January 21/98 s 1998 going to be your year to get fit and healthy? Here are some goalsetting tips to help you turn your fitness resolutions into reality. The good news about making fitness goals is that if you keep the exercise commitment going for nine months, your chances of getting hooked on exercise for life is almost 100 per cent! The bad news about fitness goals is that 50 per cent of all people who start an exercise program this January will quit by June. One of the main reasons for such a high drop out is that most people don’t set well-defined goals when making fitness resolutions. Ineffective goalsetting leads to irregular exercise, lower success rates, and decreased motivation. Appropriate goalsetting helps you to succeed by allowing you to evaluate your progress and redirect or modify your efforts. Take a good look at your fitness resolutions and ask if they are S.M.A.R.T. Specific - J want to get in shape for 1998 is not specific enough. What do you specifically want to do? Lose 20 pounds? Be able to walk up the stairs without huffing and puffing? Run 10 kilometers in April? Improve your posture? Once you are clear about what you want to achieve, an appropriate fitness program can be designed. Seek out the advice of a health and fitness consultant to ensure that your exercise program is effective, efficient, and injury free. Measurable - Unless a goal is measurable, how will you know when it has been accomplished? When starting an exercise program, consider having a fitness assessment. An assessment provides you with a road map for your fitness travels. Together with your health and fitness consultant, you will be able to determine the level of improvement you want to accomplish and what actions you’ll need to take in order to succeed. Action-Oriented - Write up two action plans; one for long-term goals and one for short-term goals. When writing down your goal-oriented actions, your plan should also incorporate solutions to past exercise roadblocks. For example, if lack of time was a major roadblock for you in 1997, what are you going to do differently about the time issue in 1998? Perhaps you don’t need to exercise for one hour — maybe 30 minutes is more realistic. Maybe you need to look at a new time to exercise if your energy level is too low after work. Or, could you combine exercise with family time by making exercise a social, recreational event? Realistic - Do a reality check on your goals because unrealistic resolutions lead to disillusionment. If you hate pounding the pavement, don’t set yourself up for failure with a strenuous jogging routine; focus on what you enjoy doing. Also, have compassion for yourself and your genetic disposition. For example, did you know that there are eight million women who do not look like supermodels and only eight who do? (A realistic number of fat pounds to lose per week through exercise and healthy eating is one to two.) Timed - Finally, circle a target date on your calendar for accomplishing your S.M.A.R.T. fitness goals. For more information, or to book an appointment with Heather, call 984-4964 Fitness consultant available through clinic Ihe North Shore Sports Medicine Clinic at Capilano College is pleased to announce that health and fitness consultant, Heather McCullough, has joined its team of practitioners. Many employees at Capilano College already know Heather as a wellness presenter at two Staff Career Development workshops. As a direct result of these seminars, Heather was offered an associate position with the North Shore Sports Medicine Clinic. Heather has a B.A. in Psychology and Kinesiology from Simon Fraser University. She is also a certified fitness consultant and personal trainer. Some of the services she provides include: * exercise motivation ¢ healthy eating ¢ long-term weight management * successful sleeping * back care and posture ¢ employee wellness * personal training For more information, contact the North Shore Sports Medicine Clinic at Capilano College at 984-4964.