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Most people who walk into a gym for the first time have a goal. It is usually a number on a scale, a size of jeans, or a vague promise to "get fit". Those goals are fine as a starting point. The trouble is that they are often too big, too vague or too far away to carry you through a wet Perth winter morning when the alarm goes off at 4:45am.
At TandEm CrossFit in Balcatta, we talk about goals with every new member before they train. Here is how we think about setting them, and why smaller usually works better.
"Lose 15 kilos" or "get really strong" are outcomes. You cannot do an outcome on a Tuesday. You can only do the sessions that eventually produce one. When the goal sits months away and the progress is slow, motivation fades long before the result arrives.
The other problem is that big goals leave no room for real life. A sick kid, a work deadline or a bad fortnight of sleep can make you feel like you have failed, when you have simply had a normal few weeks. People quit over that feeling far more often than they quit over the workouts themselves.
The most reliable goals are about behaviour. They are things entirely within your control, and they build the habit that every other result depends on. For example:
Three sessions a week is the minimum we recommend, and there is a reason for it. Train less than that and your body never gets a chance to adapt. You stay sore, you do not improve, and the lack of progress wears down your motivation. Three sessions gives you a rhythm your body can respond to. It is the foundation of every goal that follows.
Once the habit is in place, choose a skill rather than a number. Skills are specific and they are satisfying, because you can feel yourself getting better at them. A few examples we hear from members:
None of these need a scale or a mirror. They are things your body can do that it could not do before, and you will notice the day it happens.
A goal needs a way to check progress, or you are guessing. In CrossFit we repeat certain workouts every few months so you can compare like with like. Your time, your load or your number of rounds tells you something real. If you finish the same workout faster, or with a heavier weight, you have improved, regardless of what the scale says that week.
Set a timeframe you can believe in. Six to eight weeks is long enough to see change and short enough to stay focused. After that, look back at what happened and set the next one.
Be kind about the setbacks too. A missed week is a missed week. It is not a verdict. The members who last are rarely the ones who never miss a session. They are the ones who come back the following Monday.
Every workout at TandEm scales to the person doing it, whether that means lighter weights, simpler movements or fewer reps. Your goals should work the same way. If your target is too ambitious, shrink it until it feels achievable, then build from there. A goal you reach teaches you that you can reach goals. A goal you abandon teaches you the opposite.
Every new member begins with our Fundamentals program: three one-hour sessions, scheduled around you, outside regular class times, for $220. It is where we teach the movements, learn how your body moves, and talk about what you want from training. By the end, you leave with a plan that fits your life rather than one borrowed from someone else's.
You do not need to be fit to start. You do not need to know what you want yet, either. That is what the conversation is for. Our classes run from 5am, 6am and 9:30am (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) through to 5pm and 6pm sessions, plus Saturday mornings, so there is a time that can fit around work, school drop-offs or whatever else fills your week. The Wooden Spoon Café is next door at 2/76 Erindale Rd, Balcatta, if you would like a coffee before or after.
TandEm is at 2/76 Erindale Rd, Balcatta, and we welcome members from right across the northern suburbs, including Scarborough, North Beach, Marmion, Stirling, Innaloo and Osborne Park.
Ready to work out what a realistic goal looks like for you? Book your free fitness consultation and we will talk it through together. You can also call us on 0402 324 368 or email info@tandemcrossfit.com.au.
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