The end of the year is coming fast.  A time to reflect on the past year and make new resolutions to make changes in the upcoming year. 

I used to be one of those "New Years Resolutionist"...good intentions and all!  And like 90 % of those, I gave up, fell apart, got too busy and yes,I quit.  BUT.... I am not the girl I used to be. 

You see ladies...We are CROSSFITTERS!  We show up and train hard every day.So let's see if we have made progress....hmmmm...

Can you run farther without stopping?

Are you  stronger than you were last year?

Can you do kipping pull ups?

If you stop and look at what you have accomplished in the past year, how did you stack up to where you planned to be?  If you fell short of your resolutions...are you any different from that person I mentioned above?  Of course you are!  The difference is you are already doing something about reaching your goals. 

Every CrossFit has goals ranging from getting stronger to competing at the CrossFit games.  The people who successfully reach their potential understand the importance of SMART goals.

Specific  Measurable  Attainable  Relevant  Time-Bound 

SPECIFIC:  like getting stronger, a common goal for most of us as CF, including me.  Getting stonger can mean different things to different people, so it's important to specify what it means to you. 

-A specific goal might be game standard push ups.

MEASURABLE:  Goals need to be measured.  We write down our times of benchmarks as a way of measuring improvemnt. 

- Aim for AMAP unbroken wallballs in a WOD.

ATTAINABLE:  We need to be realistic to ensure outr goals are reachable without setting our goal too low.  This is where a good coach can come in handy.  A logbook is a  is also invaluable.  I keep a log of all my WODS.  Here was one of my goals; The first year I did Grace with 35#.  The next time I did it, I used 75#.  It took me a year to increase 40#...that was realistic.  If my goal was to increase to the Rx weight of  95#....that would've been unrealistic.  So to make a 40# increase meets the criteria of a SMART goal.  btw...after another 6 months I finally Rx'd Grace.

RELEVANT:  In my opinion, how relevant a goal is might just be the most important part of a SMART goal.  It's as simpple as asking yourself why this goal is important to you.  For me...I wanted to be the top female score on the "300" WOD.  Maybe you just want to outlift your bff at the box.  The key factor is that it means something to you and it's important to you.

TIME-BOUND:  This is when alot of us fall off-the-wagon.  Set a specific date for your goal.  1 year for now doesn't cut it.  Adding 40# to my deadlift by December 2012 is a SMART goal.

 ACCOUNTABILITY:  Ok...so it doesn't fit in with the SMARTacronym...BUT, being accountable for your goals is critical to keep you focused.

So as we come to a close on 2011....take some time to evaluatewhere you need to improve, whats important to you, and where you want to be as a crossfitter 1 year from today.  And start developing your SMART goals to give you a detailed picture where that is.