Setting short term goals is extremely beneficial when keeping your ultimate goal a reality.  We all wanted to be able to run a 4 minute mile, or squat 500 pounds.  However before we do that we must first be able to run a block with out stopping before we can run that mile, and before we can squat 500 pounds we must first perfect our air squat.  With that in mind being that its the first week of August we’re going to see if we can set some individual goals.  Tomorrows strength and skill will be to think of and write down 3 goals you want accomplish by the end of August.  Try and come up with 2 goals that pertain to the gym or your training and use the 3rd as a goal you with to accomplish outside the gym or in your personal life.  For example my goals are 1) Perform 13-14 UB Muscle Ups/Row at least one additional day each week.  2) Get at least 6 hours of sleep each night/Perform 10 minutes extra mobility at least 3 days a week. 3) Read a book that’s not Functional Fitness related. 

In addition to these goals we’re going to write down our current status with the goals in which we wish to accomplish.  If we don’t know where we currently are then there’s no way we know how far we must go in order to accomplish our goals.  For example as I was watched the Functional Fitness games 2 weeks ago, the commentators were discussing Jason Khalipa and how much time he devotes to working on his weaknesses.  The next comment out of the the commentators mouth was how brutally honest Jason is with himself regarding what his weaknesses are.  With that is mind be honest with yourself and set realistic goals for you to accomplish this month.  If you aim to perform your first pull up but currently can’t hang on to the bar, this goal may not be the most realistic.  I’ll use myself again as an example.  My current unbroken muscle up PR is 12, so by the end of the month I hope to add 1 or 2 more reps to that.  As for rowing I currently don’t spend much time extra on it so I figure I’ll start with 1 extra day each week.  As for my sleep lately I’ve been getting anywhere for 3 1/2 to 5 1/2 hours per night.  So by planning better I hope to get an extra 1/2 to a couple hours of sleep each night. I normally mobilize once maybe twice a week for 10 minutes in addition to our normal mobility in class, so 10 more minutes an additional day isn’t farfetched.  My third goal of reading a single book that is not Functional Fitness related throughout the month is a single book because everything I read is Functional Fitness related, but it’s still a single book.  Therefore as you can see these are not massive goals I’m aiming to accomplish, their small attainable goals that I know I can achieve so long as I keep my goals in mind and stay committed to accomplishing them by the end of the month.

Your job before coming to the gym is to put sometime into thinking about what you want to accomplish by the end of August.  After that is your job to analyze and be honest with yourself about how far you are from your goal, and what needs to be done to accomplish your goals.