Setting GOALS

We all say we set goals, have NewYears resolutions or  plans for the following year but how serious do you take this list of goals for the following year?

I thought I would share with you how I set my goals and how I plan to achieve them.

I first started writing GOALS/DREAMS out 5 years ago with a 5yr dream list, It was a time that I had less than nothing I was at the bottom and  had nowhere to go, I couldn't go further down so I knew I was safe where I was but didn't like it there very much!!

I shut my eyes and dug deep into what I really wanted so I came up with MY DREAM of owning my own gym and then a plan of things I could do there and then that would work towards my dream.
It was vital that I worked backwards from my dream so I could plan the route I wanted to take otherwise I would have been going forwards but blind to the opportunities I would need to take. you see when you know the path you need to take you will put yourself in the right places.

MY Plan of Action  

• Own a gym 
• Become a Personal Trainer
• Do a Personal Trainer course        Each of the Goals had mini steps between them
• Save money to achieve dream
• Get a job that was semi flexible 

Getting a job was easy from then on each of these goals took almost a year and none of them were easy to stick to, there was ups and downs but I had nothing to lose it was the only thing I had to focus on so with pure determination I stuck to what I wanted and now I am at the top of my dream list! 

What did I learn from my 5 year list? 

I learned that by writing goals down from the dream backwards I knew what path to take and each time I hit a mini goal on the way to the dream I knew I was going in the right direction and this EXCITED me because I was going to achieve something I thought was only a dream.

• I can do this
• I will do this                                            A video I think will help you
• I must do this

My suggestions to you

• Write down on a piece of paper what your biggest dream is
• Trace your steps backwards to what you can do right now
• Fold that piece of paper up put it somewhere safe
• Make a note of the first goal for the year

Now you know what your goals for 2014 should be? give yourself mini goals of how to achieve that one key goal towards your dream, some of them may be drink less, exercise more, change job, move area or make new friends

"things will only change for you when you know they need changing"

 "Doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result is insane"  

Now to give yourself deadlines look at the year 2014 in quarters (view it from a different perspective) 

the first quarter are the cold months of January, February & March these months are when you should be building your foundations and bridges to what you want "NO Castle was built on poor foundations" then we have the second and third quarter spring and summer, these months are full of energy so you should be looking to use your strong foundation to go out and try and achieve your goal for the year! 

Now I always try and get my GOAL for each year done by september, it is 9 months from now, you will have used a lot of energy working your socks of trying to get your goal!! so before the nights start getting dark and the energy levels of the summer drop try to reach your goal by september, then in the final quarter of the year October, November & December relax from pushing all your energy out you've achieved your first mission you need to regroup ready for next year enjoy your victory.  

So for 2014 I wish you the best of luck reaching your GOAL & mini goals  

Me & Running

I'm going to get straight to the point with this, I don't like running!! 

But in my job I try to get people to go down the right path to reach their goals and how could I tell someone to reach their goal they have to run if I won't run?? So with my clients Amy Tew, Joanne Williams and Nicola Moore I have learned while they are training with me to learn to like running and get used to it.

So today after all my training runs with Joanne, Nicola and Amy I attempted my first competitive race 'the north Wales beach mountain half marathon' and much to my surprise I actually enjoyed my run.

My self and Joanne got to mile 7 with ease BUT then we hit sucnant pass!!! This was a continuous climb for 3 miles and a mile high!!!! This is where Joanne wanted to ACTUALLY PUNCH ME!!!

I was grateful to Llinos Evans for joining in at the top of the pass or I don't think I would have made it off the top of the mountain with Jo... 

From this point on the race became a fell race on awkward terrain up and down hills (did not expect this) but the three of us gritted our teeth and got from the top to the finish line battling the negative thoughts in our minds to get the job DONE! 

Thank you to everyone that supported us today!! And a special thank you to Amy, Wendy and becca for driving around keeping us topped up with sweets and water and Llinos for joining in with me and Jo. 

My observations on running...

A reoccurring theme happens and it seems to be what you tell yourself while your running... You really do have to have a strong mind to run a long distance! The moment you let the thoughts of "it's hard" "I can't do this" "why did I do this" pop into your mind you will struggle to break that cycle of thoughts! 

And rather than fighting the miles you will be fighting your mind and body! (Becoming emotional)

I have also learned that there is out of breath and panic breathing... You may think "this is hard" and feel out of breath but again you should check your mind state and question am I really out of breath or am I anxious or panicking 

A quick fix of your mental state should fix this.

There are a few things I think people should be aware of while running and that is from my experience with my own body is it hammers your joints from the feet up to the hips and to look after the muscles that act on all these areas you can't avoid lots of serious stretching (don't let anyone tell you stretching is for wuses) that is probably because they can't be bothered! 

Personally I have to stretch 3 areas my glutes (bum), hamstrings and hip flexors!

And I'm ready for action again! 

Stacy's Story part 1

Right I don't normally write stories about my clients but the hurdles Stacy loo has had to get over to do the London marathon in order to raise money for the RNLI are amazing.

Stacy showed her support for what I was doing when I started as a personal trainer and she started training with us (para fit bootcamp) on our very first session on 19/03/2012 and has supported us right from the word go.

After attending a good number of sessions Stacy had a back problem and the doctors told her to rest it and it would fix it self, months down the line she tried to attend another bootcamp but a few minutes in she hurt her back again! I sent her away with some home work to do in a hope it would help.

A few weeks later I had a message on Facebook asking for my phone number, I thought she either wanted to let me know how she was doing or to say the homework had worked and she was ready to come back to Para Fit Boot Camp, but it wasn't the case she wanted me to train her to run the LONDON MARATHON...

Ok I'm not the biggest fan of running and the task of training a non runner to run seemed madness... But I'm not one to turn down a challenge in fact I thrive off them!

I arranged to meet Stacy at the local DW for a coffee and to chat about the task in hand, we covered all the things that would stop her from doing the run...

They included:
Severe lower back pain
Locking ankle (sprained in the past)
No experience of running long distance

Time to get to work, we started working on fixing this lower back problem because I know how limiting life can be with back pain so we started with a detailed stretching routine for her legs and core strengthening work this was sorted out within 2 weeks.

Secondly we had to try and get some running in to build up the miles so she could get used to the conditioning and achieve an Acceptable level of fitness, here is where we hit our first stumbling block, Stacy couldn't run for 2 minutes without her ankle locking up.

How do you do a race that involves running, without being able to run?
That's right you CAN'T!!
So to fix the ankle we started working with mandi Shipton from llanberis, and between myself and Stacy come up with a plan to build up condition without running not an easy thing to do.

After 4 weeks of treatment, training and a new pair of trainers we found out to get the running done and some miles in the bag we had to change Stacy's run to reduce impact. THIS WORKED Stacy has just done her first 12 mile run after only 2 weeks of running.

only problem now is it has left us with 8 weeks of training missing to catch up on!
And now the pressure is on to build up miles and keep injury free. (Not easy)

I will fill you in on how the rest of the training goes soon.