Defining goals

[RachelM]

Hi everyone,

I have been learning heaps of info from EF (thanks girls) and my training is going well, I am hitting PR's and making some really good progress.

I was going to post up a log of my training but I am having trouble quantifying my goals.

I know "to be fit" and to "have lots of energy" and to "look great" are too broad and cannot be measured, but how do you break down goals like this.

I know I can quantify body fat, how much I can lift and the size of my body eg biceps, waist etc

Is this how you define your goals? Do you start with the end in mind and how do you work back to create a list of measurable targets?

I know this is a newbie question, but it's really stumped me, and I know that if I can quantify them I will achieve them faster, but I'm struggling to define what's "THEM"???

Can I ask what are your current or past training goals? Do you think in terms of I will bench X by Christmas or I will have X% bf by Christmas - or is it just too finicky to define fitness goals like this and are you just happy to make strength progress as time goes on???

Thanks again ladies!
I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

 

[RottenWillow]

Hi everyone,

I have been learning heaps of info from EF (thanks girls) and my training is going well, I am hitting PR's and making some really good progress.

I was going to post up a log of my training but I am having trouble quantifying my goals.

I know "to be fit" and to "have lots of energy" and to "look great" are too broad and cannot be measured, but how do you break down goals like this.

I know I can quantify body fat, how much I can lift and the size of my body eg biceps, waist etc

Is this how you define your goals? Do you start with the end in mind and how do you work back to create a list of measurable targets?

I know this is a newbie question, but it's really stumped me, and I know that if I can quantify them I will achieve them faster, but I'm struggling to define what's "THEM"???

Can I ask what are your current or past training goals? Do you think in terms of I will bench X by Christmas or I will have X% bf by Christmas - or is it just too finicky to define fitness goals like this and are you just happy to make strength progress as time goes on???

Thanks again ladies!
I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

This. Decide where you want to be, then develop the short term deliverables to get you there.

Some of us are performance orientated, but most of us here I believe are body recomp oriented. I'm in the latter category. Sometimes of course the overall goal is a hybrid of the two, but I believe the vast majority of all lifters are overwhelmingly focused more on more goal type than the other.

My goal is a set of certain measurements and a certain look, the look being a subjective assessment of body fat level and dryness. In your case maybe it would help to write yourself a short essay describing exactly how you want to look, or be able to perform. Then start breaking it down into smaller intermediate goals.

Regarding body fat level, the actual percentage of subcutaneous fat is really completely irrelevant since the huge majority of us actually have no idea whatsoever what that level is. We just know how we want to look. I'd suggest one just track the individual skinfold measurements from the caliper if she wants to mark her fat loss, rather than use someone's formula to estimate the bodywide fat level.

 

[RachelM]

My goal is a set of certain measurements and a certain look, the look being a subjective assessment of body fat level and dryness.

Thanks for the response, can I ask what you mean by dryness?

Regarding body fat level, the actual percentage of subcutaneous fat is really completely irrelevant since the huge majority of us actually have no idea whatsoever what that level is. We just know how we want to look. I'd suggest one just track the individual skinfold measurements from the caliper if she wants to mark her fat loss, rather than use someone's formula to estimate the bodywide fat level.

It's funny you say that because after reading the thread on body fat testing I bought a set of calipers from ebay. I'm not sure how much I can attribute to user error, the broken English instructions or just to going way too cheap on the equipment but when I used the formula for total bodywide fat level I knew something was out...way out....

I have been documenting the skinfold caliper measurements in a spreadsheet and have also been taking front & rear photos so I can see progress. I haven't taken tape measurements so I'll start doing that as well.

It is a really good suggestion to start writing how I want to look because I can visualise it but I have had trouble vocalising it. What a good idea, I will do it.

 

[Roxy722]

I've thought about this one since you posted it trying to decide how I set my goals. When I first started out, my one and only goal was to lose weight! That grew into losing weight and getting back into shape. So I guess I had that end goal in mind. Then I set a goal to compete and that gives you a very specific end date and timeline.

As I've learned more, my goals have changed. I've realized fitness and body building is a lifetime journey and I've changed my goals to be more recomp and performance based. I want to continue to change my body but took the timeline factor out of it. My goals right now are more centered around improving my conditioning (and still losing fat) but I haven't fully defined that yet. I'm tracking my gym performance a lot closer, especially cardio, so I can improve intensity each week. I guess my overall goal is to achieve a certain look, fitness level and body fat % though and then I'm breaking it down into smaller segments.

I do think it's beneficial to set shorter term goals and then re-evaluate every 8-12 weeks to see where you've progressed and what you can change. That keeps you on track and focused.

 

[RottenWillow]

Thanks for the response, can I ask what you mean by dryness?




It's funny you say that because after reading the thread on body fat testing I bought a set of calipers from ebay. I'm not sure how much I can attribute to user error, the broken English instructions or just to going way too cheap on the equipment but when I used the formula for total bodywide fat level I knew something was out...way out....

I have been documenting the skinfold caliper measurements in a spreadsheet and have also been taking front & rear photos so I can see progress. I haven't taken tape measurements so I'll start doing that as well.

It is a really good suggestion to start writing how I want to look because I can visualise it but I have had trouble vocalising it. What a good idea, I will do it.

Awesome. That's a great approach.

I think very few people understand that these body fat formulas are nothing but estimates, and can in fact not only be way off, but inconsistently way off. The latter makes it even worse. If the margin of error were consistent at least you could track your loss, right? Unfortunately they aren't reliable. It's best to use a decent pair of calipers and just track the numbers from various parts of your body like you're doing. As long as your calipers are good, you can get meaningful, reliable progress benchmarks.

Now if you REALLY want to know the real, actual, hand to God amount of subcutaneous fat you have on your body, get a DEXA scan at a medical office (or even some higher end weight loss clinics) It'll run you 2-300 dollars. Then take a bunch of high res pics of yourself (nekkid preferably) in good light from every angle. Then you'll know exactly how you look at a given level of body fat. Just make sure you're not holding an unusual amount of water at the time. These pics can then serve as a reference point for you in the future. That's what I did. I learned that when I'm 18.34% body fat, even the best calipers using supposedly the most accurate formula indicate I'm about 16% body fat, and casual observers put me at about 13% bodyfat.

Dryness refers to the amount of water you're holding. Estrogen will always encourage water retention to some degree, so you're looking for your water retention baseline. That is the amount of water you keep under your skin 25 days a month. Menstruation will jack up that retention, consuming too much sodium will jack it up, and perhaps the biggest one of all, not drinking enough water will jack up your retention. Insufficient hydration will trigger those critical, life supporting processes in your body which try to retain water so you don't die of thirst.

 

[RachelM]

Thanks for the encouraging response Rotten Willow and Roxy and I have been thinking about your answers.

The calipers that I'm using are not good quality, but I figure as long as I use the same set and the measurements are going down, I am in good order.

As for the total body fat%, if I cannot access accurate information easily then it cannot be a realistic means of tracking my goal . I can imagine if my goal is 20% for example and get scanned and I measure 20.3%, then I would be so tempted to pay to get tested the following week etc etc!!! Not good for the bank balance and the suspense would be torture.

I will get a DEXA scan, but as my body is rapidly changing I will wait till I plateau... I should have got one before I started - that would have been interesting.

However it's even more interesting what you say about water retention. I have seen it be mentioned a few times on the site but never really thought about it in relation to me. I have kept a close eye on water intake & salt intake during the last week and what you're saying just makes sense!!

I'm a bad one for not drinking enough water, and then so thirsty I drink like a camel. I never thought about what signals this behaviour sends to my body. Do you have it in hand where you maintain the same dryness for 25 days per month if you eat clean and stay hydrated? How do you figure the benchmark? Is it just through tape measurements?

Roxy, thanks for thinking about the question. When you decided to compete did you set yourself the goal to lose "x" weight for the competition or did you focus more on body parts for example "I would like bigger calves " etc or both?

It's good you mention to set goals every 8 - 12 weeks, that's a good window of time to see improvement and stay focused! And, Roxy, sorry for the tough questions, what do you mean when you say improving your conditioning?

 

[Roxy722]

Improving my overall conditioning, to me, really just means getting in better shape. Not just building bigger muscles but improving my overall physical/ cardio vascular shape and maintaining a lower level of bodyfat year round (not stage levels but lower then average). Island Girl is a great example of that. I have yo yo'd a fair bit in the last couple of years and I have strong parts to my physique but my weak ones are really weak!

When I went into prep mode, it was about losing weight and dropping bodyfat. I think you continue to lift heavy in the gym to maintain muscle but the changes are usually made in the offseason, when you're not eating at a big calorie deficit.