The most prevalent cause of fitness failure may not be what you think it is. It has nothing to do with heredity, gender, attitude, laziness, motivation or the always-prevalent gimmick, quick-fix diet market. Many strong-willed and positive thinking individuals have let their workout programs and health falter for long periods of time"gaining extra pounds, loosing muscle strength and sending their systems way out of balance.

Take a deep breath... this does not mean you are a failure! It only means you haven't used a system of goal setting that guarantees results every time you do it.

It doesn't matter how motivated, energetic or gung-ho about an exercise or fitness program you are. If you neglect putting your goals on paper you will NEVER achieve success to the level that you deserve. Actually, let me reword that"if you neglect putting your goals EVERYWHERE"the refrigerator, the bathroom mirror, your dashboard"you will NEVER achieve the rewarding success of being healthy and fit for life.

When you have set an unwritten fitness goal, as many of us have in the past, generally what happens is a newly found energy and drive leads you through the first couple of weeks of energetic workouts and solid gains. This is a tremendous feeling and we embrace it with excitement.

This energy is a powerful motivator during that time"it can make you get up off the couch when you are feeling lazy or convince you to get up an hour or so earlier for yoga or a run.

Unfortunately, as strong as that energy comes on, it drops off just as quickly. For most people, when that energy fades so does the frequency of workouts. This not only leads to failure to complete your unwritten goals, it also leads to self-doubt. After not living up to a commitment, people tend to be harder on themselves and give up making similar goals all together. I call this the New Year's Resolution Syndrome. What's the point in making a New Year's Resolution if they never last until February?!

Posting your goals is an action that will serve as a reminder of the energy you had when you initially made them. When you are two months into a new fitness and health program and you feel too tired to go out and ride a bike, you can look at your goals and be reminded of how important those goals were to you then and how they are just as important now. Remembering why you posted them and bringing back that positive unstoppable energy is essential to your lasting fitness success.

I've practiced posting goals for a while now and demand that all my clients do the same. The results are staggering. People reach their goals and then they continue to use the system to keep succeeding. I'll tell you what, there is nothing like reaching a goal way before you thought you could do it. It is a fantastic feeling and gives you a positive energy that bursts out of your seams.

So think about writing down your goals and putting them in places where you can see them all the time. It will work. I promise you. Next article will be about addressing your past successes and how you can apply that success to your fitness goals!

To Your Success,

Kevin Gianni