Fitness Goals: Why They’re Important & How To Set Them

Making any sort of a life change can prove challenging, but there are strategies to make the process a little easier. Setting goals gives us something to work towards and helps hold us accountable, both to others and to ourselves. Think about your projects and deadlines at work or even your weekly grocery list. In order to be successful, it’s important to know what your goal is so you can make a plan to achieve it. For your grocery run, you probably make a list of everything you need so that when you get to the store, you don’t waste time wandering around aimlessly and you don’t forget anything. Starting an exercise/wellness routine is no different! It’s important to have a goal so that you have a plan.

Why fitness goals are important:

They keep you on the right track.
They make your workouts more efficient.
They help you progress more quickly.
They help you see your progress.
They keep you motivated.

how to set fitness goals:

The first step is to think about what you want when it comes to fitness. Here are some examples:

I want to make exercise a habit.
I want to be able to play outside with my kids and not feel so fatigued.
I want to do get stronger.
I want to feel more energized and self-sufficient.
I want to lose weight.
I want to gain muscle.
I want to eat healthier.
I want to feel good.

Let’s look at how to turn these wants into goals.

SMART Goals

A SMART goal is a great framework for goal setting. Take these five points into consideration:

S - Specific: What do you want to achieve? Consider who, what, where, when, why, and how.

M - Measurable: How will the goal be measured? What are the criteria for goal completion?

A - Attainable: Is the goal achievable? The effort, time, and costs required for achieving the goal need to be considered.

R - Realistic: Is the goal relevant to your lifestyle and fitness needs? Is it something you can reasonably expect to be able to achieve?

T - Timely: What is the time frame the goal should be completed in? What is the target completion date?

Keep in mind, these goals should can and should be periodically revisited, reevaluated, and adjusted based on improvements.

Now that we know what a SMART goal is, let’s take this framework and put it to the test with an example:

Goal: I want to make exercise a habit.

S - Specific: By your definition, how many days per week of exercise would make it a “habit”? Also, what kind of exercise would you like to focus on and where would you perform this exercise? For this example, let’s say you would like to make it to the gym for weight training 3 days per week.

M - Measurable: We’ve decided on 3 days, but we can also say that we’ll commit to training for an hour during each session.

A - Attainable: To go to the gym 3 days per week for an hour, you must have a gym membership and know that you will carve out time every week in order to achieve your goal.

R - Realistic: If you’ve already sorted all of the above and you know that your schedule and lifestyle will allow for it, then you should know that this goal is realistic for you! For the general population, an hour of exercise three times per week is necessary and doable for basic fitness needs.

T - Timely: Let’s say you give yourself 6 weeks to get consistent before you reassess.

Our SMART goal would be: Within 6 weeks, I will have made exercise a habit by making it to the gym 3 days per week, on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday after work for hour long sessions of weight training.

What’s great about this goal is that it also consists of short term goals, which are super helpful in building confidence and maintaining motivation as you work to achieve your long term goal of becoming consistent in the gym. Every day that you make it to the gym and every 1 hour session that you finish can be counted as a short term goal completed. Showing up for yourself each time is cause for celebration!

Reassess:

At the end of your 6 weeks, you may find that you need to adjust certain aspects of your goal, like the duration of your sessions, what days/times are better for you, and how many days per week are realistic for you to commit to. For example, you may decide that 45 minutes is more realistic than 1 hour for training sessions. Maybe Mondays are busy at work and you always find yourself leaving late, so you decide that Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday will work better with your schedule. Or, you may even decide that you’d like to add one more day of exercise per week by going for a walk every Saturday. The point is to reassess what is and isn’t working for you and make the necessary adjustments so that you give yourself the best chance at achieving your goal.

It’s clear that figuring out what your goal is makes it possible to have a concrete plan in place, which will greatly improve your success rate when it comes to creating healthy habits that last!

REMINDER:

Life has its ups and downs - unexpected obstacles may come up such as sickness, busy times at work, vacation time, etc. and that may effect how “successful” you are at achieving your goal. Don’t be too hard on yourself! Fitness is a never ending journey and the point is to keep going, no matter the setbacks.

A coach can be key in helping you set SMART goals and short term goals. If you have a goal in mind and you aren’t sure how to achieve it, reach out to me! Send me an email at info@meltwellness.com and let’s get you on the right track.