prioritizing goals

Real random blog entry today...but its on my brain so I want to share.

I had a conversation a couple days ago with a mother during a session about encouraging her children to make their decisions based on what is best for them, not what they think is expected.  One child is a senior in high school, the other is a sophomore in college, so they have a lot of life altering decisions coming up.  My two cents was just not to make a decision based on what is expected, or what others are doing.  Just like how we cater every movement in their workouts, they should cater every decision to their specific needs, regardless of how other people are moving around them.  You don't need to bench press on Monday just because every other meathead is bench pressing on Monday. 

I love when fitness examples apply to life's larger tasks.

I also love when fitness becomes part of life's larger tasks. 

I had a client text me the other day to let me know he wasn't going to be able to make our regular Saturday appointment.  No Problem.  He had just gotten back into town from dropping his son of at college 10 hours away the day before and was going to turn his brain off and play in a golf tournament.  I completely understand and support that decision.  Freshman years are also tough on parents.  So I sent him a comic about being a hack of a golfer, and wished him luck in the tournament.  Saturday was going to be beautiful so I was actually a bit envious.  

But then Saturday at 9am rolled around and my client surprised me and was at the gym.  He wasn't going to skip the session. The tournament was at 1pm so he had enough time squeeze in a session then run home, eat, and head to the course.  We worked on some mobility and restoration,  mainly focusing on getting him moving again from being in the car so much the last couple of days.  At the end of the workout he said that was "perfect and exactly what he needed."  Boom, another satisfied customer. 

I didn't make him a better golfer, human- yes, golfer- no.

But that wasn't really his goal for our Saturday session.  His goal was to move better, feel better, keep his routine, and stay injury free.  He's not a professional golfer.  He's a professional husband, a professional father, and a professional lawyer.  Golf is a fun hobby, everything else mentioned is a priority.  I didn't see anyone else from the tournament at the gym that morning though.

Our conversation on Monday morning went like this:

Me: How did you golf on Saturday?
Client: terrible (laughing)
Me: Great! Did you have fun?
Client: Yeah it was fun
Me: Is anything sore?
Client: Nope, everything is good
Me: Great, lets get after it!

If he had shot a 68 or a 98 it wouldn't have mattered.  What mattered is that he enjoyed himself and could do it everyday without experiencing an ounce of pain.  Our priorities are aligned so that he can enjoy every and any activity he partakes in.  Successfully or not. 

Availability of an athlete or client is the first key to success. 

Enjoyment then tends to not be to far behind. 

Your goals do not have to be milestones. Goals can be the small things that sometimes get overlooked.  Those goals then tend to snowball real quick into milestones.

Keep your fitness goals simple.