How to set Personal Weight Gain Goals

Photo by timsnell

When I first started working out and trying to bulk up I constantly hit several periods where I did not make any significant progress.   I’d literally be in the gym 3-4 times a week busting my butt off trying to force my body to grow.  To say the least it began to wear on me.  One day I struck up a conversation with one of the regulars at the gym and he asked me what goals I set for myself.  I was dumbfounded when I realized that I didn’t even set goals.  I fell into the trap of going to the gym with no idea of what I wanted to do.

Why do we need to set goals?   Simply put, bulking up and putting on lean muscle is a lot of work.  By setting goals you’ll have a final destination and and a plan on how to get there.  There are also a lot of motivating factors involved with goal setting.  As I’m going to mention later on, setting minor goals or milestones is a great way to set goals that can be achieved in a short period of time. This in a sense keeps you motivated to continue working hard and moving forward.

I took some advice from different people on goal setting and I also did some reading and I came up with 5 pretty effective steps to setting goals.

The first Step is probably the most obvious one but you’d be surpized how many of us haven’t even gotten this far:

1. Set a specific realistic Long Term Goal

Your long term goal is basically your end point or final destination.  It’s a clear cut definition of what you’d like to achieve at the end of your bulk.  You have to ask you self some very specific questions because you do not want to limit yourself to what you can achieve.

Some questions you might ask are:

• What weight do I want to be at?
• What measurements would I like my arms, chest, waist, quads and calves to be?
• What body fat percentage am I aiming for?

I need to stress that you need to be specific there are no ball park estimates here. With that in mind you need to also be realistic. The chances that you’ll be 275lbs with 8% body fat are next to impossible unless you take steroids.

2. Set measurable short term goals every 12 weeks

In order to work towards your long term goal you’ll need to set shorter measurable goals that will allow you to progressively get to your end point.  We do this because aiming for a long term goal may be very intimidating.  In my case I’m attempting to put on an additional 50lbs seem impossible.  Now if I set up a mini goal of gaining maybe 5lbs in a 12 week span that feels a lot more bearable.

Setting measurable short terms will act as milestones that lead towards you long term goal.  It’s a rewarding feeling because every milestone you pass brings you 1 step closer to your desired weight.

Use this format to set up your short term goals:

For the next 12 weeks I will:

Gain __________ pounds of muscle
Weight __________ pounds

Have a body fat of ____________%

Have measurements of:

Chest/Back _____

Arms (right) _____ (left) _____

Waist _____

Thighs (right) _____ (left) _____

Calves (right) _____ (left) _____

3. Make an action plan that you stick to

Now that we have your long term and short term goals set in stone it’s time to make an action plan.  An action plan is basically a list of things that you will do to give you the best chance of making it to your next milestone.

Personally one of my biggest problems is getting discouraged. Whenever I mess up I feel like giving up and this usually leads me to under eating.  So one of my personally actions plans is to eat at the bare minimum 3 balanced meals a day.

If you’re having some trouble making some actions plans maybe some of these examples will give you an idea.

I will work out at least 3 times a week

I will have 2 cardio sessions a week

I will sleep at least 8 hours a day

You get what I’m talking about now?

4. Make Bi weekly progress reports

Ok so we have set your long term goals, we’ve set your short terms 12 week goals, you’ve determine what your action plan is, now it’s time to delve even deeper.  Every couple of weeks record all your measurements (weight, bf%, etc.).  On top of that take a picture of yourself to give you a something visual to go by.

Bi weekly progress reports are great primarily for two reasons

1) Motivation – the best feeling in the world is seeing yourself slowly make improvements. After all the dieting and hard work in the gym it’s nice to see that it’s really paying off

2) Correction – If you find that you aren’t gaining weight you can make necessary adjustments to your diet, sleeping habits, and your workout.

5. Don’t get discouraged if you don’t reach your goals

This is my major downfall.  I get discouraged way too easily and then I lose motivation and I give up.  The great thing about goal setting is you can always make new ones.  Just because you didn’t manage to put on 7 lbs in this doesn’t mean you can’t adjust the goal for something a little more attainable.in