My goals for Round 3 of 2013 12WBT

Today I finished the second of the Round 3 12WBT pre-season tasks. I mention this because I didn't really put much effort into them in Round 2 and I vowed to put more effort into Round 3.

The first pre-season task is to identify those things that can get in the way of your success and to think of what you can do to stop them stopping you.

The second pre-season task is to set your goals for the short, long and longer term. Not only do you need to set your goals but also how you are going to go about achieving them. I first came across the SMART method for goal setting in the 1990s and I have used it on many, many occasions in my work life to set business goals. I have never ever used them in my private life. Unbelievable but true. I have no idea why but I do know that I short-cut these tasks in Round 2 and quite simply, I shouldn't have. That why this time I have put in the effort and have really thought about my goals and what I can do to help make it easier for me to achieve them. And this time I have included some rewards. I have also added in a 9 Month Goal because that is when the 24-hour MS Mega Swim is held and that, quite possibly, means even more to me than my personal body and fitness goals. That is because it pays forward the help, faith, friendship that my friend Peter extended to me when he started this whole thing off by getting me back in the swimming pool on 17 September 2012. What follows below then is what I have come up with. And believe me, it is harder to do than it looks!

TASK 1 “Get Real - No More Excuses”

Internal excuses
I am too tired.
I am too busy.

Solutions
Turn off computer by 7:30pm. Go to bed earlier so can get up and exercise. Make sure that I am eating good quality food so I have enough fuel to exercise. Just start. Doesn't have to be a mammoth exercise session each time. Don't over think it. Don't start negotiating with myself. Go into robot mode and just do it.

External excuses (within my control)
It is too hot/too cold/too wet to exercise.

Solutions
Plan my daily exercise sessions a week in advance so I know exactly what I am doing each morning. Make it easier for me to exercise. Keep gym and swim gear in the boot of the car so I just have to jump in the car and go to the gym/pool. Make sure there is healthy food in the house so I have good fuel for my exercise. Prepare the night before (food and exercise clothing) to make it easy to get out of the house in the morning.

External Excuses (Outside My Control)
My mother wants me for some thing that is urgent to her.

Solutions
Embargo my morning for me. Block out mornings in my diary. Don't put off my exercise until later in day as inevitably something will come up. Get my exercise done earlier and get it out of the way before other external pulls on my time have a chance to come up.

TASK 2 “Take Control - Set Your Goal”

1 Month Goals

• Lose 5kg
• Swim 200 metres butterfly non-stop
• Swim 300 metres freestyle in under 6 minutes
• Swim 1km freestyle non-stop in under 35 minutes

AND

• By 17 September 2013,  the 1-year anniversary of the day I got back in the swimming pool, to have lost a total of 30 kilos

How I Will Get There
Stick to calorie-controlled diet by following the 12WBT menus.
Go to Masters swim squad each week and swim two other sessions each week
Do gym sessions three times a week building up resistance and time on bike
Keep activity diary.

Rewards
Still to be decided

3 Month Goals

• Lose 15kgs
• Swim 1km freestyle in 30 minutes
• Swim 200 metres butterfly non-stop
• Hoist myself out of the pool using my arms

How I Will Get There
Follow 12WBT program
Undertake weekly Masters aerobic and endurance swim sessions
Have faith in my own ability and commitment

Rewards
New swimming costume
New gym shoes
Dexa Scan

6 Month Goals

• Lose 25 kilos
• Fit into new Trent Nathan dress

How I Will Get There
Steadily building my level of fitness to build more muscle and reduce percentage of fat and keeping to the 12WBT eating plan.

Rewards
Beauty treatment with the works
Dexa Scan

9 Month Goals

• Swim 10 kilometres in the 24-hour Mega Swim to aid people with Multiple Sclerosis

How I Will Get There
Follow 12WBT fitness and nutrition plan
Embrace changes as my lifestyle

Rewards
The satisfaction of achieving a goal I would never have previously contemplated
Dexa Scan

12 Month Goals

• Achieve goal weight
• Get BMI to healthy weight range
• Achieve elite level of fitness
• Wear sleeveless top with pride

How I Will Get There
Follow 12WBT fitness and nutrition plan
Embrace changes as my lifestyle

Rewards
Professional photo portrait
Buy new sleeveless outfit
Dexa Scan.