Whether you’re just starting out on your fitness journey, or looking for new ways to keep yourself on track, setting fitness goals is key. But we’re not talking about any old goals! Setting realistic fitness goals can help to keep us motivated, especially when we begin to see visible differences as a result of our workout efforts. Here we’ll be talking all about the importance of setting fitness goals, what constitutes a ‘realistic’ fitness goal and how to set fitness goals you can absolutely SMASH! But how do you go about setting workout goals? Here’s how!
When we set ourselves fitness goals, we hold ourselves accountable, helping us go above and beyond those goals and encouraging ourselves to push just that little bit further. When it comes to setting fitness goals, you need to create realistic fitness goals that make you excited to set the next set! It’s all about identifying what you want to achieve or want to improve, and carving out the path for success. Plus, fitness goals are a great way to track your progress. After all, if you don’t know where you started and what you have achieved along the way, how will you really know how well you’ve done? Let’s take a look at how to set your fitness goals and get yourself on the route to success!
The more specific you can get the better! Working towards vague fitness goals won’t help you when it comes to tracking your progress and smashing past your goal and beyond. Don’t simply say: I want to gain more strength in my arms. Or: “I want to get fit” Do think: I want to be able to lift X weight. Or: Run 5km without stopping. Writing effective, realistic fitness goals isn’t about vague ideas! When you set a specific goal, whether it’s to run for 10 minutes without stopping, lifting X amount of weight or doing X many squats - it’s much easier to know when you have reached it. Planning your personal training goals means you can start to put a strategy in place to reach them. Want to be able to run 3km in 15minutes? No problem, it’s time to get practising on that treadmill! Since you know what you want to achieve, it makes it far easier to understand the steps you need to take to reach it. Not every specific fitness goal needs to be time related, however. If you’re looking to improve your ability in a particular movement, that’s great too! Such as “I want to be able to do decline push-ups” great, let’s master the original push up and work up!
Why setting fitness goals is important
When we set ourselves fitness goals, we hold ourselves accountable, helping us go above and beyond those goals and encouraging ourselves to push just that little bit further. When it comes to setting fitness goals, you need to create realistic fitness goals that make you excited to set the next set! It’s all about identifying what you want to achieve or want to improve, and carving out the path for success. Plus, fitness goals are a great way to track your progress. After all, if you don’t know where you started and what you have achieved along the way, how will you really know how well you’ve done? Let’s take a look at how to set your fitness goals and get yourself on the route to success!
How to set fitness goals
The way in which you set your fitness goals is crucial for your future achievements. Sure, we can start off at the real basics with a goal of: Go to the gym. But what does that even measure? Nothing. So instead, let’s start off knowing that you’re already crushing your workouts and following a healthy lifestyle - you just need some realistic fitness goals along the way! So, how do you set fitness goals? Firstly, to set fitness goals that work effectively, you need to follow the SMART rule.- S - Specific
- M - Measurable
- A - Achievable
- R - Relevant
- T - Timely
Setting realistic fitness goals that are: Specific
The more specific you can get the better! Working towards vague fitness goals won’t help you when it comes to tracking your progress and smashing past your goal and beyond. Don’t simply say: I want to gain more strength in my arms. Or: “I want to get fit” Do think: I want to be able to lift X weight. Or: Run 5km without stopping. Writing effective, realistic fitness goals isn’t about vague ideas! When you set a specific goal, whether it’s to run for 10 minutes without stopping, lifting X amount of weight or doing X many squats - it’s much easier to know when you have reached it. Planning your personal training goals means you can start to put a strategy in place to reach them. Want to be able to run 3km in 15minutes? No problem, it’s time to get practising on that treadmill! Since you know what you want to achieve, it makes it far easier to understand the steps you need to take to reach it. Not every specific fitness goal needs to be time related, however. If you’re looking to improve your ability in a particular movement, that’s great too! Such as “I want to be able to do decline push-ups” great, let’s master the original push up and work up!
Setting workout goals that are: Measurable
Tracking your goals is super important for getting fit and getting into shape! Whether you’re looking to bulk up, slim down or improve your stamina, your fitness goals need to be measurable. So, how do you go about setting fitness goals you can measure? Here are some fitness goals examples you can track:- Wanting to achieve a set number of repetitions - For example, 10 push-ups
- Running a personal best over a certain distance
- Being able to lift a specific weight for a certain set of reps
