I get asked a lot about what it takes to reach workout goals. What does it take to lose that weight that has been hanging around too long? How much effort has to be put in so that any goal can be reached faster?  Tonight I draw inspiration from The Terminator himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger​.  Arnold didn’t reach his goals, fitness and otherwise by sitting back and waiting for things to fall in his lap and we shouldn’t either.

I’ve got 5 things I want to share with you that we need to be doing to reach those end goals no matter how big or small they are.

First, you have to have a clear vision or goal. ​When Arnold first started out he was and investor first able to purchase a small property and over time was able to sell it and buy larger properties. He was Mr. Universe at age 20! That is amazing! Arnold then became an actor and a public servant to his community as the governor of California. He had clear goals in his head and mapped out a way to get there. He studied how others were successful at body building. He found out what they ate, how they exercised and what worked for them. He took those things he learned and applied them to his life until he was able to reach so many of his goals.

Once we know our goal,  we want to be obsessed with achieving it.  Arnold had idols who eventually became his mentors.  Sometimes we all need to reach out for help.   This is a great example of how Arnold immersed himself in the culture that he ended up making such a big presence in.  Whether it was being Mr. Universe or following in the footsteps of actors like Clint Eastwood,  Arnold was getting in his reps, reps, reps to exercise to become the person he wanted to be as a star and a fitness model.

Go to bed early, wake up early.  Train every day and set small goals that feed into your bigger goals.  You can do anything!   Make your plans, set your goals and start achieving them. Get your mind right.

Fail fearlessly and often.  Just like when we workout, we have to stress our muscles to the point of failure so they will be rebuilt. That’s how we grow and get stronger.  What an excellent example of falling down only get up and achieve our goals.  One of my favorite Arnold quotes is, “Always go all out in every set.  Don’t save yourself for your next set.”  Push yourself, it may not always be comfortable.  We have to go to the point of failure to find out what our limits are to know of what we are capable.  The bigger the risk, the bigger the reward.  You will grow in strength mentally and physically.  Getting back up is how you learn and grow.

Put in the mileage and the reps.  If your goal is to run a marathon you have to put in the work to get you there.    You start out with the first mile and start adding miles until your strong enough to get to the finish line.  A secret is those people who make it to the finish line end up pushing themselves even harder to reach the next one.  People often give up before their success becomes second nature.  Don’t give up when you are almost at your strongest.  Start with smaller steps and goals, then exceed your comfort zone and do the next hard thing that scares you.  The more goals you reach, the better and more confident you become.  There are no shortcuts.  Reps, reps reps.  Put in those repetitions and gain the experience until you reach your goals.

The person you are today does not have to be the person you will always be.  You are different than you were just two years ago.  What can you be 6 months from now?  Start today.  Write out a goal and put it where you can see it every day.  Make changes and be uncomfortable as you move to reach your goals.

>>>Here are a few exercises to get you started!!

Alli Kerr