Setting a workout goal is extremely useful because it helps you to be a lot more focused and motivated. This is one of the most important steps commonly missed out by beginners. In fact, most people just walk into the gym one day and start working out with zero clue on what they are doing. Not surprisingly, most of them seldom achieve any significant results.
In this article, I will teach you how to achieve your workout goals in five simple steps.
Workout Goal One: Gaining Muscle Mass
Step 1. Set your goal: Determine how much muscle mass you want to gain
Step 2. Calculate Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR)
Step 3. Calculate Daily Caloric Requirement
Step 4. Calculate Caloric Surplus
Step 5. Track your Progress
Step 1. Set your workout goal: Determine how much muscle mass you want to gain
When setting your workout goal, it is important to be specific and realistic. If your workout goal is something unclear like: “I want to look buff” or “I want to gain 25 pounds (12kg) in 1 week”, you will probably fail to achieve it. Below is a specific and realistic workout goal:
– I want to gain 6.5 pounds (3 kg) in 8 weeks.
– Therefore, my goal is to weigh 165 pounds (75kg) by August 20th 2012
Step 2. Calculate Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR)
Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) is the amount of energy (in calories) required by your body to maintain essential functions when it is in a resting state (in other words, when you are doing NOTHING at all). These calories are burnt by your body’s unconscious activities, which include breathing, digestion, blood circulation, cell formation, etc. They account for about 70% of your total daily calories burnt. Your RMR can be calculated using the Mifflin-St Jeor equation:
The Mifflin-St Jeor equation for RMR:
For men: (10 x w) + (6.25 x h) – (5 x a) + 5
For women: (10 x w) + (6.25 x h) – (5 x a) – 161
Where:
w = weight in kg
h = height in cm
a = age
Let’s pretend you are 175cm and weigh 70kg.
Your RMR will be: (10 x 70) + (6.25 x 175) – (5 x 27) + 5 = 1664 calories.
This means you burn 1664 calories daily to maintain your essential body functions.
Step 3. Calculate Daily Caloric Requirement
Now, we need to calculate your Daily Caloric Requirement, which is the total calories required per day when you take into account your daily activities. To calculate this, you need to multiply your RMR by your Activity Level.
Activity Level:
Little to no exercise (sedentary, desk job) = 1.2 multiplier
Light exercise (1-3 days per week) = 1.375 multiplier
Moderate exercise (3–5 days per week) = 1.55 multiplier
Heavy exercise (6–7 days per week) = 1.725 multiplier
*Note that exercise refers to both cardio and working out
Let’s assume you exercise 3 to 5 days (Moderate exercise) a week:
Daily Caloric Requirement
= RMR x Activity Level
= 1664 x 1.55 (Moderate exercise)
= 2580 calories
This means that you burn 2580 calories daily after taking into account your daily activities. Since you burn 2580 calories daily, you need to consume the equivalent amount of 2580 calories everyday to maintain your current weight. Which brings us to the next step.
Step 4. Calculate Caloric Surplus
As mentioned earlier, you need to consume 2580 calories (your Daily Caloric Requirement) daily to maintain your current weight. However, to gain muscle mass, you need to consume MORE calories than your Daily Caloric Requirement and create a Caloric Surplus.
The common recommendation is to consume an extra 250 to 500 calories per day. If you put on weight easily, stay on the lower end of the range, and if you are a hardgainer, aim for the higher end. Below is an example of how to do this:
Daily Caloric Requirement = 2580
Extra calories needed to gain weight = 500
Caloric Surplus = 2580 + 500 = 3080 calories
This means that you need to consume 3080 calories per day to create a Caloric Surplus and gain muscle mass.
It is important to note that your body is only capable of adding a maximum of about 1 pound (≈ 0.45kg) muscle per week, so if you are putting on more than 1 pound per week, you are probably gaining some fat on top of muscle mass.
Step 5. Track your progress
It is important to track your progress:
- Set weekly goals. For example, if you want to gain 10 pounds in 10 weeks, you should aim to gain 1 pound per week.
- Track your weight on a weekly basis.
- Adjust your workout/ diet accordingly based on your weekly progress. For example, if you are consistently missing your weekly target weight, you need to eat more to achieve a sufficient caloric surplus.
- Measure your weight on the same day/ time every week. I like to take my weight every Sunday night to see my progress over the week.
Below is an example of how you can do this. Let’s assume you currently weigh 140lbs, and your goal is to gain 10 pounds in 10 weeks.
| Week 0 | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | |
| Target Weight (lbs) |
141 | 142 | 143 | 144 | |
| Actual Weight (lbs) |
140 | 141 | 141 | 144 | 144 |
| Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 | |
| Target Weight (lbs) |
145 | 146 | 147 | 148 | 149 | 150 |
| Actual Weight (lbs) |
145 | 145 | 145 | 147 | 149 | 151 |
As you can see from the table above, your weight will not increase at a uniform rate. You may remain stuck at a certain weight for a couple of weeks, and suddenly overshoot your target weight the next week. This is the case for most people, and it is how our body works. At the end of the day, just be disciplined and stick to your workout routine/ diet plan. Be patient and you will definitely see results!
Workout Goal Two: Losing Weight
Step 1. Set your goal: Determine how much weight you want to lose
Step 2. Calculate Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR)
Step 3. Calculate Daily Caloric Requirement
Step 4. Calculate Caloric Deficit
Step 5. Track your Progress
Step 1. Set your goal: Determine how much weight you want to lose
Similar to gaining muscle mass, it is important to set specific and realistic goals when you are trying to lose body fat. How much fat do you want to lose exactly? Below is a specific and realistic goal:
– I want to lose 8 pounds (3.5 kg) in 8 weeks.
– Therefore, my goal is to weigh 155 pounds (70kg) by August 20th 2012.
Step 2. Calculate Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR)
RMR has been explained in the previous section on gaining muscle mass. Your RMR can be calculated using the Mifflin-St Jeor equation:
The Mifflin-St Jeor equation for RMR:
For men: (10 x w) + (6.25 x h) – (5 x a) + 5
For women: (10 x w) + (6.25 x h) – (5 x a) – 161
Where:
w = weight in kg
h = height in cm
a = age
Let’s pretend you are 175cm and weigh 75kg:
Your RMR = (10 x 70) + (6.25 x 175) – (5 x 27) + 5 = 1664 calories
This means you burn 1664 calories daily to maintain your essential body functions (breathing, blood circulation, etc).
Step 3. Calculate Daily Caloric Requirement
Now, we need to calculate your Daily Caloric Requirement, which is the total calories required per day when you take into account your daily activities. To calculate this, you need to multiply your RMR by your Activity Level.
Activity Level
Little to no exercise (sedentary, desk job) = 1.2 multiplier
Light exercise (1-3 days per week) = 1.375 multiplier
Moderate exercise (3–5 days per week) = 1.55 multiplier
Heavy exercise (6–7 days per week) = 1.725 multiplier
*Note that exercise refers to both cardio and working out
Let’s assume you exercise 3 to 5 days (Moderate Exercise) a week:
Daily Caloric Requirement
= Your RMR x Activity Level
= 1664 x 1.55 (Moderate exercise)
= 2580 calories
This means that you burn 2580 calories daily after taking into account your daily activities. Since you burn 2580 calories daily, you need to consume the equivalent amount of 2580 calories everyday to maintain your current weight. Which brings us to the next step.
Step 4. Calculate Caloric Deficit
As mentioned earlier, you need to consume 2580 calories (your Daily Caloric Requirement) daily to maintain your current weight. However, to lose weight, you need to consume LESS calories than your Daily Caloric Requirement and create a Caloric Deficit. The common recommendation is to cut 500 to 1000 calories daily from your diet.
Since your body is experiencing a deficit in calories from external food sources, it will be forced to burn your body fat for the energy needed to sustain your body functions.
For example, let’s say you are trying to lose weight by cutting 500 calories per day:
Daily Caloric Requirement = 2580
Calories to be cut per day = 500
Caloric Deficit (2580 – 500) = 2080 calories
Below is how much weight you will lose per week:
You cut 500 calories a day = 3500 calories a week,
And 3500 calories = 1 pound body fat,
Hence, weight loss per week = 1 pound (0.45kg)
It is important to note that your body is only capable of losing a maximum of 2 pounds body fat per week. Therefore, you should not be cutting more than 1000 calories per day (2 pounds of body fat per week = 7,000 calories per week =1000 calories per day).
If you are losing more than 2 pounds per week, you are probably losing water and muscle mass as well. As a result, you will lack the muscle definition to look toned. It also increases your risk of injury on daily activities such as walking, running or carrying heavy things. More seriously, rapid weight loss may damage your body too.
Step 5. Track your Progress
It is important to track your progress.
- Set weekly goals. For example, if you want to lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks, you should aim to lose 1 pound per week.
- Track your weight on a weekly basis.
- Adjust your workout/ diet accordingly based on your weekly progress. For example, if you are consistently missing your weekly target weight, you are probably not creating a sufficient caloric deficit.
- Measure your weight on the same day/ time every week. I like to take my weight every Sunday night to see my progress over the week.
Below is an example of how you can do this. Let’s assume you currently weigh 180lbs, and your goal is to lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks.
| Week 0 | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | |
| Target Weight (lbs) | 179 | 178 | 177 | 176 | |
| Actual Weight (lbs) | 180 | 178 | 178 | 176 | 176 |
| Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 | |
| Target Weight (lbs) | 175 | 174 | 173 | 172 | 171 | 170 |
| Actual Weight (lbs) | 175 | 174 | 174 | 174 | 172 | 170 |
As you can see from the table above, your weight will not decrease at a uniform rate. You may remain stuck at a certain weight for a couple of weeks, and suddenly reach your target weight the next week. This is the case for most people, and it is how our body works. At the end of the day, just be disciplined and stick to your workout routine/ diet plan. Be patient and you will definitely see results!
This article is part of a completely FREE and FANTASTIC workout guide to teach YOU how to work out. See below:
The Ultimate Guide to Working Out
1. Five Steps to Achieving Your Workout Goal
2. The Ultimate Diet to Build Muscle and Lose Fat
3. How to do a Proper Warm Up
4. Workout Frequency/ Split – How Many Times Per Week Should You Work Out?
5. Workout Intensity – How Many Reps Should You Do?
6. Workout Volume – How Many Sets Should You Do?
7. How to Build The Best Workout Routine
8. Progressive Overload – The Secret to Getting Workout Gains!
9. Workout Routines to Build Muscles and Lose Fat Fast
