Setting a Fitness Goal

People exercise for all different reasons. Some enjoy the release and health benefits while others have a specific goal in mind such as losing weight, gaining weight, or entering in a big race or event.  Along the way of setting a fitness goal, we can often get wrapped up in the end result and feel overwhelmed when looking at the overall task at hand.

The first step to being successful in any fitness related goal is to Get Active! Find something that you enjoy doing and stick to it. Whether it is a group fitness class, running, swimming, or working out with a friend, find out what motivates you to stay active and go from there.

Below are my five steps to setting and reaching your fitness goals.

Step 1: Set a Goal That’s Right For YOU

Reading articles and blogs of success stories is very motivating to create a fitness goal of your own. As great as this is, it can also have an opposite effect of steering you into a goal that is not realistic for YOU.

There is no point of saying “I have to run a marathon” if you hate the idea of running! Working out takes work, but it should not be something you dread waking up and doing every day. Whether it’s taking yoga, spinning, or even getting involved in a sport sport, find something that makes you feel good and motivates you to come back and improve on.

Step 2: Set a Goal Deadline

If there is no end date, set one. Having an end in sight makes you push harder than working without a deadline.

Example: I recently went through training to teach barre classes. Each week I set a deadline to teach a certain portion of class. After teaching bits and pieces for two months, I can officially say I tackled my goal to teach an entire class last week.

Step 3: Make Small Goals And Stick to Them

Since results do not happen overnight, find steps to get you there. Take it one day at a time and research different training programs to find one that works for you.

Once you start, don’t stop. Although it might seem overwhelming, track your progress day-by-day by setting small goals.

Example: Instead of concentrating on running ten miles at once, start with a goal of completing one without stopping.  When you are comfortable with that, move onto two, and then three. Week by week your small goals will motivate you to keep going and you will be onto miles five, six and seven in no time.

Step 4: Find Your Community

Find others with your common goals and interests and tell people about what you are doing! Writing this blog is a great outlet for me to set and follow through with my goals, since I am letting all of you in on them. If your goal is to lose ten pounds, tell your close friends and family about it and get people on your side.

The online fitness community is HUGE and provides support in every area, if you look for it.  If you are on Twitter, follow people similar to you in your niche, take part in twitter chats, like Facebook pages, and get on Fitness applications.

Have any of you noticed the dailymile app on the right sidebar I added about a month ago? I am loving the conversations, motivations and community I have found there.

Step 5: Overcome Obstacles

Training can be a series of weeks, months or even years, and within that time frame obstacles are bound to happen. If you get sick, have company in town, or go on vacation, try to avoid putting your goals on the back burner.

If you miss workouts or training days, try to make them up in other ways. If your goal is to run ten miles in a week and you skip a day or two, add a mile or so on to your next few runs.

If you feel like you overindulged in lasagna and tiramisu, spend and extra ten minutes on the bike the next day.

Is it hard for you to find motivation to workout after a full day of work? Bring gym clothes with you, to enable you to go straight to the gym. I know once I am home for the day, I am home and it is hard form me to leave.  If you are not one who likes to get their sweat on at 6 a.m. or even after a long day, try to catch a group fitness class on your lunch break.

Those are the key things that helped me conquer my biggest goal yet!

Hopefully you can take something away from this to form your own fitness goals. For more advice, training schedules and information on my workouts, take a look at the Fitness page!

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Questions:

What’s your biggest fitness goal?

How do you stay motivated and overcome obstacles to finish?