How to Set Fitness Goals That You Will Achieve

Setting fitness goals is a great way to ensure that you get the most out of your workouts and that you reach your ultimate goal of getting into shape, losing weight, building strength or endurance, etc. These fitness goals also give you a good idea of what type of workout plan you should follow even if you aren’t looking to follow any sort of formal training plan. The difficulty in setting fitness goals is to set goals that you will be able to achieve without making them too easy or too subjective. A good fitness goal should be challenging but attainable. It should be something you feel good about accomplishing.

A good fitness goal should be something that you reasonably see yourself doing within the allotted time frame. Setting a goal to run a marathon is great if you’re already a runner but not a good goal if you’ve never run before. You may find yourself feeling very discouraged when you realize you can’t even run 1 mile at a time much less the 26.2 that would be required for a marathon. It isn’t unheard of to go from brand new runner to finishing a first marathon within one year but for most people this would not be a reasonable goal. Instead, as a beginning runner you could set a goal of participating in a 5k before the end of the year. This goal will appear achievable but still challenging for someone who’s never run before. If you find running enjoyable and accomplish your goal early in the year, then you can set a second goal of running a 5 miler, a 10k or a 5k trail race. Your ultimate goal may be to check running a marathon off your bucket list but starting out with that goal may be too imposing. Setting a series of smaller goals leading up to your ultimate goal gives you increased confidence every step along the way while still leaving room for improvement.

Adversely, a good fitness goal shouldn’t be too easy. Setting a fitness goal like, “I will exercise” isn’t very helpful as this goal is too vague and can be easily achieved by simply going to the gym a couple of times or going for a few weekend walks. Saying, “I will exercise regularly” is better but still leaves room for improvement. What is regular exercise? Is working out twice a week sufficient? Chances are you may have an initial idea in your head that regular exercise means five times a week but if you don’t explicitly make that your goal you may find yourself getting more and more lax to the point where you’re willing to consider twice weekly workouts “regular exercise”. Set specific goals that can’t be easily achieved within a few weeks (unless that goal is your first in a series of goals). You can also set a time constraint on your goal with the intent of re-evaluating yourself at the end of that time period and making new goals. For example, you may set a goal of exercising five times a week for eight weeks. After you’ve accomplished that goal you can decide if five workouts a week is ideal or if you want to create a new goal of six workouts a week or if you’d rather create a training plan with the goal of sticking to it. Once you’ve achieved your goal you should feel a sense of accomplishment that you can be proud of. This pride comes from tackling a challenging goal and not from cheating yourself by setting goals that are too easy.

Setting fitness goals should be a well-thought out process and something that you truly wish to do. If you make a fitness goal just because it’s a common New Year’s Resolution or because someone suggested it, then you aren’t doing it for the right reason. If you don’t really want it it’ll be hard to achieve it. Pick something that you really want to do, such as increasing your strength, and set a finite and clear goal that will help you achieve that desire. It’s also perfectly okay to adjust your goal if you realize it may be too difficult or too easy to achieve or if you’ve discovered a hidden talent or skill in the process that you wish to focus on. Don’t confuse changing your goals with quitting. For example, setting a goal of running three times a week may seem like a good idea in the beginning but you may find out three weeks into your exercise routine that you don’t much like running but have discovered a knack for weight lifting. Adjusting your goal to reflect your newfound interest isn’t something you should feel bad about. After all, you’ve discovered something you enjoy AND it also contributes to your ultimate goal of getting into shape. Fine-tuning goals is something that even professional athletes must do on occasion so don’t feel shame in it!

When it’s all said and done your fitness goals should be a reflection of you and your interests. Set fitness goals that are challenging yet attainable and be honest with yourself when setting these goals. Reward yourself when you accomplish goals regardless of how small those accomplishments may seem and above all, have fun!