How to learn how to properly set goals in your workouts

Do you want to start running? The goal, of course, is good, but it is unlikely to work. You need specifics: not just start running, but run a marathon, for example. Details are important too – just run or run in 3.5 hours? Simply put, any goal requires consistency and a competent approach – that’s what we’ll talk about.

Candidate Master of Sports, PRO-expert Sportmaster PRO

On the way to the perfect figure, have patience and time.

How to define your training goal? Why is it important?

Determining your training goal is quite easy, says trainer Alyona Demidova. Go to the mirror and ask yourself the question, “What parts of my body am I not happy with?” Think about how you can fix it: add relief to your abdominal muscles, tighten your buttocks or shed a few pesky pounds. It’s important to consider your health condition. One person can do calm and measured workouts like Pilates, while another person can do active cardio or strength training. Before you start training, get a medical check-up, especially if you have never exercised before.

trainer in the SMSTRETCHING studio

First of all, start from your inner feelings.

Alyona: No expert will tell you exactly how many days you will sit on the twine or pump your buttocks. First of all, it is important to understand your diet and daily regimen. Healthy sleep is the key to success in both weight loss and gaining muscle mass. Do not exhaust yourself with hours of daily workouts. Start small, and then the result will not keep you waiting.

Why results do not always meet expectations?

Everyone comes to sports with a certain goal: to lose weight, to gain muscle mass, to dry up. Some are preparing for competitions, others are strengthening their health. In all cases, according to candidate master of sports Daniil Lobakin, it is important to set the right tasks. For example, to lose weight, it is important to work on weight loss and nutrition. But at this stage many people make a mistake.

Daniil: A person may say that he eats right, but after training he goes to McDonald’s. Another option is that the trainer does not choose exercises correctly. Much depends on the competence of the trainer – mistakes are possible. For example, it is illogical to give exercises with maximum weights and minimum repetitions if the goal is to lose weight. In this case, you should do more exercises with smaller weights – work on the number of approaches, not on strength.

Denis Evlanov, a specialist in rehabilitation after injuries and trainer, agrees with his colleague: the inability to set a clear goal is one of the most important mistakes of beginners in fitness. Take into account the fact that any goal requires time, and it will look something like this: “lose 10 kg of weight in two months”, “gain 5 kg of lean muscle mass in three months without increasing fat layer and waist size”.

Injury rehabilitation specialist and trainer

In sports it is important to be realistic and understand what results you can and cannot achieve.

Denis: Take into account your health, fitness, time frame, financial possibilities, hormonal background and age. You can’t become a bodybuilder in three months of training. Why not? It’s simple: the norm of gaining muscle mass at the initial stage of training is 0.5-1 kg per month. To lose 30 kg in two months without harming the body is also unrealistic. After all, a healthy rate of weight loss is considered to be 1-2 kg per month (with a small obesity). With medium and high degree of obesity – 3-4 kg and 5 kg respectively.

What a beginner needs to do in the first place:

1. Determine the goal and come to the gym.
2. Strengthen the state of the cardiovascular system and musculoskeletal system. Training will be of a physical fitness nature! No heavy lifting.
3. Reduce the fat layer (you can immediately start recomposition – simultaneous fat burning and muscle mass gain).
4. Gain muscle mass or develop the necessary skills, depending on the goal.

Gaining mass

If your goal is to gain muscle mass, it’s important to start with your diet, says Daniel. Look: If you don’t eat regularly, you’re unlikely to gain mass. In the process of training you will be very tired, and you will not achieve the effect. It is more difficult to cope with this task than with weight loss – much depends on your predisposition. Gain muscle mass is much more difficult than to lose fat mass. On average, about five or six months of regular training will be enough to achieve the first results.

Daniel: If a person has well-developed muscles – there is strength, but no relief – in this case you can achieve good results in six months, comparable to the results of bodybuilders. But everything depends on the initial data – what kind of physical shape the person who sets himself such a task is in.