Dan Herron Reveals The Key To Achieving Your Fitness Goals

Dan Herron works in coaching, fitness consulting, and marketing for VisionQuest Labs, a startup human performance lab and cycling training center in Indianapolis, IN. VisionQuest Labs’ metabolic tests, fitness and athletic consulting, and cycling studio can help everyone improve their fitness and performance– from beginner to elite athlete. 

Dan Herron has assisted with various aspects of starting this new business. He’s spent time building relationships with individual athletes, fitness studios, and companies looking to incorporate this testing into their wellness packages while also planning and coaching cycling camps and indoor structured rides. He enjoys consulting with clients on the next steps in applying the data from their assessments into their workout plans.

In addition to his work in coaching and entrepreneurship, Dan Herron loves competing in Ironman, endurance cycling events, and merging endurance sports with philanthropic pursuits. Dan Herron’s future plans include pursuing certifications that will enable him to provide professional coaching in triathlon and the individual disciplines of swimming, cycling, and running.

We spoke with Dan Herron and he told us the secret to creating a goal that you can achieve. 

What is it that gets people up and moving?

A goal.

People need goals, purpose, focus, something to look forward to, plan for, commit to. This need for purpose and commitment is woven into what it means to be human. Philosophers call this inherent drive for purpose the “teleological argument” for existence– “telos” meaning “purpose”. Life has purpose, and you need and desire purpose. This is what moves people to write sonnets and to summit mountains.

Let’s get personal with this philosophy as it relates to our personal fitness and health. Just as we inherently need and search for a telos for the whole of our lives, we also need a telos for all of those smaller parts that make up our lives, this includes our physical health.

And, this is where goal-setting, commitment-making, and event-planning come in. We all say that we want to be “fit”. But, what does that look like concretely? This is where you need to create a goal and name your telos. Do you want to lose 5% body fat and increase your lean mass by 3%? Do you want to gain power on the bike? Do you want to increase your cardio health across the board? Do you want to be able to walk up and down the stairs without being out of breath? Do you want to be a part of a community and build friendships along the way?

Name your purpose. Write it down, in fact.

From here, find an actual “finish line” in real life. Find an event such as a bike/running/triathlon race, a community bike/run/walk event, one of our VQ Bike Camps, a charity ride, or even a family vacation where you may plan some wonderful hikes.

You see, the amorphous goal of being “fit” is just too big and can be like trying to grab a handful of fog– you just can’t do it. This is why you need something solid, with a deadline, and even a registration fee to force you to remain committed.

I just talked to a friend the other day who completed her first International Distance Triathlon. She had the event on her calendar for months, had a plan to train, had a hotel room reserved, and was committed with her time and money. So, on the day of the race, when she started the swim and mentally wrestled with whether she could actually complete it, or if she should just quit early, it was her commitment to the goal that kept her in the water, kept her moving, and drew her toward finishing the full race: 1-mile swim, 25-mile bike, 6.2-mile run. Reaching this finish line adds confidence, intrinsic reward, and joy to keep moving forward.

So, find an event and commit to it!