Shift Your Focus: Performance Vs. Body Image Based Goals
That 2022 New Year countdown has come and gone, and you might have promised yourself 2023 is the year you achieve your fitness goals (after that champagne hangover leaves you in peace, of course).
If you are currently on your fitness journey, you probably have an idea of what you’d like to achieve. Whether it’s gaining strength, losing weight, or simply wanting to become healthier, ideally we should have a goal in mind.
These are all common goals in the fitness space, and can definitely be a great starting point!
However, looking at fitness through a lens other than the way we look in the mirror can help us develop a broader perspective when we consider exercise as part of our daily lives.
Performance based goals are a great addition to a bigger goal you may have relating to physical appearance, but can also act as a stand alone goal.
Creating goals around body composition (physical appearance) can put undue emotional pressure and stress on our training sessions, especially in a world where we are hyper-aware of other people's fitness progress and journeys.
If we shift our focus to performing our first push up, for example, we allow ourselves to develop an attainable and measurable goal to work towards while removing some of that emotional and societal pressure. We can begin to reflect on the true quality of life we desire to have in the present and the future.
Start by setting realistic and achievable goals that are specific to your needs and desires- this can look different depending on where you are in your fitness journey.
Need inspiration? Gym and lifestyle performance based goals might look something like:
Perform your first pull up or push up
Improve balance
Learn how to barbell back squat
Perform a specific daily task or skill without pain
Improve your average mile time
Increase your vertical jump height
Gain greater overhead mobility
Climb multiple flights of stairs without being winded
Achieve a PR (personal record) for a specific exercise
Improve total body flexibility
Complete a hike with challenging rock scrambles and inclines
Increase training frequency
Complete a marathon or fitness challenge like spartan races
Maybe you've set a goal to increase your gym sessions to three times a week.
At the end of that third workout, you can give your trainer a high five knowing that you achieved what you set out to do: you met your goal for the first time, and if you keep meeting that goal each week, you'll notice changes in your body.
Any time we are introduced to a new training variable our bodies will adapt to that specific training, leading to noticeable body composition changes!
As always, any fitness goal is possible as long as we check off all other boxes: Adequate sleep, recovery, nutrition, and stress management!
Once you're ready to make performance-based goals, talk to your trainer about including them in your individualized exercise programming! In a few weeks, they'll have you moving with ease under that barbell you've been wanting to try!