When we set out to accomplish a health and fitness goal, we all have a start point. A point where you’ll potentially never be at again, IF we go about it the right way.

Its at this start point that you want to do a ‘self-audit.’ An honest, no holds barred look at your lifestyle. Things like your food, exercise habits (or lack thereof), sleep, social life, discipline, commitment, all the types of things that can have a huge impact on your health and therefore, could determine the result of successfully achieving your goal or not.

To do this, ask yourself some tough questions. “What am I willing to do to get the job done?” What am I NOT willing to do to get the job done?” “What level of commitment do I have?” “What am I willing to sacrifice?” “What am I willing to change to do this?” What am I NOT willing to change?” Answer your audit questions truthfully and honestly.

The start point also gives you an opportunity to take snapshot of you right there, right then. By that I mean, take a photo. Take some measurements, write down how it is you feel right now, at that point in time. Again, be honest. Don’t be afraid of the answer. In a few weeks, months, years, you can do it again after having achieved your goal and see just how different your answer will be this time around. That will provide motivation in itself!

And speaking of measurements, do them regularly! The old saying goes, “What you don’t track, you can’t measure.” A photo showing as much skin as possible every 4, 8, 12 weeks or whatever, will provide plenty of feedback as to how you’re progressing. Grab the tape measure and periodically measure specific sights on the body like chest, waist and hips. Take note of how your clothes feel. Is a pair of jeans that a few weeks ago were fitting perfectly, now a little tight around the hips or waist? Keeping tabs on all of these things can become extremely useful in keeping you heading in the right direction, or whether you need to adjust and reset your goal/s.

And on that, don’t be afraid of a reset. Not everything works out according to plan. Life happens. Take the recent COVID situation and lockdown for example. This set a lot of people back in their health and fitness goal. So is it realistic that your initial goal is still within reach in the same time frame… probably not. So rather than let that get you down or disheartened, do a reset. Recalibrate, if you will. This will more than likely provide new motivation and drive to knuckle down and get fairdinkum again, and get you pushing hard towards your target.

If you feel like you need to get back on track and reset, talk to your RFT coach about setting some new goals and taking some current, up to date measurements. Think of it as your new baseline. Your new ’start point’ so to speak. This will ensure you have direction and purpose and could quite possibly be the kick in the bum you need!

‍