8 realistic fitness goals to adopt later this year –

Setting realistic fitness goals is a simple but powerful sports psychology tool. They help with motivation, commitment and staying focused.

It’s important to be cautious and create your own plan of goals that are realistic for your body and your routine, so you don’t overwhelm yourself or worse: get frustrated by not reaching the established goals.

what to consider

When setting fitness goals, anxiety can get in the way of planning. Adopt a calm and confident approach.

Think about what you want to achieve and the resources you can dedicate to your training, diet and recovery – a very important step between training days. For example, the biggest obstacle that prevents most people from creating healthy habits is not the desire to be healthier, but the “time” available for it. When setting goals, it’s crucial to be open, honest.

For example, the demands of work, motherhood, grocery shopping, time to cook and prepare food, all of this has an impact on the time available to devote to working out steadily. Consider your schedule, priorities, and time availability first.

SMART goal setting

The SMART Goal Setting Strategy is a method for defining and achieving results for fitness. SMART is specific (specific), measurable (measurable), achievable (achievable) and timely (timely).

Specific: Is your objective clear and defined?
Measurable: Can it be tracked? How will you know if you are making progress?
Achievable: Is your goal challenging, but is it doable?
Realistic: Is your goal relevant to your life purpose?
Timely: Can you assign a date to take more responsibility?

SMART goals work best as a process-oriented method rather than results-oriented. They are focused on the actual steps needed to achieve a specific result, rather than just focusing on the result itself.

For example, a process-oriented goal would be to complete a specific number of workouts per week. Meanwhile, an outcome goal would be to lose a specific amount of weight. The problem with using SMART goal setting for results-oriented goals like weight loss is that they are complicated and difficult to track. It’s not always easy to know what’s realistic or the exact timeframe it will take to reach the goal.

Not achieving a big, results-oriented goal can lead to discouragement – ​​even if you’re making significant progress – simply because it didn’t happen on schedule. “I encourage creating a big, exciting, results-oriented goal, and then a series of SMART process goals under that goal that will help them achieve the desired overall goal,” says King.

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expert tips for designing realistic fitness goals right now

Find your “why”

Goals view allows you to start your own journey. It is a psychology technique that helps program the mind and body to achieve goals. Research suggests that viewing yourself as successful can lead to improvements in performance, exercise frequency, focus, and confidence.

Whatever you envision, it should be something you feel passionate about and in line with your personal values. Ask yourself what makes you excited and excited. For example, you might love fabric and circus classes, but still have a lot of difficulty with the movements. Imagine yourself giving a perfect performance on the lyre, fabric or trapeze every time before class.

This approach doesn’t always fit the SMART framework we mentioned above, but it will help you step out of your comfort zone and become a turning point – and it will also be a point to return to when motivation is low. SMART goals must support that big, passionate ‘why’.

Break big goals down into smaller pieces

Keep your goals in view. The further away your goal is, the less the reward motivates the behavior and the less dopamine is released to pursue that goal. Create “adjustment points” on the way to achieving a big goal, keeping the mind and organism in that quest.

For example, if your goal is to lose weight, focus on losing a third instead of the total weight you want to lose. That’s because losing 20 kilos is a long-term goal, which can take time to reach and provoke that feeling of success. Focus on one pound of weight loss at a time.

Create daily habits that support goals

Turn the habits you want to acquire into tasks you will do every day. For example, increase your daily walk by 200 more steps a day, or pack a high-protein, high-fiber snack to work each day.

When we have clear tasks written down every day, it reminds us to stay focused. Practicing focus exercises can also help. Take a deep breath, meditate, and leave your phone on “do not disturb” mode for at least two hours a day.

Create challenging but realistic goals

Using a smartwatch to complement your fitness routine can be an incentive to reach your goals (Karolina Grabowska / Pexels/Disclosure)

One of the reasons people don’t achieve their goals is because they are either too easy or unattainable – so finding a balance is essential. According to a review of studies published in Frontiers in Psychologywhen people have goals that are out of reach, they tend to be more motivated and excited to work towards achieving them, while goals that are totally out of reach or too easy are discarded before they even start working to achieve them.

Choose exercises that meet your current fitness level and ensure that other aspects of your health, such as sleep and nutrition, are not compromised. Keep a diet log to identify areas for improvement and continually track your workouts and progression.

It’s important to understand how your body reacts, your fitness level, your lifestyle and why you want to achieve this goal. Base your goals on your personal needs, not external influences – like having the abs of an influencer who, however much she denies it, clearly underwent liposuction.

enjoy the process

Strains of probiotics are numerous, but many have a positive effect on the body. (Moyo Studio/Getty Images)

To set a realistic goal, find something that interests you and brings you joy. There’s no reason to train for a marathon if you hate running. Finding something you like will make you more likely to stick with it because you’ll be emotionally motivated to keep going.

Research published in the journal Psychology & Health confirms that people tend to feel more confident and perform better if they enjoy what they are doing, and are more likely to continue to develop additional skills that support their goals.

For example, someone who loves cycling might set a goal of doing cardio and strength training four times a week so that they can pedal faster and handle longer rides on the pedal. If you can incorporate fitness goals into the activities you naturally enjoy doing daily, weekly, or monthly, you have a much better chance of success.

stay positive

Good vibes: can you really be positive all the time? (Ashley Whitlatch on Unsplash/)

Be optimistic about reaching your goal, even if it takes longer than you’d like, after all, nothing happens overnight and no plan is perfect. There will always be some holes in the road. Remember that your timeline is arbitrary and you will reach the goal at some point as long as you keep working towards it.

There may be times when you feel like you’ve failed or the journey is difficult, but don’t get caught up in that thought spiral. Keep moving towards your goal.

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8 fitness goal ideas for beginners

Now that you’re equipped with effective strategies for setting realistic goals and ready to get started, you might find some inspiration in the following ideas:

I will commit to three workouts a week – on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays – and reach a total of 13 workouts for the month.
I will walk 8000 steps a day the first week of March.
Every January morning, I will drink 1 liter of water.
By the end of March, I will complete at least 36 workouts.
I will have a nutrient-dense snack for my day at least three days a week for 30 days.
I will set an alarm every two hours throughout the workday to get up and stretch for 30 days.
I will learn and try a new strength training move every two weeks for the next six months.
I will increase my steps by 200 a day each week this month.

How to put your fitness plan into action

Use a planner or calendar and map out the daily, weekly, monthly, and even yearly steps you want to take to reach your goals. To help you hold yourself accountable, make your goals visible: write them down, say them out loud, talk about them. Bring them to life.

Use a habit app, your smartphone’s notepad or even a notebook to list tasks and check in at the end of the day.

And don’t worry if you can’t complete tasks every day – just pick up where you left off. Consistency over time is what matters most.

If you can’t consistently complete your chosen tasks, it’s best to re-evaluate them and ask yourself why you’re struggling. Could the SMART goal have been too aggressive? Is your lifestyle not flexible? Did you overestimate what you could compromise at the start? Ask these questions as you work to set a new, more realistic goal.

Finally, don’t forget to put everything into perspective and be kind to yourself. In some moments you may feel short or that the journey is difficult, but don’t fall into that trap of the mind. Encourage yourself to continue towards your goal.