Let the Vancouver Canucks Help You Achieve Your Fitness Goals

Credit: Iwona Kellie

Like the Vancouver Canucks, set serious goals but have fun achieving them

The Vancouver Canucks set themselves a huge goal this year and they’re four wins away from succeeding

If you listen to the player interviews after each game you can hear them repeating the same mantra. They appreciate how far they’ve gotten but they’ve still got more work to do before they’ll be satisfied. Nothing less than winning the Stanley Cup will do.

While us average folk may not have the talent to win the Stanley Cup, I think the Canucks provide a great example for the rest of us to follow.

Here are the things to take away from the Canucks’ Cup run to help you in your own fitness quest:

1. Set big but relevant goals. I’ve previously described SMART goal setting and noted that I prefer the term “relevant” to “realistic.” Many people underestimate what they’re capable of. I think it’s good to set goals that inspire you to reach a new level. Choose a goal that means something to you. Maybe it’s running a marathon or an even more extreme race. Maybe it’s losing 50 lbs. Whatever, just make sure it carries some deep personal significance to you.

2. Surround yourself with good teammates. While your goal may be personal, you won’t get there by yourself. You’ll need help along the way so create a support network for yourself. But be ready to help others in their fitness quest as well. Humans evolved as social creatures. We need to lean on others but we also need to let others lean on us. All the Vancouver Canucks have commented how different players have stepped up when the team has needed it. Be a team player.

3. Have fun in the process. After the game in which goalie Roberto Luongo made 54 saves, he was asked how he did it. His answer was that playing in playoff games had been a dream of his since he was a kid. He was having fun out there. Sure you can have serious outcomes as goals, but you won’t stick to the process if you’re not having fun. That doesn’t mean it will always be easy. Achieving big goals rarely is. But overall you should enjoy yourself. 

4. Make a plan on how you’re going to get to your goal. The Canucks had a solid plan to make it to the Stanley Cup Finals and they followed it. Without a plan you’re like a rudderless ship. You may have a lot of momentum, but you may not necessarily make it to your destination.

5. Evaluate your progress and make adjustments as necessary. After every game the coaching staff would review the game. Based on what they saw they’d make line-up adjustments and improve strategy for the next game. Your plan will tell you the steps you need to take; using an exercise log shows your progress and areas in which you may need to improve. It will keep you on track to your goal.

Take a page out of the Canucks’ playbook; challenge yourself to reach high and then go for it!