If we are friends on Facebook or if you currently “like” my business page, you may or may not be aware of the impromptu fitness planning activities I have been posting throughout the week. If you have seen them and already taken action on writing your fitness goals down, GREAT! If you haven’t started yet, no worries! This blog post will give you everything you need to know about fitness goal setting. There is also a free fitness goal planning worksheet I have created to go with this blog post. Feel free to download it and use it to plan your next fitness goal.
We have all probably learned as early as elementary school the importance of setting goals that are S.M.A.R.T. Goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely give us definitive guidelines to strive for so that we know whether or not we hit the mark when trying to achieve something. But how many of us take this approach when it comes to our fitness? Are we taking the time to write down SMART goals related to fitness?
I’m going to be honest and say that I haven’t been approaching my fitness this way. Sure, I would say things like “I want to get leaner.” “I want abs.”, “I want to lose 15 pounds.” Many of my personal training clients make statements like this as well. But these statements have no context, and they give no direction.
How can we get to where we want to go with no directions?! We just can’t! We need a plan.
So, the first step in planning your fitness goal is to write down a SMART goal. A study conducted at Dominican University proved that those who write down their goals are much more likely to achieve them than those who do not. Take a pen/pencil and a piece of paper and make that abstract idea of fitness achievement in your head real. Allow yourself to actually see it.
Be very specific when writing your goal down, and give yourself a realistic deadline. For example, if you are trying to lose weight, how much weight do you want to lose and by when? Healthy, sustainable weight loss is 1 to 2 pounds for week, so keep that in mind.
Once you have written down your SMART fitness goal, it is time to dig a little bit deeper. The next step in planning your fitness goal is to ask the question, “Why?”. Why do you want to achieve this fitness goal? Why is it so important to you? We don’t just want to lose weight or build muscle. What will achieving your fitness goal give you? Will it give you better health or happiness?
You need to figure out what is driving you to improve your fitness because this is probably the only thing that is going to help you during that impossible workout or when you just feel like giving up. Knowing your “why” will make all of your sacrifices that much more worth it in the end.
Now you have your SMART fitness goal and why you want it so badly. But you still have haven’t created a road map to get there. This is the next step in the plan.
Achieving any fitness goal requires action in the areas of nutrition, fitness, and sleep/stress management. What you do on a daily and weekly basis with your nutrition, fitness, and sleep/ stress will either move you closer or farther away from your goal. This is why it is so important to set daily and weekly process goals to aim for to ultimately get you to your overall goal.
One or two process goals per category is a great place to start. Be specific with them too. If you want to eat more fruits and vegetables each day, give yourself a set number of fruits and vegetables to aim for. Set a number of times for the week that you are going to workout. List one or two things you can do daily to destress. These process goals are your road map to your SMART fitness goal.
The final piece of planning out your fitness goal is reflection. At the end of each week, take a moment to review whether or not you were able to accomplish all of the process goals you have written down. Looking back at your process goals on a weekly basis to determine what is and is not working allows you to make adjustments so that you can be even more successful in the upcoming week.
By now you should have a pretty clear idea of what your fitness goal is, why it’s important to you, and how to get there. Once you have it all planned out, it is time to tell someone about it! Just like it has been proven that those who write down their goals are more likely to be successful, those who have someone to hold them accountable to their goal are even more likely to achieve it.
This person can be your best friend or a Facebook accountability group. It doesn’t matter. Take ownership of your fitness goal and allow others to help you get there. If you currently don’t have a friend or accountability group, come join the Form and Function Tribe on Facebook! We’d love to have you!
If you have any questions regarding fitness planning, I’d be happy to help. Just shoot me an email at Brie@ogletreeformandfunction.com and remember….
WORK FOR YOUR GOALS!!!
Brie Ogletree
Owner, Ogletree Form and Function
B.S. Kinesiology: Exercise Science
Certified Personal Trainer
Ogletree Form and Function 