How do you know you’re making progress? How do you know you’re headed in the right direction? How do you know you’re on track?

Your phone starts ringing. It’s an emergency phone call.

You have to be in Sydney by midnight. Tonight!

You have to drive as you’re taking an emergency delivery to a family member.

Can you make it happen?

Of course you can… With time to spare!

You know your destination. You know your timeframe. You know the way (or at least you know that google maps does). You’ll make it there by dinner time…

So why should any other demanding task or achievement in your life be any different?

You can and should approach your Fitness Journey in the exact same way.

First, what is your goal?

Now this is an important point. What is your goal. Not what is your end point, but what is your next marker?

You’re not going to drive to Sydney and suddenly decide you’re going to stay after you make your delivery. Think of your Fitness journey in the same way.

If you’re goal is to lose 5 kilos or increase your squat to 150kgs know that this isn’t a full stop. Otherwise your hard work will be undone pretty easily. Know that once you reach that goal, or preferably before you reach your goal you need to set the next marker that you need to achieve otherwise progress can stall pretty quickly. We all know the stories of people who have dropped the weight or ran the marathon to only bottom out pretty quickly afterwards.

Give you self a chance to enjoy the spoils of each little victory but refocus quickly. After all before you leave on the trip to Sydney you know that you’ve gotta get your arse back to Melbourne at some point don’t you? Or at lease you’d better. You can only tolerate Sydney coffee for a maximum two days running.

Know that your goal posts can be fluid as well. Swinging by Newcastle for a night shouldn’t be out of the question right?

If your goal is to lose 5 kilos and part of the way there you feel like it is not enough, raise the bar. Alternatively if you find that as the 5 kilos of body fat is starting to melt off you feel like you’re becoming too lean and feel like you need to increase your muscle mass start to shift your focus.

The import thing is that you have markers to measure your performance.

On your drive to Sydney you have a heap of distinct and very measurable markers:How far have you come?How far have you got to go?How much fuel have you got?How much will you need?How fast are you travelling?Is it fast enough for you to meet your objective?Is it too fast and you’re risking getting a ticket?

The point is that it is very easy for you to take a glance and your cars dashboard and the clock and know exactly where everything sits.

Any fitness goal (or life goal for that matter) should be the same.

Break down the big picture into manageable chunks. Know what you need to achieve along the way and by when. Know how much time and energy and work it is going to take. Decide if the work is worth it for you. Do you really want it?

If you don’t know how to formulate this sort of plan get the advice of someone that can help. Find someone that can break down each of the steps for you. Someone that can set the timeframe and workout the markers for you and guide you every step of the way.

Then, when you’re ready to go, get behind the wheel and drive that sucker hard. After all no one else can drive your life but you!

If you need a hand, reach out. I’m happy to help and there’s nothing more I love than seeing people achieve great things.

– Luke