Pyramid Goal Setting to Reach Your Fitness Goals

Why is it so few people are able to achieve their health and fitness goals?

For most people, including myself at one point, it went something similar to this:

I set a goal (never writing it down). Mine was to lose 25 pounds in three months. I made no plan of action to complete the goal and hence, never reached my set goal weight.

That’s why I devised an easy way to not only help you set a goal, but also to put in place a simple system to reach any health and fitness goal you may have.  Don’t just dream anymore – make it happen.

Choose One Goal and Only One Goal

This goal setting system has helped hundreds of individuals reach their goals no matter how big or how small those goals were. It will work whether you’re a beginner or whether you’re more advanced. Why do I know it will work? Because it’s incredibly easy to follow, and I personally use it various areas of my life, but we will concentrate on fitness goals for the sake of simplicity.

Here’s how you do it:

You can only focus on one fitness goal at a time for this system to work. Remember, FOCUS on ONE fitness goal. Examples: lose 35lbs, gain 10lbs of muscle, run a marathon, etc.. It’s entirely up to you.

I do recommend the goal you choose should be SMART goal: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic & Relevant, and Time-Bound. Read more about setting SMART goals here.

The Fitness Focus One-Goal Pyramid System

Action 1:

Take a minute to think about what you you want your health and fitness to look like in three years. When you’re thinking about this, try to get as detailed as possible with how you want to look and how you’re going to feel. What are some of the things you want to be able to do? Write these down.

You probably have a few items on your list that might include:

• Your goal weight
• To  live daily life free of cholesterol or blood pressure medications
• To compete in a Spartan race
• To have six-pack abs
• Etc., etc.

You want to know the secret to achieving your goals?

That’s what I’m here to give you today: If you narrow your goals down to one goal at a time, you will have a much higher rate of success. I’ve tried and failed to reach my goals an unimaginable number of times before learning this simple secret. And you know what? It really does work, because since I’ve put my Pyramid One-Goal System to use, I have never not reached one of my goals no matter how big or small.

It is much easier to sharpen your focus and complete one goal than it is to spread yourself too thin and accomplish nothing. The same holds true in your career, your health, your finances, your relationships, and your life in general. Spread your focus too wide, and you will never lose that 20lbs, you will never be an expert in your field and maximize your earnings, you will never wisely invest your money, you will never give those you care about most what they need from you the most, which in turn, will not lead you to the greatest success in life. 

However, before beginning to think about everything you’d like to improve in your life and getting inundated with where you think there’s room for improvement, I always tell people to take control of their health and fitness first.

Why? Because fitness is a very funny thing. As you complete one fitness goal, you will begin to be amazed by how many different areas of your life will also begin change, which makes it easier to move onto another area of your life. It’s also one of the easiest to take control of. And once your fitness or figure begins to change, you will realize reaching your goals is possible, which will put the pieces into place for other areas of your life.

Here’s how you can do it:

Remember the Fitness Goal Examples: Complete a marathon, get down to 125lbs, increase flexibility, and lose weight to help knees or back feel better.

Action 2:

Choose one single health and fitness goal from your list. The goal you choose should be the one you want to accomplish most. The more you want it, the greater the likelihood of you sticking with any new habits to acquire that goal.

My advice is to set a goal you know you can accomplish in six months to one year’s time.

One-Goal System Example

To reach my goal weight of 140lbs by November 2015. I choose to accomplish this goal by losing and keeping off 25 pounds.

Action 3:

Break down your one-year goal into sub-goals. You will want to focus on a single sub-goal that will move you closer to your one-year goal. This sub-goal should take you 1-2 months to accomplish. Write it down.

Sub-Goal Example

To lose 10lbs over the next  two months by eating a healthier, well-rounded diet and exercising daily.

The sub-goal system makes it easier for you to focus on your main goal by taking the necessary steps to reach your one-year goal. It also makes it more reassuring and motivating to keep reaching a sub-goal every 1-2 months. It lets you know you’re on the right path and will ensure you stick with it when you realize you really can do it.

Action 4:

Create a weekly goal to help reach your sub-goal. Each week (I personally choose Sunday nights), sit down and create a weekly goal that will get you closer to your sub-goal.

Weekly-Goal Example

To lose 1-2lbs each week by consuming 500 less calories per day and going for at least a half-hour walk each morning.

Action 5:

Daily Actions. The basis of this goal setting system is that the small daily actions  you make each day is what is going to move you closer to your weekly goal, which in turn, will move you closer to your sub-goal, and even closer to obtaining your one-year goal. Without your daily actions moving you toward your one-year goal, you are destined for failure.

Make the daily actions you make a priority in your life, and take it one day at a time. Don’t be overwhelmed by losing 65lbs over the next year. Instead, make it realistic by losing 1-2lbs per week. It is this consistent action and mindset that will lead to success over time.

Have I confused you?

I realize I covered a lot of important information in this post, however, you must remember the process is easy. You set your One-Year Goal to accomplish in less than one-year’s time (set it at anytime of the year – no need to wait until January!); Create a Sub-Goal that will take you 1-2 months to reach; Create a Weekly Goal each and every week to help support your Sub-Goal; Every day, take the necessary Daily Actions to meet your Weekly Goal.

This One-Goal Pyramid System puts reaching goals into an actionable system. It is a simple process you can accomplish and get lasting results from. I’ve seen so many individuals fail when they set unrealistic goals like losing 30lbs over the next two months, which is just not possible if done safely and is surely not sustainable. So, make sure to be realistic in how much weight you want to lose in what amount of time or how fit you want to be in what amount of time. You will not be able to run a marathon after two months. A 5K? Yes, but not a marathon.

If you need help figuring out a goal that will work for you, never be afraid to contact me. I’m here to help answer any questions you might have.

You can write down your yearly, monthly, weekly goals, and daily actions on notebook paper. I also created a Google Document I like to use for my own goals. To use and edit the document, go to file then click make a copy, or you could also print out the sheets.

Here is the link to The Fitness Focus One-Goal Pyramid System sheets:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hW8WMubVR98r-JgDUcHbteZEJ5jbdPpFTv422nuuLeo

BONUS TIP: Keep yourself accountable by telling someone or telling everyone about your One-Year Goal. Don’t want to tell anyone about the change you’re going to make? You can always leave a comment below. Letting someone else know about your goal will make you more likely  to stick with it, since you don’t want to fail if you’ve already let it be known what you’re going to accomplish!