How to set your Fitness Goals (and stick with it!)
Lose weight... get fit...be healthier...get stronger, these are some common answers I get when I ask (new) clients why they came to me for boxing and fitness. And most of these people have tried before but got defeated.
What is the difference between those who succeed and are able to make positive changes for the long term and those who fail or drop out?
The secret is the way of goal setting. It's not as simple as just saying "I want to get fit" then signing up for boxing and wait for things to happen. It's also not a quick process. Sure, we can make it simple and say: I want to get skinny fast, I want to run faster or I want to be stronger ASAP, but the chances of success and keeping your results in the long run are not great.
As some of you may know, I'm not a big fan of New Year's resolutions. It's one of those things that many people fail at. Not because they don't want to achieve the goals or because they are not making changes. The goals are often way too big and therefore set them up for disappointment, almost from the first moment they set foot in the gym.
Good goal setting is thoughtful. It takes plenty of time, consideration, and planning to create goals that won't result in failure.
To help you succeed and truly make long term changes, as part of your training program, I will help you set the right (and realistic) goals that will inspire you, motivate you and that can be measured and tracked. After all, that's my job and my passion.
A good fitness goal, if set up correctly, will motivate you to do something and keeps you going, even when things get hard.
Here are some tips for setting fitness objectives that will help you achieve good results, positive change and SUCCES.
#1. Perfect your form
Of course you feel super-motivated and want to take advantage of that feeling by going straight in. HARD and fast, right? Wrong!
Form is everything.
If you do not have the right form, you can train your ass off -figuratively speaking- but will not get the results you intended (training your ass off, literally). The opposite is true actually, if you exercise with bad form you could actually cause injuries. It's one of the reasons I focus on core strength so much in my training.
By perfecting your form first, you maximise your workout, how you move in everyday life and your overall body health in the long run.
#2. Set the bar low - at first
When you first start out, set goals that are doable. Nothing is more demotivating than goals that seem (and are) too far away to achieve them.
Be realistic and set yourself up for success by starting small, easy and at least in reach of what you CAN DO.
Small successes will give your self-confidence a huge boost as well as your belief in actually being able to achieve your goal. Especially in the beginning, those little wins are necessary to keep your spirit high.
#3. Stretch!
Stretching só underrated, it's crazy! Many people do not stretch nearly enough but it's actually one of the best things we can do to strengthen muscles, avoid injuries and release tension.
A warmup and post-exercise stretch is crucial to avoid injuries and muscle pains but I highly recommend stretching throughout the day.
So, make stretching one of your easy-to-accomplish targets and incorporate it as part of your goals towards a healthy body.
#4. One goal at the time
Don't overdo it. If you go from 1 to 1000 in 2 seconds and are trying to do too much at the time, you WILL get overwhelmed. So your goals cannot be: hitting the gym every day AND cut out carbs AND getting enough sleep a night.
You need time to adjust and work these healthy lifestyle choices into your routine. So take that time and divide your goals into stages.
Doing too much at once can only cause anxiety which in the end will crush your self-confidence and lowers your chances of ever achieving your goals. Pick one thing and once you got that down, choose another.
#5. Make them SMART
The SMART-method is a well-known method for setting goals. It has nothing to do with giving your goals an education or you having to be clever or highly intelligent while setting them (I know you are).
In this case, SMART is an acronym that stands for:
• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Relevant
• Time-bound
By including these aspects in your goals, you make them intentionally useful and effective toward whatever your long-term fitness aspiration might be.
The method forces you to think about things like: How are you going to reach your goals? How will you track your progress and/or how you will know when you have reached your goal?
Also, what is a realistic and attainable goal for you and when do you want to have achieved your goal(s)? By determining this and adding numbers to your goal, it makes it measurable. If you set out to loose a predetermined amount of KG in a set amount of time, it will be easy to measure if you have reached your goal.
Additionally, this method needs you to determine the WHY of things, in other words: how relevant the goals you set are to YOU. For example, if you are not in a headspace to focus on weight loss, this is not the time to set weight loss goals, rather choose something that is important to you at that point in time.
Makes sense right? Many of these SMART aspects actually tie in with the tips I gave you already. It's not rocket science, it's all very logical!
#6. Change it up!
A routine is important, but always the same routine? No thank you!
Your body tends to get used to the movements and so at one point, you just stop getting stronger. Besides, just thinking about doing the same exercise routine day after day, week after week, makes me already bored out of my mind.
Boredom obviously does nothing for your motivational levels and for reaching your fitness goals! So I would suggest to plan to try new things regularly.
Discover new hikes or how about trying a yoga practice or go for a fun Zumba class to get the blood flowing? It will help you stick to the plan by keeping it fun because in the end, that is the key to consistent exercise and reaching your health goals.
#7. Don't beat yourself up
In a perfect world, the above would set you up for success and everyone would always reach their fitness goals. But striving for perfection is pointless and can beat down even the most motivated person.
Focus on consistency and progress instead.
Having to adjust your fitness goals does not mean failure. So don't beat yourself up about it, analyse what went wrong and what you can do differently going forward.
You can do it!
You see that setting goals is not that complicated. Anyone can set a goal, but to do it right takes thought and planning. And I promise, once you've done it once and achieved your goal, it'll be easier to set the next goal!
What health and fitness goals would you like to work towards next? Let me know!