Setting Fitness Goals to Achieve Longevity
When it comes to exercise, having goals is essential for motivation; but, what if your goal is to extend your lifespan, you don't want to establish an end date, so how do you set that goal? Read on...
Goal Setting
“Begin with the end in mind,” is one of the seven habits of highly successful people identified by the late Stephen Covey.
Yes, having a goal can help with motivation and following a program; but, one important component of goal setting is having a specific time frame to achieve that goal. When it comes to training for longevity, we do NOT want to set a specific end date, so what can we do to adjust our goals?
Now that you’ve crossed the rubicon of being middle age and are in your late 30s, 40s or 50s; your training goal has most likely shifted towards longevity, in that case, how can you set goals to establish the healthy habits that will extend your healthspan?
Components of Longevity
First, we have to identify the components of longevity, which include (but are not limited to):
Exercise: specifically strength training and high-intensity interval training, both stress your physiological systems in ways that low- and moderate-intensity exercise simply doesn’t.
Nutrition: as we age eating the proper nutrients is essential. Because gaining and maintaining muscle mass is critical as we age, the recommendation is to consume 0.8-1.0 grams of protein per 1lbs. of bodyweight. In addition, eating healthy fats can promote testosterone production in men and optimal brain health for every person.
Sleep: getting 7-9 hours per night of sleep is critical as we age. A study released a few years ago found that adults who averaged less than 6 hours/sleep per night were at a much higher risk of developing cognitive issues as they age.
Social interaction: being connected with a large group of friends and staying socially engaged becomes essential as we age.
Being in nature: there is power in connecting with our natural environment.
Goals for Longevity
If these are the components of longevity, then your goals need to accommodate for all components.
Having a goal of “losing 5 pounds,” simply isn’t enough for the long-term motivation required to stick with a program for longevity. Training for longevity requires a thoughtful approach to each component so that you have a balanced lifestyle that will add years to your life.
Developing a goal or goals for each component of longevity can help you to establish a healthier lifestyle that will add years of high-quality living to your lifespan.
Think about setting goals for each component of longevity; for example:
Exercise: rather than exercising to lose weight, think about adding muscle. Set goals for increasing strength in a specific lift, or being able to complete a hard workout in a shorter period of time.
Nutrition: set goals for eating the foods that promote optimal health.
Sleep: set a goal to get an extra hour of sleep per night, if you do that, it’s like getting an entire extra night of sleep over the course of a week.
Social interaction: have a goal for joining a club or starting a new sport, both are excellent ways to increase social engagement.
Outdoor time: establishing a goal to spend more time in the fresh air and sunshine will do wonders for your overall health and wellbeing.
7 Things to Consider for Setting Goals
Here are 7 things to think about the next time you sit down to set the goals for what you want to achieve with your exercise program and how you can focus it on long-term success to achieve longevity:
There are 2 different types of goals that you can set. Setting an intention to lose a specific amount of weight or achieving a specific level of body fat are called “outcome goals” because the focus is on what the workouts should produce.
Yes, outcome goals are important and can be an incentive to follow a workout program, but they can also be de-motivating. Think about the goal of losing 10 lbs. or 3 inches in the waist line, yes those are specific and measurable, important component of setting a goal, but what happens if those goals are not met? Does that mean it is time to throw in the towel and cancel the membership? If you are following a good exercise program the chance is that you will be adding muscle in addition to losing unwanted fat so the scale may not change much even though the workouts are having the desired effect.
To change your mindset and your overall exercise experience, think instead about setting process-oriented goals. A process goal is just what it sounds like, it focuses on the steps of the process of achieving a specific outcome as opposed to simply reaching the outcome itself.
Process goals can include: making it to the gym twice during the week and once during the weekend, trying a new group fitness class or learning how to do a new mode of exercise like bodyweight strength training using the TRX Suspension Training system. What do you think you would feel like if you consistently made it to the gym three times a week? Do you think your body would change if you started taking new group fitness classes which challenged you to exercise differently? Finally, do you think you would get a sense of accomplishment if you learned how to do something new in the gym? The point is that if you focus on the process that you will ultimately reach a desired outcome.
An outcome goal can lead to the “extrinsic motivation” to exercise, meaning that you are working out because you want to achieve a certain outcome that can be seen by or shared with others. An example is the goal of losing a specific amount of weight for a vacation, wedding, reunion or other life event. There is nothing wrong with extrinsic motivation, but what happens once you reach the goal and the event is over, will you have the drive to continue with your exercise program?
There are nothing wrong with outcome goals, some people simply need that type of motivation. If you are a runner, cyclist or triathlete who enters races to have a training goal and you measure your progress by the results then that is an excellent example of using outcome goals for long-term motivation. Plus, in this case, an outcome goal, like having a specific time in an event or qualifying for a particular race can lead to the intrinsic motivation to stay with the training program.
A process goal can help you develop what is called “intrinsic motivation,” which is the inner-drive to reach an objective for the purpose of hitting the objective. Think about setting the process goal of learning yoga and taking two classes a week; there are many benefits of yoga including improved flexibility, reduced stress and the chance to make new friends with other participants. As you continue to reach your process goal of two classes a week, you will most likely feel the difference in your body which could help motivate you to take more classes. The point is, can you see how shifting the focus towards the process of learning a new form of exercise can help you to create the inner drive to stay with a chosen exercise program once the initial goal, in this case two classes a week, is met?
Into Action
Only you can determine the best types of goals for your needs, the most important thing is that you have them so that you can stay focused on what you want to achieve.
When it comes to longevity, consistency is essential, you can’t follow a healthy lifestyle for a few weeks or months and expect that to last a lifetime. Working towards longevity means following a healthy lifestyle 24-7/365. To extend your healthspan, you have to follow healthy habits every single day. And yes, taking a day of rest for minimal activity is considered healthy too, as long as over-indulging in junk food is not a part of it.
Take the time to write down goals for longevity, then make sure they can fit into your existing lifestyle, if not, you’ll have some choices to make. Keep coming back to this resource, because that’s why it’s here: to help you life a longer, healthier and more fulfilled life.