Magazine_Spring2020_RND5_03.06.20.indd

What are your fitness goals? If I had to guess, your goals probably involve either losing or gaining, or a combination of both. Do you visualize the person you want to be every time you exercise, and feel defeated when it doesn’t become your reality? It’s not your fault. We are fed so much information about how we should look and perform, with so many conflicting viewpoints on how to get there, that it sometimes feels like we are expected to achieve a goal that isn’t even our own. This disconnect may explain why so many of us burn out mid- workout or lose motivation to exercise altogether—it's easy to forget why we're working out and who we're working out for. Training plans don't often take into account each of us as individuals. When the given goals are absolutes, they can be impossible to achieve amid our busy lives. Life contains few absolutes – the way we feel is not absolute, so how can our goals be absolutes? Additionally, if you are on a path to blindly achieve a goal without regard for exactly why you want to achieve it, you are probably feeling pretty lost. We all want to be in shape, but maybe there can be a deeper meaning to the way we choose our fitness goals. Instead of unquestioningly following someone else's plan for you, what if you first asked yourself, "Is this goal in an effort to attain the happiest, longest, and most fulfilling life possible for me?" Chances are that's not something you've considered before, but don't be afraid of re-evaluating your goals. A shift in your thinking could give your physical performance the boost you've been looking for. Fitness and Exercise performance goals Written by Abby East Nutrition Quarterly · 2020 – Volume 2 14 What We’re Reading