Womens_HealthAustralia-February_2017

BROOKE’S

GOT

YOU R

BACK

YOUR GOAL POSTS

Workout motivation from PUMA

Next Fitness Star Brooke Bevan

Set non-aesthetic goals. “Choose goals that

focus on lifestyle changes, like training three

times a week or eating more vegetables, as

opposed to those that focus on weight loss

or appearance. These types of goals leave

you disheartened if you don’t see results

quick enough,” says Bevan. “Remember, it

takes 21 days to form a habit. If you stick to

your training and nutrition goals, all the

aesthetic stuff will come regardless.”

Mostly Cs

Lady, your ambitions are more ‘hopes’ than goals.

You make the same health goals each New Year

and abandon them by February. But it’s easy to

get on track. Pick one health goal for 2017 instead

of several. Make sure it’s realistic and you have

a top-notch strategy for circumventing the most

likely internal obstacle you’ll face. Check out

the ‘A’ answers for where you need to head.

Mostly As

Awesome. You’re

confident about

achieving your health

goals and your past

success in this domain

backs your optimism.

You plan for obstacles,

rather than believing

your willpower can

get you through. If

you set ‘stretch’ goals

(difficult, but not

impossible goals),

you can modify those

goals as needed.

Mostly Bs

When it comes to

pursuing health goals,

you’re no slouch,

but you’re not nailing

goals either. You likely

set too many or too

hard goals, or don’t

have a specific plan

for what you’ll do

when you encounter

obstacles, such as

feeling tired, work

demands, etc. You’d

benefit from building

on current strategies.

STEP

2

LEARN TO BE

A GOALKEEPER

Rather than

writing down

a brain-dump

of random aims,

stick to these

expert-approved

resolution-setting

rules to kick butt.

Make your goals

specific and real

Your list might include

“I’m going to lose 20

kilos.” But shedding major

weight is overwhelming!

Change that to “I’m going

to lose 2kg each month.”

Instead of setting such

a massive goal, think in

increments, says fitness

trainer Robert Reames.

But have at least

one ‘stretch’ goal

This is a goal that seems

unattainable, like wanting

to run a marathon, though

right now you can barely

manage 5k. “However,

because these goals

require out-of-the-box

thinking, you could achieve

more than you thought

possible,” says Boyes.

Schedule time

for your goals

So you can quit using ‘too

busy’ as a reason why you

haven’t started bringing

healthy lunches to work.

“We all have 72 blocks

of 20 minutes per day.

Dedicate a couple of

these to working towards

your goals,” says Michael

Cunico of Fitness First.

Write a ‘why’

after every goal

Yes, you want to pay off

your credit cards. But

figuring out that reducing

debt will give you less

anxiety, or get you closer

to your goal of travelling

is a motivator to actually

do it. “You need to

emotionally connect with

your goals,” says Cunico.

Prioritise goals

You could split them into

short-term and long-term.

Or you might have one top

goal (eg, landing a dream

job) you can start this year

(by asking for training in

your current role), but

bring into the next. Or you

could have ‘daily goals’

(be in bed by 10pm) and

‘once-a-month’ goals

(cook a dish from scratch).

Add some fun resolutions,

too, so 2017 doesn’t seem

like a chore. WH

IF YOU SCORED...

“To finally make my

own muesli”

Lisa Balemi, Art Director

“Practise better listening and

stop interrupting people!”

Tara Ali, Contributing Features Writer

“REALLY have hot water

with lemon when I wake up”
Rachelle Mackintosh, Associate Editor

Life etc 2017 goals

FEBRUARY 2017 womenshealth.com.au 51