this point. You may have a nice list of all the things you're proud to have, to be, to have done. But did you ever write them down and make a conscious decision to move towards them??? Probably not. If you're like me you reacted to events in life and adapted to circumstances that were integral in sort of channeling you to where you are in life today.
For me, I was a college grad working in a factory assembly line for two years. I had no idea where I was going in life, I was too busy working, and too tired to care afterwards. Then one day I decided to go back to school for a masters degree. Then, I graduated and went to work again at a job I didn't really care for. I reacted to my situation in the factory as motivation to go back to school. However, I'm very proud of my degrees. But I accomplished that feat without ever writing it down beforehand. Imagine what I could be doing now if I had wrote down exactly what I wanted to do in life rather than let circumstance be the guiding force? Although I thought it a great achievement and myself fortunate to have been able to return to school, I think I could have carved out a better present life for myself had I written down my goals.
That leads me to the practical, more useful section of this posting, as you will never accomplish anything listening to me just blather on. So, without further ado, here's what you have to do if you truly want to build the body you've always wanted. It goes beyond pumping the iron, pounding the pavement, and chugging down protein shakes till your kidneys bleed. It's about making a roadmap! Now, you can use the following steps as a guideline to achieving in other areas of your life too. It's a great exercise and shouldn't be restricted to just physical goals.
Step 1: Decide exactly what you want. This is the obvious first step in goal setting. Ask yourself simple questions like what am I trying to accomplish through my workout routines? Am I working on getting my fat down to a certain percentage? Do I want to gain 3 or 4 inches on my arms? Am I working towards a certain poundage on a certain lift? You need to ask yourself specific questions on where you want your training to take you in the short, medium, and long-term. Once you've got a rough idea of where you want to be move on to step 2.
Step 2: Get out a sheet of paper and list your top 10 goals. List in no particular order 10 things you want to accomplish through your workouts. They are the answers to the questions you asked yourself in Step 1. Write them in the present tense as if you already have achieved them. For example, I have 5% bodyfat, I weigh 200 pounds, I bench press 300 pounds, etc. This simple act will activate your subconscious mind to go to work on making them a reality. You need to write them as if you already have them because your subconscious only understands positive commands.
Step 3: Put a deadline next to each of the 10 goals. This will help to organize and prioritize the goals you should be focusing on in the immediate term. And it will help to get you motivated because the longer term goals will then naturally and more easily come as you progress past the initial, shorter-term goals. Put an actual date next to the goal.
Step 4: On 10 separate sheets of paper list each goal at the top of each sheet. Then start with the goal with the closest deadline, moving onto the goal with the next closest deadline, and list all of the possible ways in which you can start to work on each goal. Listing all ideas that come into your head will act to break down the goal into little goals or baby steps. You will soon begin to convince yourself that it will be easy to achieve that particular goal. Say you only have to do two things to achieve that goal. Well, that's not so bad. By listing all the things you can think of you will now have a roadmap for each goal.
Step 5: Take Action!!! Get out and work on your first goal and the other goals simultaneously if you can. If you want to start by working on one goal at a time then by all means do it. Just do something every day. Even if it's just a little thing do it, get it out of the way. You'll feel better about yourself and obtain a sense of accomplishment.
Step 6: Get Motivated!!! Staying motivated is tough especially when you have a goal that's way in the distant future, like, say, to place 1st at the Mr. Olympia. It's so far out and too vague as to what you need to even get started. So, working on little goals with the intent to have them stack upon each other and benefit you down the road to the attainment of that Mr. Olympia stage will help to keep you focused. Going to the gym when all your friends are partying is tough. I know. I'm in the gym every Friday night working my ass off while everyone's out having fun. But I am doing it out of respect for myself. You have to lead a disciplined life if you want to build a champion physique. You can't cut corners and rip yourself off. Seek out motivational tapes and CDs. Play them in your car on the way to the gym or during your commute. Become a student of those people. Learn from them. Apply what you learn. Work hard, but more importantly, work smart by training your mind too.