No Plan without Goal
Someone, lets call this person 'Sally' , asked me about how to find a good plan to start training to run 3 miles. I told Sally that I would write one up, all I would need is a timeline, a goal to reference and her current running ability and history. I offered some tentative dates of 5k's that are run in the Valley.
Sally was adament that she didn't want to run a 5k, nor would she give me a timeline that fit into her schedule. Sally was very 'dodgy' with all my questions except that she wanted to be able to run 3 miles.
My point here is not to beat up on little Sally. My point here is that goals are best met when there is a sense of urgency attached to it. A plan without a goal is not a plan. I can get anyone to run 5k, barring medical conditions, but when asking any quality fitness professional a question, they are going ask the why or what.
Many times I have responded to internet questions about protien intake with, "What are your goals?" Why buy expensive protien powders if you already get enough protien in your diet? Why ask for a 5k plan if you don't have a reason to run the distance.
My answer to Sally is, "Run every other day, be consistent, increase no more than 10% a week and you will be able to run a 5k between 30-60 days."
The part that hurts is that Sally like many other people out there that suffer from a specific condition of Common Man Syndrome, expecting results overnight. Just getting a plan from a personal trainer is not going to get someeone to run 5k. Just like just having a health club membership is going to get you into shape. The other part of the equation is The Why.
Sally was adament that she didn't want to run a 5k, nor would she give me a timeline that fit into her schedule. Sally was very 'dodgy' with all my questions except that she wanted to be able to run 3 miles.
My point here is not to beat up on little Sally. My point here is that goals are best met when there is a sense of urgency attached to it. A plan without a goal is not a plan. I can get anyone to run 5k, barring medical conditions, but when asking any quality fitness professional a question, they are going ask the why or what.
Many times I have responded to internet questions about protien intake with, "What are your goals?" Why buy expensive protien powders if you already get enough protien in your diet? Why ask for a 5k plan if you don't have a reason to run the distance.
My answer to Sally is, "Run every other day, be consistent, increase no more than 10% a week and you will be able to run a 5k between 30-60 days."
The part that hurts is that Sally like many other people out there that suffer from a specific condition of Common Man Syndrome, expecting results overnight. Just getting a plan from a personal trainer is not going to get someeone to run 5k. Just like just having a health club membership is going to get you into shape. The other part of the equation is The Why.
posted by Comm's @ 10:25 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Good post!!! The other thing I see people do is have a laundry list of goals that is so big and so vague that no one could possibly achieve them all! Quantifiable, specific, and focused does it for me.
all this time i've been readin' you, and today i learned that CMS manifests itself in conditions...
maybe you should publish a known list, so we can look out for them in our 'no limits' challenge.
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