Train With a Purpose - Choose a Goal

Train with a Purpose: Choose a Goal

 I just want to lose weight, I only want a six pack abs, I need bigger biceps. How many times have you heard people tell you these reasons for why they are choosing to workout. Probably too often that they have become completely acceptable motivations behind starting a new fitness routine.

 What if instead you asked someone why they were working out and you heard a response like this:

 I want to run the Sun Run
I want to hike to the top of Grouse
I want to run a marathon in Paris
I want to do the West Coast Trail with my kids
I want to snowshoe to the peak of Cypress Mountain
I want to be able to run around the Stanley Park Seawall.
ect, ect, etc..

 Which answer sound more positive and inspiring to YOU?

 It is so important that we all have an end destination in mind when beginning a fitness routine. It doesn’t have to be huge like a marathon. It could be anything, and it’s all about challenging yourself. The important thing is that you have a destination for yourself to achieve, have set a date, and then work towards that goal. For example, you can say I want to be able to run from A-B without stopping on May 1^st. This is your destination. This is what you are training for. You are not training to lose weight, to get bigger muscles, etc. But the most amazing thing is, that wile you are training to run from A-B, all of the above will be a byproduct of that process. You will lose weight (it’s inevitable, because you will be running, and changing other lifestyle habits to correlate with this goal), you will gain muscle, etc. And the most amazing and best part of it all is that YOU will become a better person in that process of achieving your goal. And when you are standing at point B on May 1^st and can reflect on how far you’ve come, I guarantee the satisfaction and self worth you feel will be so much greater then stepping on a scale and seeing that you’ve lost that last 5lbs.

 It’s all about continually challenging yourself on a higher level, to go through the obstacles and adversity to achieve your end goal, and to have that victory in the end: challenge, adversity, victory. Everything throughout our life goes through this process. With every victory we become a little bit stronger, our self esteem is a bit higher, and we can hold our head a bit higher. But that victory does not come without the challenge in the first place. After each challenge is completed, you will want to choose another and then another; with each challenge being more difficult to achieve. By continuing this process of challenge, adversity, and victory, your confidence will continually grow. It will allow you to do things you never thought possible. You begin to believe in YOURSELF, and things you never thought possible now become possibilities with your new incurred confidence. A completed physical challenge benefits you directly and carries over to every other realm of you life. You are more confident and loving life, your relationships are better, you have less stress, you’re able to reflect on how far you’ve come, you’ll be an inspiration for others.

 The great thing about setting a physical destination challenge is that anyone can do it – no matter how young or old, fit or unfit, where you live, etc. Anyone can do it! And it’s all and only for you. It’s not to please your mom, your husband/wife, it’s not to show off at your highschool reunion. And because it’s for you, you will benefit immensely from it.

 By now hopefully you’ve had a look around MyPypeline and have noticed that there are numerous programs geared towards getting you ready to complete a physical challenge. There are programs for the sun run, the Grand Canyon Hike, Mountain Biking in Moab, the Vancouver Marathon, the Grouse Grind, and numerous others. There are programs to complete your first 5km run. So rather then working out to lose weight, why not try something different and set a goal today, choose a program to help you get there, and before you know it you’ll be standing on top of that Mountain and be thinking ‘Wow, I did it – I came all this way, and look what I achieved!’