A New Year, A New You! We hear this a lot in January!

At DEPTH Training, we encourage personal development and goal setting throughout the entire year by providing motivation, education, and practical strategies to allow our #DEPTHFamily to ‘Realize their Potential’. We are fortunate to be surrounded by individuals that are always striving to find a better version of themselves. This makes it easier to consistently think about, help clients with, and spend time working on personal development and goal setting.

Here are my tips for anyone struggling to reach their goals:

  1. Visualize your goal: “See it, believe it, achieve it”. It’s important for you to visualize completing your goal. If you want to lose 50lbs, think often about what you will look like 50lbs lighter, how you will feel, and how much energy you’re going to have. This helps to build confidence and believe your goal is possible, and it increases the probability that you will reach your goal!
    1. Losing 50 lbs will allow me to live a healthier, happier lifestyle. I will feel better about myself, have more confidence and feel like the person I know I am. I will have more energy to play with my kids and be active with my family. I will see on the outside how I feel on the inside.  
  1. Write your goal down and conduct a gap analysis. Write down exactly where you are today in relation to your specific goal. Next, start to establish the gaps between where you are and where you want to go. This will provide necessary information to develop your plan.
    1. I am currently 50 lbs away from my goal weight. Currently, I do not have a consistent exercise routine and I do not prioritize myself when it comes to making healthy nutrition choices. My actions do not match my goals. I need to take positive steps with regular exercise and making better nutrition choices. I need to ask more from myself if I want to reach my goals.
  1. Develop a plan. This is the most crucial step to your success. “Failing to plan is planning to fail”. If you don’t create a plan, it will be easier to make excuses or let obstacles get in your way on your path to success. Develop a weekly schedule and MAKE YOUR GOAL A PRIORITY EVERYDAY!! Writing out a specific plan provides an anchor when you are faced with difficult decisions relating to your goal.
    1. I am going to increase my exercise activity gradually over the next 10 weeks until I build to 5 total hours.
      1. Weeks 1-2 : 3 Total Hours
        • 6am Fitness Class Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
        • I will add in additional walking for 20 minutes 2x per week during weeks 1 and 2 for general physical activity
      2. Weeks 3-4: 4 Total Hours
        • 6am Fitness Class Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays
        • 3 x 20 minute Cardiovascular Training Sessions in the evenings at home
      3. Weeks 5-10: 5 Total Hours
        • 6am Fitness Class Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays
        • Attend a Saturday or Sunday Fitness Class
        • 3 x 20 minute Cardiovascular Training Sessions in the evenings at home
  • I am going to eat a healthy breakfast every day or use a healthy ‘super shake’ on days I cannot eat breakfast.
  • I will drink 3L of Water Every Day.
  • I will stick to my meal plan of 3 meals and 2 snacks 90% of the time, allowing for 5 ‘cheat meals’ each week. I will keep my cheat meals small in size and return to my meal plan immediately.
  • I will limit myself to 5 alcoholic drinks per week.
  1. Break your goal into ‘mini milestones’. A goal of losing 50lbs can be overwhelming; however, if you are realistic with your expectations (healthy weight loss is considered to be 0.5 to 2lbs per week) and set ‘mini milestones’, you will increase your chance of success! Share these milestones with your close friends and family and CELEBRATE (in a way that will not negatively impact your final goal) when you reach one!!! Achieving mini milestones can also help build your confidence and prove to yourself that you are capable of success!
    1. Milestone 1- STOP gaining weight.
    2. Milestone 2- Be down 2 lbs after 2 weeks
    3. Milestone 3- Lose an average of 1.5lb per week during weeks 3 through 10.
    4. Milestone 4- Lose 14 lbs in 10 weeks (average 1.4lbs per week)
    5. Take 1 week to rest and recover, performing 3 hours of steady state cardio and not increase body weight.
    6. Repeat the process 4 times this year and be down 56lbs in weight.
  1. This seems simple, but it’s often the reason why people fail. Eric Thomas said it best, “if it was easy, everyone would do it”. There are going to be days when you don’t feel that you’re following through on your plan and your perseverance will be challenged. Your ability to push through and keep your eye on the prize will be essential to success!
    1. When things get difficult and I don’t feel like I can do it, I will re-read my personal fitness vision and remember how important it is to me. This is more important than how good any pizza, desert, alcohol or sweets might taste. This is more important to me than the pain and agony of waking up for 6am. I am strong and I can do this.
    2. The key is to write down something you can read to yourself when you feel like quitting that will inspire you to keep pushing forward. Write this down when you have a moment of inspiration. Remember, there are many versions of ‘YOU’, we want to find the version that can overcome and bring them out more often!

Realizing your potential and achieving your resolutions requires tremendous ‘Dedication, Character, and Commitment’, three words that have a special place in the philosophy of DEPTH Training. I would like to wish you all the best in your pursuit of your resolutions and hope this post provides guidance, reassurance, and motivation to keep pushing yourself to achieving your goals!

Written by: Dave Edgeworth, Founder of DEPTH Training & Personal Trainer