What do you do when you reach your goal? Give up?

[MJinZ]

I've been thinking about this for a while and wonder what I would be doing when I've reached my goals, which is foreseeable in a year or two or less.

What do you do when you reach your goals? Get new ones?

I'm thinking about this in terms motivation at the gym, diet etc..

Edit: by give up, I mean do you just work out to stay on par with your goal and not try hard to get better?

 

[Bucks]

I've been thinking about this for a while and wonder what I would be doing when I've reached my goals, which is foreseeable in a year or two or less.

What do you do when you reach your goals? Get new ones?

I'm thinking about this in terms motivation at the gym, diet etc..

Edit: by give up, I mean do you just work out to stay on par with your goal and not try hard to get better?

I would think most people will set new goals whether it is to maintain the current state, or something like gaining muscle definition after losing X number of pounds. Kind of a silly question

 

[Deeko]

Set new goals of course.

Hell, if I set all the IPF world records in my weight class (which, lets be serious, won't happen), I'd change weight classes and try to do it again.

 

[KoolDrew]

Set new goals of course.

This.

 

[Nintendesert]

Set new goals. Never give up, never surrender!

 

[MJinZ]

The only problem with that is... life is not about the gym, unless you're making a living out of it...

Just wondering how motivated I will be trying to bench 310lbs having already reached/surpassed your strength, utility, and appearance goals...

 

[Deeko]

The only problem with that is... life is not about the gym, unless you're making a living out of it...

Just wondering how motivated I will be trying to bench 310lbs having already reached/surpassed your strength, utility, and appearance goals...

Set new goals of course.

I don't understand what the problem is. Your life doesn't have to be about the gym to set a new, more difficult goal.

 

[MJinZ]

I don't understand what the problem is. Your life doesn't have to be about the gym to set a new, more difficult goal.

Goals at some point simply become unrealistic unless you do it professionally or as an athlete. Not saying I will ever get to that point, but I can definitely see getting to an unrealistic personal point.

I mean, you know you will plateau eventually due to other parts of life taking time away from the gym... say at a 350lb bench press. What happens to the mental portion of it when you *know* you can't get better? No steroids, and no unhealthy practices obviously.

Basically, I wonder if people simply achieve a "I'm happy with what I have" point and go to the gym just to keep it with no need to get better.

 

[Deeko]

Goals at some point simply become unrealistic unless you do it professionally or as an athlete. Not saying I will ever get to that point, but I can definitely see getting to an unrealistic personal point.

I mean, you know you will plateau eventually due to other parts of life taking time away from the gym... say at a 350lb bench press. What happens to the mental portion of it when you *know* you can't get better? No steroids, and no unhealthy practices obviously.

Basically, I wonder if people simply achieve a "I'm happy with what I have" point and go to the gym just to keep it with no need to get better.

I'd imagine a lot of people do get to the point where they're happy with what they have...and if so, good for them. However, those people are likely to start getting more lacksidasical with their training, at which point they'll start losing things....and maybe they'll get motivated to set goals again, even if its "get back to where I was".

That said, the average person isn't going to reach their genetic peak without a pretty specific, regulated, and strictly followed regimine.

 

[MJinZ]

I'd imagine a lot of people do get to the point where they're happy with what they have...and if so, good for them. However, those people are likely to start getting more lacksidasical with their training, at which point they'll start losing things....and maybe they'll get motivated to set goals again, even if its "get back to where I was".

That said, the average person isn't going to reach their genetic peak without a pretty specific, regulated, and strictly followed regimine.

Genetic peak is an entirely different story, I do not even want to look like my genetic peak because I'm one of those people that find Bodybuilder bodies to be very unappealing. Just not what human bodies should look like for some of those guys... :whiste:

 

[Alone]

Sounds like a troll thread, to me.

If you hit your goal, and are satisfied with being at that level, and don't want to surpass it, then your next goal will be to maintain it.

 

[rcpratt]

When I reach my goal, my new goal will be to maintain. I have no desire or need to bench 300 pounds. I have no desire to look like a bodybuilder. I know this is sometimes a sore subject around here, but I go to the gym to make myself look better. My goal is an image in my mind, not a number. I'll know when I'm there and then I'll maintain.

 

[Deeko]

Sounds like a troll thread, to me.

Its mjinz. Of course its a troll thread.

 

[Lamont Burns]

My goals change all the time. I hit a number, I change the number. Be it weights, reps, cardio, bodyfat, whatever. All of it passive, none of it life sucking.

 

[MJinZ]

Sounds like a troll thread, to me.

If you hit your goal, and are satisfied with being at that level, and don't want to surpass it, then your next goal will be to maintain it.

Why do you get trolled so hard every time? You seem to like it a lot.

Maintaining something is the issue here as "a goal". It's likekeeping your house clean. Or just staying alive. Oh well you wouldn't know since you like being trolled.

 

[bfdd]

i set a lot of goals at once, that way i can quit some and not feel bad about it because i have so many i will eventually complete anyways.

 

[Pantlegz]

I picked something new to do, played football for a while and lifted. Hit a plateau while I'm cutting weight so I picked up a sport that was conducive to weight loss and set new goals. Eventually I think my gy goals will be to maintain just because as others have said you have to have a life outside of the gym.

 

[MJinZ]

I picked something new to do, played football for a while and lifted. Hit a plateau while I'm cutting weight so I picked up a sport that was conducive to weight loss and set new goals. Eventually I think my gy goals will be to maintain just because as others have said you have to have a life outside of the gym.

Yea I guess, I just wonder how that works for people... maybe I should ask some old farts that are still fit.

 

[brikis98]

If your goals are appearance related, then I suppose when you achieve the look you want, you switch to maintaining.

Personally, I do Crossfit because my goals all revolve around improving my "general physical preparedness" (GPP): that is, improving my performance across all fitness domains, including strength, speed, endurance, agility, etc. I do it because it's healthy (which is inherently a life-long pursuit), it's practical (allows me to better handle anything life throws at me, from a new sport, to manual labor to a fight), and it's fun. In fact, the last point may be the most important: I see Crossfit as no different than any other sport and strive to get better at it. In the same way that you could spend a lifetime trying to get better at basketball or hockey, you likewise can keep getting better at Crossfit. Jordan and Gretzky were never "done" improving their abilities, and they were far better at their sports than I'll ever be at Crossfit.

Of course, on top of that, the "general" part of GPP gives me so much stuff to work on - every type of power lift, olympic lift, gymnastics movements, running, rowing, KB's, jump rope, climbing, flexibility, plyometrics, etc - that there is always something to work on. Every time I achieve one goal, I can always make it tougher or move onto something else. Find a weakness, make it a strength, rinse, repeat. I have a great life outside of the gym, but TBH, I don't see my time at the gym as a chore - I actually enjoy it and look forward to it.

 

[Pantlegz]

I have a great life outside of the gym, but TBH, I don't see my time at the gym as a chore - I actually enjoy it and look forward to it.

As do I, but at a point one would require more time in the gym to continue to see gains. I'm at the point now where I'll have to skip or miss workouts to fit something else in or recover from this that or the other(pulled muscles, broken toes etc.) . I love being in the gym I love being active but I also understand that there is a point of diminishing returns when it comes to my body. You can be healthy and not spend 4-5 hours a day in the gym. But you can't squat 3x BW and not spend a ton of time in the gym. I think it's a good thing to keep in the back of your head, when I get to x point I'll be happy or just maintain because it would require too much work to see gains beyond that point.

 

[brikis98]

As do I, but at a point one would require more time in the gym to continue to see gains. I'm at the point now where I'll have to skip or miss workouts to fit something else in or recover from this that or the other(pulled muscles, broken toes etc.) . I love being in the gym I love being active but I also understand that there is a point of diminishing returns when it comes to my body. You can be healthy and not spend 4-5 hours a day in the gym. But you can't squat 3x BW and not spend a ton of time in the gym. I think it's a good thing to keep in the back of your head, when I get to x point I'll be happy or just maintain because it would require too much work to see gains beyond that point.

I suspect that it'll be a very very long time before I reach a point with my training where I won't be able to make any progress on the same amount of time in the gym, especially considering the huge variety of goals I'm after. If that ever does happen, then (a) it's nothing to complain about because I'll be in crazy good shape and (b) that'll be a fitting time to reevaluate my goals and see if I enjoy the path to elite fitness enough to dedicate more time to it. If not, sure, I'll start maintaining, but in all honesty that's a very long and unlikely path.

 

[Koing]

Make more goals or maintain that aspect...but some stuff I'll NEVER be satisfied...

Koing

 

[skace]

I think the crux of this entire thread is that "maintaining" a goal you previously set is, in itself, a goal that requires work. While continually upping the bar could demand more and more of your time until it reaches the point of unrealistic. Even maintenance can be difficult to juggle with all the other things in your life and the stronger and better you become, the more significant that maintenance is.

If you go ask old people how they stayed fit, I'm pretty sure the main thing would be staying active in some form. You won't maintain your perfect gym body that way, but you will maintain a general overall health. Which is similar to Pantlegz view of playing football to at least maintain some general health and lose some weight. The older you get, the simpler the activity has to be, until it is as simple as walking from your house to a baseball field downtown, that level of exercise keeps you healthy. In fact, learning how to curb your exercise routines to meet the condition of your body could also be a large factor towards aging gracefully. That doesn't mean at a specific age you have to stop weight lifting, but it might means you may need more recovery time, different exercises, different weight requirements, etc if you want to continue that workout routine.