A new CrossFit acronym!!! Before you google it, or look foriton CrossFit.com. I made it up (I think I did anyway). It stands for As Many Goals As Possible, and the time domain is one year. That’s right. We are starting AGAP’s this month at CrossFit Lake Forest.
There are two types of goals we will focus on, short term goals, which range from 1-6 months to achieve, and long term goals, which take a year + to achieve, or are ongoing. We want all of our athletes to think about their health and fitness goals, and meet with me to discuss them at the 6 month & 1 year mark as athletes at CrossFit Lake Forest.
What is a Goal?
A goal is a desired result. Specifically, Crossfit Lake Forest is your tool toward a specific desired result. We want to help you toward your goal, while also making sure we are your best tool for achieving it.
How do I Set a Goal?
The first step is making sure your goal is specific. Most of us verbalize vague, unrealistic goals without having a specific plan to achieve them or any way of measuring progress. To avoid this pitfall, I will meet with you and put your goal to the SMARTER test.
Here is an example of a common goal.
- Goal: I want to live a healthier lifestyle
- Specific? We must define healthier and lifestyle. These are relative terms.
- Measurable? We must determine a way to measure progress toward a healthier lifestyle.
- Agreed? You and I must come to an agreement on the specific and measurable version of the goal.
- Realistic? You and I must determine if the goal you are setting is achievable.
- Time Bound? This is built into AGAP since you and I will be checking in every 6 months regarding your goals.
- Ethical? I assume you will all have ethical goals, so we won’t spend time here.
- Recorded? You will record your goal in a place where you can refer back to it during our 6 and 12 month check-ups.
Goal Guidance
Inevitably, we all want to lose weight. I have written several posts on that elusive 10-20#s . Aesthetics is a strong fitness driver, but it is also a moving target. We are simply too hard on ourselves. If your long term goal is to lose weight, we can discuss that. However, be prepared to discuss performance goals during your short term goal session. In short, aesthetics is a side effect of becoming stronger and moving better.
What’s important to me, and the reason I am here working with CFLF athletes everyday, is so you no longer want to look like models, or lose ten pounds. I want you to be proud of what your bodies can do, and accept the healthy, strong bodies you have. That’s the tool we are providing you at CrossFit Lake Forest.
We can’t change our proportions but we can change the way we feel about our proportions by focusing on what we can do. And that will help you be the best version of you, even if that version is not ten pounds lighter.
CrossFit brought me this appreciation. Before CrossFit, I never wore shorts and always hid my legs. After 6 months of CrossFit, and being involved in the communitty, I started to see more people with legs like mine. I was no longer using the scale as a measurement. I was using real strong women, and my own abilities. Turns out short stocky legs are great for squatting, Olympic Weightlifting, sprinting, and CrossFit!
I still have days where I wish my legs were longer, or smaller. But I have more days where I show off my stocky legs because they allow me to do things I love, and while they don’t look like Victoria Secret model legs, they look strong, and that’s worth showing off.
If you focus on performance goals like getting that pull-up, that handstand push-up, or PRing various lifts, I can’t guarantee you will lose ten pounds. I can’t guarantee you’ll never have another frustrating jean shopping experience (in fact you may have more). I can guarantee you won’t care about those ten pounds. You’ll care about what your amazing body can do. You’ll be the best version of you. And you’ll be surrounded by people with various body types who not only look great, but can do things you want to do. Instead of wanting their legs, butt, hips, abs etc., you’ll want their back squat. And THAT is a much healthier goal.
Here are a few great blog posts from people with similar experiences and battles with the scale and body image.
http://www.crossfitsouthbay.com/skinny-fat/
http://www.crossfitfastfactory.com/news_article/show/195981?referrer_id=454554
Once you have your 6 month and 1 year birthday as a Crossfit athlete, think about what you want to achieve on your AGAP, and I’ll help you make a plan to get there, and check progress!
3,2, 1….GO!