How to plan your goals successfully

[Yeahbuddy]

The series continues and in no pre-planned order - straight from one mind to yours!

In today's entry we will aim to outline how we can set ourselves up for the greatest success before even stepping foot in the gym.
As always this is simply one way to get things done - there are countless other ways to get the job done too - this is but one of them.

With that said, let’s begin!

Successful outcomes require plans which set you up for the greatest possible chance to achieve your goals.
To accomplish this, It Is of utmost importance that both the goal and the plan is cemented prior to undertaking it.
An example of this could be – The goal to bulk to X% body fat, understanding factors such as your current start point (X% body fat), diet, training, PED stack, time-frames and much more in which this should all be occurring within.
To break this down we can employ the 4-W's of planning, that I've stolen from common 5W's method found in project management

• Step 1: Goals (What)
  • A fundamental oversight often encountered and visible on the gym floor daily Is people not having a cemented goal in place. I’m sure you’ve seen and heard it plenty of times, you ask someone how training Is and then what they’re doing “bulking or cutting” and they give you a tepid answer along the lines of “cutting till I can see my abs” or say “bulking to get really fucking strong bro!”. Only to run-into the same people a month later now doing the opposite (I.e.: Shredding when they were bulking).
    How this occurs due to flimsy goals that are impacted by other people’s suggestions.
    Which Is why we should always:
    – Create strong, meaningful short-term and long-term goals that are personal to you-
  • We need to know ‘what’ we’re trying to accomplish before anything else takes place or we’re setting ourselves up for either sub-optimal outcomes or worse - failure.
    
• Step 2: Timeframe (When)
  • Next up in our model Is establishing a timeframe or ‘runway’ into what you are trying to accomplish. This goes for any kind of plan from contest prep to simply getting lean for summer.
    When selecting this I recommend employing the following method which is to:
    - Begin with where you want the end-result to be -
    Now I understand that sounds very counter-productive, but this alone will establish an end-date for when you will put an exclamation point on achieving your goals. Which Is fundamental to creating accountability and an endpoint for the phase to be achieved.
    
    
  • After establishing your endpoint for your goal, we would then move onto reflecting on our current starting position which is – Understand where are you now -
    Before we found our end and now we found our start, groovy! After which we should consider If our initial thought was either too ambitious OR not ambitious enough and adjust accordingly for the time at hand.
    For those of you with coaches, this can simply be asking a question whether together you can both accomplish that or not. For those without coaches, more introspection and experience should be applied here.
    
• Step 3: Design (How)
  • We have our ‘what’ in the form of unwavering goal/s for this phase,
    We have our ‘when’ as timeframes of when it needs to happen by and within,
    Now we need to figure out ‘how’ we are going to accomplish those goals within the timeframe.
    
    
  • This step Is where rubber meets the road and includes multiple moving parts which all account for much of the overall results accomplished.
    When designing our fundamentals which is the diet, training, and PED stack, we should: - Ensure the fundamentals reflect and enhance our plan’s outcome, not detract from it
    
    
  • For instance, If your goal was to get visible abs for instance, it would be counterproductive to have a training plan with no cardio, diet plan which contained a lot of sugar, and PEDs consisted of Deca, DBOL or whatever have you. An absurd mix, right?
    Well, Its absurd as we knew our goal, which when you go ask people in the gym who swap between goals what they’re on, training or eating, its usually reflecting one or more elements of their initial plan only mildly adjusted on a whim to meet current goal.
    
    
  • Design your fundamentals accordingly and you will have far greater success than those who make it up as they go along. So, If you knew you have 12 weeks until Summer and want abs, your plan will reflect this from the ground up and have all the foundations of a plan designed for its purpose opposed to a Frankenstein of an old one.
    So a good way to look at this would be to:
    - Start fresh from the ground up and only keep what Is necessary to your outcome in the design –
    
• Step 4: Internalize (Why)
  • Our final step and one that has been the driving force well before undertaking our strategy is the ‘why’, and what an important factor it is. As we’ve come to find, goals that are impacted by external influence, timeframes which don’t align with expectations, and plans that don’t support the desired goals – often lead to a less than desired result.
    
    
  • Knowing our ‘why’ for what we’re trying to accomplish Is going to save us from sabotaging our plan. This will guide us in our future adjustments to the plan around Diet, Training, PED usage and other factors that either you or your coach and others can align with. I say others as you will be questioned as to ‘why’ you’re doing X, or ‘why’ don’t you just do ‘X’ instead? – And the answer to that one is:
    - Understand why it is that you are adhering to your plan and why that matters to you –

So there you have It, one method for setting up a successful plan that anyone of any level can take and apply to not just their training but life in general. What’s important at the end of the day Is that you know:

• What your goal Is
• When you plan to accomplish it by
• How you’re going to succeed in this endeavor
• Why you’re doing it that way and why it matters to you

With those 4 steps known to you, the main source of questions you will get back will be more around people trying to help your goals – rather than give you a new one instead .

-Yeahbuddy!

 

[Enzo_]

Excellent write up