Goal setting

So you want to get fitter to climb Mount Kilimanjaro? What are you going to achieve this? How are you going to train?

It’s a common fact that those who set themselves goals are much more successful in life. Why?

Setting targets gives you something to aim for. It’s motivational and provides focus.

When setting yourself goals, you need to set them at the right level to be effective. Too challenging and you won’t complete them so they will have the reverse effect and be demotivational. Research indicates that when setting goals they should be moderately difficult to achieve, thus providing a challenge, but not too easy that you achieve your target quickly without any effort at all.

Goals should focus on the positive such as what you are aiming to achieve rather than focusing on the negative that is what behaviour you want to give up.

If you are unfamiliar and have never set yourselves any training goals previously, you need to ensure that they are SMART.

Specific – your goal shouldn’t be vague. It should target what you want to achieve.
Measureable – the goal should have some measureability in it so you know when you have achieved it.
Achievable – your goal should be challenging but not beyond the realms of reality.
Realistic -it should be real and meaningful. Don’t set yourself up for failure.
Timebound – your goal should indicate when you want to achieve it by.

If you are unfamiliar with trekking and want to set yourself targets to getting fitter, set yourself some SMART goals. These should be progressive and linked to each other.  Examples are given below:

1) to walk three days a week for 30 minutes for the first 4 weeks;
2) to walk three days a week for 1 hour and climb a mountain every Saturday for the following month;
3) to walk four days a week for 1.15 hours and to climb two mountains at the weekend for the next month.

This provides you with an action plan and a progressive set of SMART goals to help you achieve your objective of getting fitter to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. These are an example. You can adjust your goals accordingly to increase your own personal levels of fitness.