In order to successfully execute an idea plan there must be careful identification of the goal, steps to reach it, how to measure the progress and how to evaluate the successes as pre-determined milestones are reached. When you embark on a journey to improve your health and wellness, a well thought out plan will assist you in reaching your ultimate vision.
Training, weight loss, incorporating yoga or range of motion training, involves the process of performing specific physical actions and eating foods that support how you are training. Whatever journey you embark on, in order to achieve success, the process must be carefully laid out, monitored and developed specifically to produce that result. The process of performing carefully planned purposeful activity, in this case, is meant to generate a specific result such as weight loss, improving strength or increasing your endurance through a strict workout and diet regimen.
Tracking your progress is crucial in your quest to obtaining peak physical health. Without tracking there is no way to measure or results and impossible to properly train for your ultimate goals. In order to track your progress, you must determine your starting line and what you want to achieve first. This is called goal setting, it is a way to help you map out your plan, organize your schedule and your timelines and allows you a way of having a finish line with steps to get there and places to celebrate your journey.
There are various areas to track along your journey and they will depend on your specific goals, however, here are basic factors everyone should be tracking no matter what their specific journey is:
1. Food Intake – Depending on your goals there are things that need to be tracked in order to accomplish them. If your goal is to gain muscle, you must track where your calories are coming from in terms of macronutrients, especially protein and intake of water and complex sugars for proper muscle energy replenishment. If you are on a weight loss journey your total caloric intake and what macronutrient the calories are coming from is of key importance (how many veggies, fruits, fats, proteins…).
2. Specific Training Schedule – Schedule your workouts like you would schedule a meeting. How long are you going to spend, what are you going to work on and the specific amount of weight, reps, sets, length of time… The more specific you are the more likely you are to stay on track with your ultimate goals. Schedule short term goals to meet (such as your daily workouts) and long term goals (where you should be in 3 months, 6 months, 1 year…) based on your ultimate peak fitness goal.
3. Achievements – As you reach milestones, make sure you celebrate them. When you are on a journey to increase your fitness level you must look at where you are and where you want to be and create a plan based on your goals. When you schedule things right you achieve your activity of the day and can be proud of yourself for doing so. When you have steps leading to a specific goal, you can celebrate achieving that goal or use it as a way to adjust your target.
Remember have a way to track everything in order to be able to celebrate your achievements and be able to be proud as you continue on the journey of improving your lifestyle and your health.