I love Crossfit. I’m addicted. Maybe the way I was addicted to aerobics in 1986, step aerobics in 1987, and pretty much everything from 1988 – 1992. If you knew me during this time, you probably saw me teaching at the gym, or rushing to or from a workout. Following college, I became addicted to running, swimming, biking, triathlons, Bikram Yoga – you name it, I taught it, ran it, gave it a whirl.  I’ve pretty much been chasing the perfect image since I was 16.

Then I became an image expert when I was 21 years old. Creating headlines for fitness magazines, and image campaigns for Life Fitness (makers of the Lifecycle) and NordicTrack. At Edelman Public Relations, I trained executives and spokespeople to speak to the press and shaped their company image so consumers would want to buy their product. When a client wanted media attention, I helped create a story or event to get coverage in everything from Muscle & Fitness to the Today Show and The Wall Street Journal. But, at times, clients were still not happy. I remember when my client from Life Fitness saw the piece in The Wall Street Journal and simply wrote, “…Wall Street Journal is good.”

Setting goals (and meeting them) became an important part of the job. What did the client want out of the program? Was it press? Events? Speaking opportunities? How many impressions did they want? Working at one of Silicon Valley’s leading PR firms during the dotcom boom helped me identify and re-evaluate the importance of setting goals. Working with high profile companies like Yahoo! and Apple demanded that we achieve these goals.

Crossfit captures your attention by asking you to set some goals. Unlike an aerobics class, where you work to get to a weight or image you want, Crossfit demands that you set fitness goals for that day, while your coach and fellow Crossfitters hold you accountable for achieving them. These are not weight goals, such as “I want to weigh 110 lbs.,” (which would be nice), but, more like, “I’d like to push press 110 lbs.” There are goal trackers online for the amount of weight you lift, and goals are reflected in the WOD (Workout of the Day). The goals have to do with the number of reps, time completed or amount of weight you lift. It keeps you coming back for more.

Setting goals with your public relations firm, team or consultant may include the amount of placements, the amount of APP downloads or the quality of the placement. To me, the latter is the most important. If you get a placement in The Wall Street Journal that is consistent with your message, that can’t be beat. It is beyond “good.”

Let’s face it: setting goals helps us all work harder. In Crossfit, “PR” stands for Personal Record. What is your PR this year? What are your goals, for life, work and play?

As a consumer or a client, you need to decide who will help you do the heavy lifting to achieve your goals.