60 in 3 Reboot - Step 1, What Does Being Healthy Mean To You?

I haven’t updated this site in almost a year because I’ve been busy with quite a few other things. I tried out a fashion blog but decided I knew nothing about fashion (something my girlfriend would heartily agree with). I’m currently writing a self improvement blog and we’ll see how that goes. Still, every few weeks I think about 60 in 3 and I miss it. I miss talking to all of you about my workouts, eating plans and exercises. I miss hearing from you about your questions, your triumphs and challenges. A few weeks ago one 60 in 3 reader wrote me an email about how inspired this site had made him and the success he had in losing weight and getting in shape. That clinched it for me, I knew I had to get back to this place and to all of you.

So here’s the plan. I’m going to start posting on 60 in 3 on a regular basis. New posts will be up every Monday just in time to distract you from coming back to work. Topics will be the usual, exercise, workouts, eating, weight loss and all the rest. If you have questions or suggestions for articles, please feel free to send them my way. In the meantime, I thought I would start this reboot with a quick series of articles on how to get started. Which brings us to today’s post, getting started…

Step 1 – What Do You Want?

What does being healthy mean to you? Does it mean losing weight? Does it mean being able to run a mile in under 15 minutes? (you laugh but that was one of my original goals). Does it mean looking good in a bikini? Does it mean dropping your cholesterol levels or your blood pressure? These are all very different things and in many cases they might actually require different techniques, eating plans, training methods and life changes. So which of these matter to you?

Write Them Down

Take a moment to write down what being healthy means to you. These phrases will not just determine what sort of changes you need to make in your life, they will also serve as motivations and goals, so make them realistic, specific and measurable. For example:

• I will take two inches of my waist by May of next year
• I will lose 50lbs by next April
• I will fit into my old pants by next Easter
• I will be able to run a mile in under 10 minutes by next spring
• I will get a clean bill of health from my doctor when it comes to my blood pressure by my next physical in June of 2011

Check For Conflicts

A lot of times we write things down without really thinking about what they mean. We put down things like “I want to bench press 300lbs by next summer” right next to “I want my back to be healthy by next June”. Well, those two are probably mutually exclusive. Not necessarily so, that’s true, but most people who have back injuries should focus on those before they move on to lifting weights. Another common mistake is to make things unrealistic. For example, it’s simply not realistic to lose more than 1 to 2lbs of weight per week. Sure, you can do it, but it’s not healthy.  Still, don’t worry about this too much right now, we’ll focus these goals a bit more as we go along.

Last But Not Least

Keep your goals with you. This isn’t meant to be a one time exercise for you to get rid off as soon as you’re done. These goals will guide you for the rest of your life in some cases. So keep them with you, frame them, put them on your computer background, print them out and hang them by your bed, do whatever it takes to keep them in mind.
Next Monday we start getting our butt in shape

What’s A Good Goal?

Answer - A good goal is something you can barely achieve in the time specified.

Notice some important things.

Can Achieve

If my goal is “I want to win the next ms. America contest” that’s a pretty bad goal.  As a 35 year old man, I really doubt I could be Ms. America.  So that’s lesson #1, a good goal has to be achieveable.

Barely

A good goal is something you need to strive for and try really hard.  If it’s easy, it’s not a good goal.  If my goal is to get to 220lbs then that’s a pretty bad goal, since I already weigh 221.  Losing 1lb is meaningless and easy.

Time Specified

A goal with no timeline is meaningless.  I want to reach 180lbs.  Really?  When?  Is it next month?  That’s not achieveable and so it’s stupid.  Is it within the next ten years?  Also meaningless.  Is it by Dec 31st, 2009?  Well, now we’re talking.  That’s achieveable but it’s tough, which makes it a perfect goal.  I would have to push myself to achieve this but I think I could do it.  Alternatively, I could say my goal is to reach 215lbs by end of June.  Again, tough but achievable.  Notice how the numbers change with the timeline.  Something that’s impossible in the short term could be a good goal in a longer time frame.  Alternatively, something that’s easy in the long term could be tough but doable in a shorter time line.

The Magic Three Parts

So remember, when setting your goals:

• Achievable - If it’s not doable, it’s not a good goal.  It may be nice to day dream but those day dreams are meaningless as goals unless there’s a way to make them come true.
• Tough - A good goal must challenge you.  It must not be easy.  It must be hard and push you right to your limits.
• Time based - A good goal must have a deadline.  This deadline will in many cases determine if the goal is too tough or too easy.  Without a deadline, a goal is useless.

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What are your goals and their deadlines?  Would love to hear them through the comments.  Feel free to include non fitness related goals if you want to share.