Setting Fitness Goals For 2009

The process of setting fitness goals is one that requires a great deal of thought and accountability.  If you’re just starting out, you should, of course, get the blessing of your physician before undertaking any new exercise routine, and then honestly evaluate your level of fitness.  If you set the bar too high, then you have a high probability of either a) injuring yourself, or b) getting burned out and discouraged.  On the other hand, setting the bar too low can leave you wondering where to go once those initial goals are achieved.  So, its not easy to strike a balance.  If you poke around here a bit on Live Fit Blog, you’ll get a feel for how I’ve gotten to this point in my fitness journey.  For the short version, you can read about my fitness story.

Back To Setting Fitness Goals

An important part of both setting fitness goals, and achieving those goals, is accountability.  To that end, I’m going to publish a page on this site that states, very clearly, what my fitness goals are for 2009.  I’m in the process of working them out, so they may change as my needs or interests change throughout the year.  However, I fully intend to keep my progress toward those goals regularly updated.  So, without further ado, these are my currently determined fitness goals for 2009.

1. Perform 12 unassisted pull ups (overhand grip, shoulder width)
2. Complete one sprint distance triathlon – event to be determined.
3. Run a 5K in under 25 minutes.
4. Complete 100 pushups
5. 17% Body Fat

In the next few days, I’ll transfer the meat of this post to a static page on the site, and include my current progress.  Some of these goals are things that I’ve already achieved, and others are stretch goals for me.  However, even if you’ve already achieved a goal, that doesn’t make hitting that goal again an invalid desire.

Another thing readers may observe going into 2009 is a reduction in the frequency of my posts.  I’m still trying to work this one out, but I’m concerned about two things.  The first is that posting daily may be diluting the quality of posts.  The second is that the time I’m spending on this project is overshadowing other things in my life.  I would appreciate any feedback that can be offered.

So, have you set your fitness goals for 2009?  Take a moment to write them down.  Better yet, share them with the group here.  There’s nothing like being accountable, and surrounding yourself with like-minded people to help achieve your goals.

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