Exercise is no different from the other areas of your life in that it demands clear goals. Without clear goals you will find that your exercise is aimless in periods, sporadic and lacking in purpose.

Throughout history there have been numerous examples of people that have experienced terrific success and attributed this to clear and concise goals.

I once heard Kerri Pottharst speak, and she attributed her gold medal success to clear and concise goal setting.

One of the major problems that I find people have with goal setting is that they are vague in their detail. Vague goal setting will result in vague results.

So how do you set a goal that gives it the best possible chance of being achieved? It needs to follow these 5 guidelines:

1. Be as specific as possible

Use future paced language that has definite language.

For example, rather than state your weight loss goal as ‘I want to lose 10 kg’. Try the following ‘I will weigh 80 kg at 5 pm on 30^th Dec 2010’.

2. Ensure your goals are measurable

Ensure your goal has a metric attached to it so the success can be measured.

For example, instead of saying ‘I want to be fit’. A better goal would be ‘I will be running 10 km by 30^th Dec 2010’.

3. Set adjustable goals

There may be times where injuries or illness stall your progress so you need to have adjustable goals. If you are aiming to run a marathon but have been inhibited by an injury then adjusting that goal to a half marathon would be a great alternative. Too often people give up on their goals when they face challenges.

4. Be realistic with your goals

Ensure the goals are challenging but physically possible to achieve. There must be a balance between having the goal set at a point that is too easy to achieve and having it set at a point that is unrealistic.

5. Have definite times for when you want to achieve your goals

Again, be as specific with your timeframes as possible. This will also apply to your objectives that you will set on your way to achieving that big goal.

The final and most important part of goal setting is the review process. Your goals need to be reviewed daily and you need to visualise the success of your goals regularly.

So what are exercise and health goals for 2011?

How to Set-up a Bench Press

Boris works from our Bondi Junction premises.

Start your day in a positive way.

• Affirm who you are and where you’re headed (read your goals regularly)
• Eat Breakfast
• Drink water

Kick start and stay smart

• Be active every day
• Work hard and smart – High intensity intervals are ideal!
• Stretch and relax. Allow your body mind to wind down

Replenish energy spent

• Drink at least 6 glasses of water a day
• Two fruit and five serving on vegetables is your foundation
• Protein sustains  – include it in every meal

The investment you put into your health has guaranteed returns. Many happy returns to you!

It is really this simple! Tally up your total calories at the end of everyday and check that this is a healthy amount for your age, height, weight and dietary goals. If more specific information is needed on your calorie intake, then contact us.
Now if you are really diligent, you can also add protein, carbohydrates and fat columns and record the breakdown of the food in these columns. This is a great way of checking that you are getting the correct nutritional breakdown.
The food diary will provide some great realisations. You will quickly become aware if you eat too much, or you too little vegetables or if your morning teas are full of sugar, etc.
 
Accountability is key to making the food diary work; show your food diary regularly to someone you trust. Let them know what foods you’re aiming to eat and what you’re avoiding. This will give you good motivation and ensure you keep your food diary regularly.
 

Principles:

1. Stick to your goals!
2. Make yourself sweat and puff
3. Take deep breaths in recovery times
4. If it’s too easy decrease recovery times, if it’s too hard recover for an extra 30 sec
5. Enjoy the fresh air and head space, maybe take some tunes to listen to
6. Record your future challenges to map your progress

1. Stick to your goals!
2. Make yourself sweat and puff
3. Take deep breaths in recovery times
4. If it’s too easy decrease recovery times, if it’s too hard recover for an extra 30 sec
5. Enjoy the fresh air and head space, maybe take some tunes to listen to
6. Record your future challenges to map your progress

Goal: Run 4 km

Come Monday, we all discovered the muscles in our forearms like never before, but the fun memories and challenges conquered made it all worth while.  Join us for our next client outing at Maroubra. The Maroubra fun run is on the 24th of October and Coastal Bodies is entering a team. Get involved and run 4 km or test your endurance on the 8km run, most importantly don’t miss out! Sign up at http://www.maroubrafunrun.com/funrun/

One of the most common questions I receive from clients is “what can I snack on to tie me over between meals?”  Fruit and nuts are what I personally love, but realistically it’s good to have variety. So I approached out Dietician Jess for some professional advice. She is oozing with snack ideas that taste great and give you long lasting energy fix!

Snacks

-          1 piece of fruit + 10 untoasted almonds/walnuts

-          1 cup popcorn (no oil)

-          Small handful of trail mix

-          Skim hot chocolate/ latte (1 cup)

-          2 vitaweets with a hardboiled egg

-          100g low fat yoghurt (e.g fromaige frais- fruche) or 150g Forme’ yoghurt

-          4 small vitaweets/ 2 ryvitas with reduced fat cheese and vegemite

-          Capsicum, celery, carrot, cucumber sticks with low fat hummous/ low fat cottage cheese

-          Mountain bread wrap with fresh salad and low fat hummous

-          2-3 corn thins with low fat cheese and vegemite

-          Hearty vegetable soup with beans/legumes

-          Miso soup

-          Seaweed salad

-          Small sushi roll with chicken/salmon/tuna/prawn/tofu and vegetables

-          1 corn on the cob (no butter)

-          Small baked potato with low fat cheese, fresh vegetables and beans

-          Fresh garden salad with 2 tbs low fat fetta and low fat dressing

-          1 slice of multigrain bread with low fat cheese/ low fat hummous/ small tin of tuna and fresh veggies

As you can see there are endless ideas that are healthy and filling. A bonus to most of these is that they include some vegetables to help you get all the vitamins and nutrients your body needs to function at its optimum. Remember it is recommended that you have 5 serves of vegies a day!

Enough of the Jokes… what is the Levity Health Centre actually about? Why has Coastal Bodies become aligned with it and how can it compliment your training and health?

Below we have the thoughts of one of Levity’s Personal Trainers, Benjamin Weale, after he was asked for a short explanation of Levity.

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  “A short article!? Where do I start?”

 In a nutshell, Levity is a one of a kind, truly holistic health centre that encompasses everything from Medicine to Fitness.  It’s a one-stop-shop for health.  I’ve had clients come and have a workout with me, then a massage with one of our therapists, then a consultation with our Medical Doctor / Osteopath.  Sometimes all before 10am.

 The centre is full of practitioners, trainers and therapists that share knowledge and experience and regularly meet to discuss client’s individual cases so that we can provide the most effective results possible in the shortest amount of time. 

 It combines the best of East and West – a tranquil, clean and simple setting that allows clients to feel relaxed and safe while at the same providing the same professionalism that you would expect from a medical centre or physical therapy clinic.

 I personally feel excited going to work knowing that if any of my clients have problems or questions about things that are out of my scope of experience:

 I have a Naturopath who knows more about food than the internet;

• I have a Medical Doctor that can help with any serious conditions;
• I have a Musculoskeletal Specialist that can help with any aches or pains;
• I have a Massage Therapist that has hands of magic;

 And they’re all under the same roof, they care for their clients before their pockets, they all share their knowledge freely and I know that the service they provide is second to none.

 It’s a different place, it’s a novel idea and it works.

Ben.

 So there you have it, Levity in a nutshell. Why not try it for yourself?  Either with a Coastal Bodies Personal Trainer or visit one of Levity’s practitioners and help your body function at its peak. Keep your eyes peeled for our Corporate Group Classes running from Levity enabling you to workout in your lunch hour.