Goals and Exercise Selection

Remember your dad telling you about the importance of setting goals? That if you fail to plan, you’re planning to fail?

Most of us want to look good. Six pack abs, broad shoulders and nice arms. Some of us want to be able to run a marathon or do 25 pullups in one go or lift heavy things. Some of us just want to remain healthy and be able to run when we're 70 years old. 

Rich Froning Jr, CrossFit athlete

My goal is to look like a Greek God, run like Usain Bolt and lift like Pyrros Dimas (widely considered as one of the greatest Olympic weightlifters of all time. Seriously, just google this guy). Something like Rich Froning Jr, winner of the 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 CrossFit games. I know I will never achieve any one of these. But that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t aspire to get there.

Breaking the 10 second barrier in the 100m dash was considered impossible in the early parts of the 1900s. Yet, people believed. And finally at the 1968 Olympics at Mexico, Jim Hines ran the 100m in 9.95s.

I’m not saying all of us should be breaking records. Only when we believe, can we go beyond what all of us think we are capable of. And we should follow it up with effort and time.

 "A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at." - Bruce Lee

Define your goals

1.       To look better/”toned”.

2.       To improve performance.

Generally, people fall into one or both of the above categories. A sportsperson wouldn’t care much about how exercise can improve his physical appearance. Getting better at his/her sport by improving his fitness is his/her goal.

Tweaking your workouts based on goals will ensure you are getting closer to what you want and won't leave you disappointed with lack of progress.

Choosing exercise

1.     To look better

Looking better is a combination of building enough muscle and losing fat. This is what people mean when they say they want a “toned” body. Toning doesn’t exist. You can’t just tone your stomach to get visible abs by doing crunches every day for 3months.

A combination of lifting weights and a good diet will make you look good. Don’t bother wasting your time on those “Lose belly fat by doing these 3 exercises at home” videos. I’ve done that and they are almost always a waste of time. You cannot burn fat by doing certain exercises. A caloric deficit is a must to be able to lose fat. You can read my article on weight loss here.

Want to look like Brad Pitt from Fight Club?

Just build a decent amount of muscle and get your body fat percentage into the low teens. He doesn’t really have a great amount of muscle mass. Being very lean (about 10% body fat) gives him the shredded look.

So what do you do in order to build a good physique?

Focus on the basic compound movements. I’m talking about squats, deadlifts, bench press, overhead press, chin-ups and barbell rows. They work large muscle groups and provide greater stimulus for growth. YouTube has some great tutorials on the compound lifts. Guys like Alan Thrall, Omar Isuf, Mark Bell and Jonnie Candito have fantastic videos on such topics.

Also, progressive overload is very important as a beginner. Progressive overload is basically trying to do more as compared to your previous workout. This is the best way to progress and seeing the weight go up every week will keep you motivated.

2.      To improve performance

By performance, I mean strength, speed/agility or endurance.

To improve performance, it is very important to take up a well-tested program and stick to it to see the best results. These programs are created by very famous coaches and has worked well for a large percentage of the population.

There are many programs available online for improving in any of these fields.

For beginners looking to improve strength, programs such as Greyskull LP and Ice Cream Fitness are great.

For improving endurance (specifically running), programs such as Couch to 5k and Bridge to 10k are fantastic.

However, I would recommend you get a good coach to help you out since they’ll have far greater knowledge and experience than you could get from me or the internet.

Find what your goal is follow a routine to achieve it. Stay consistent with your workouts and diet and be patient. You can't expect to see significant results in a few weeks or days. It takes months and years of work to get to where you aspire to be. Keep your goal in mind and keep pushing.