Be Strategy Focused Rather Than Outcome Focussed

 Do people still read blogs?

I've neglected this one for far too long between updates. There's a lot of good stuff from years gone by that you may recall, or you might want to catch up on.

Something I've always spent a lot of time thinking about, writing about, and talking about, is less the specifics of training and exercise, and more the sort of outlook and attitude that you want to come in with, if you really want to enjoy permanent and ongoing success.

So, if you want my advice on that topic, after 12 or 13 odd years or however long it is I've been in the game as a professional coach, here it is;

 

"Goal orientated" was definitely a buzzword you wanted to have in your cover letter when job hunting back in the 90s. Now though, and with fitness goals in mind... not so much.

Feels like an odd thing to say, come to think of it. "With fitness goals, be less goal orientated". But if you really think about it, it does make sense. Think less about the goal, and more about the strategy that might take you towards that goal.

 Typically in fitness people will have a goal, or will be asked what their goal is. 

Usually in the past that would be a weight related goal. I want to get down to this weight, I want to lose this much weight, and so on. Usually inspired by what you imagine you might look like at that weight, or how you imagine you might feel about yourself at that weight.

That's often the next question in a fitness consultation, after "what is your goal?".
It's "and how would you feel once you have achieved that goal?". Maybe this all sounds familiar to you already.

But let's assume for now this is just a conversation you're having with yourself or with a friend, not with someone trying to sell you a gym membership or whatever.

I'm going to lose this much weight, and I'm going to look like this, and I'm going to feel like this.

OK great. But how?

Usually the "how" is where people fall down. 

Well uhh... I dunno I guess I'll stop eating bread. Or I'll do the cabbage soup diet again.

Something like that, right? They're just clutching at straws.

Often in a consultation with someone trying to sell you a gym membership or a personal training contract, it's little different.

What's your goal?
Well, I want to lose weight.
OK great. How will feel once you reach that goal?
Uhh... good, I guess?
Awesome. Here's your meal plan. Don't eat anything that's on the naughty list.

In either example, you have a goal outcome, you have motivation, and you have a course of action.

But is there actually a reason to assume that adhering to this course of action will take you to that goal outcome? Is there a reason to assume that this a workable strategy, that you can be expected to adhere to, whether it would even work or not?

Usually no. 

Some of my earliest memories from around the time I got started in this business, were of other trainers asking for advice because for example "I've just taken on my first client and she needs to lose 30kg", and then supposedly more experienced people giving them a list of foods the client needs to be banned from eating, or a meal plan she needed to follow.

I would always ask questions and usually the answers were "she will lose the weight because these are all healthy foods", and "why wouldn't she like the foods? It's all nice recipes. In any case she just needs to want it bad enough to eat clean and prove that she has discipline".

Sadly that's how a lot of people charging money for advice still think, and it's what a lot of people who are paying for advice except to hear, as well.

But it's not "a strategy", is it? It's not meaningful, workable advice that we could logically expect to produce the desired outcome. 

So, what would be a better strategy?

First let's start with a better goal. 

Appearance and condition related goals can be fine, but usually a generic "weight loss" goal or for that matter a more specific "goal weight" goal are ill advised, for reasons I've covered at length on the blog already several years ago.

A better goal might be "get into stronger and healthier shape through training, and a better version of that goal would be "to enjoy getting into stronger and healthier shape through training".

In pursuit of that goal, you focus on the strategy. 

For example as follows:

• I know I can train 3 times per week every week, and 4 or even 5 times per week on a really good week.
  
• Therefore here's a 3 day split training program I will work to every week.
• I will eat meals and snacks at these times of the day as best suits my schedule around work and training and other responsibilities.
• Here are the estimated energy and macronutrient intakes required to make progress at training.

As has been very often described here and on my social media channels, the nutrition strategy should be about more than just deprivation, or about "being in caloric deficit". It should be about eating habits that are consistent, sustainable, and appropriate.

If you attempt to over restrict, you're unlikely to be able to sustain it for long. At best, you can kinda stick to the "caloric deficit" but you feel like you're dragging ass all through your training sessions, not really enjoying it, not really seeing progress, and you're not exactly a barrel of laughs the rest of the day, either.

When you're well fueled according to your actual requirements... that's when you're full of energy to train hard, make progress in your performance, add lean mass, see changes in physical condition, AND feel like you're having a good time, more of the time, in general.

Now... a lot of people reading this might still be thinking "well that's fine in theory but I really do have a lot of weight that I need to lose". In which case... again, focus on the process of establishing those consistent training habits, establishing those regular meal times and hitting consistently appropriate intakes, and also put the focus on enjoying training and enjoying life.

Under normal circumstances a heavier person would expect to get less heavy as they get healthier and stronger. A less heavy person is better off being less concerned with weight at all and more interested in just the "healthier and stronger" aspect, and they'll likely find they soon have a healthier relationship with body image as well.

With the focus on the process and the strategy, you don't end up in the same old depressing situation of thinking like "well I was supposed to lose 10kg and I've only lost 3kg and I'm not even having a good time so what's the point of it all anyway?" again and again.