So you know you want to “get more fit”, “be healthier”. Those are pretty general statements and we hear them all the time from people who want to start working out, change their eating habits, or start a new program. But, if this is the only way you define your goal, how do you know when you’ve achieved your fitness goal? How do you measure this?
Before you can even take action on achieving your goals, you have to know your fitness goal. You have to know what they actually are and how to measure your progress toward your goals. Even if you say that your goal is to lose weight, it’s still too general. I’m guessing most people aren’t trying to lose muscle, but weight from fat. How much weight are you trying to lose and in what time frame? Maybe you want to get stronger or have more defined muscles. Again, what does that mean to you? How will you measure that? These general statements might actually mean different things to different people. You can’t make a plan for success without knowing what the outcome is supposed to look like.
First Steps to know your fitness goal
- Imagine what you feel and look like after you have achieved your goal, write it down
- Determine how you will measure your success along the way: scale, measuring tape, weekly photos, increased weights/set, etc.
- Make a plan to check your progress at regular intervals (maybe weekly)
Make a plan to succeed
Once you know what success looks and feels like and how/ when you’re going to measure it, you can start to plan the actions you will take to achieve your goals. These are specific actions you will take, not just move more or eat less. Make a detailed plan. Without a detailed plan of action it’s hard to know how well you’re following it. Instead of “move more”, make a goal to increase your steps by a certain number each day or increase your workout frequency to more days per week. These are easy to measure. If you have a step tracker you can see if you’ve increased your daily steps as planned, and you know how many times you worked out in a week compared to before you started your plan.
When trying to change your eating habits it would be helpful to start off by logging what and when you eat first. After you get a good picture of what you are doing now, it will be easier to see what needs to be changed. Do you need to change what you’re eating, how much, or how frequently? You might want to start with MyPlate.gov to get an understanding of a proper eating plan. If you still aren’t sure what to change, you might need to do some further research or contact a nutritionist to get a better idea.
Above are just a couple of examples of fitness goals you might be reaching for. Notice, the way to go about succeeding are the same.
Steps for making and measuring your goals
- Know your true measurable goal
- Determine how/when you will measure your progress
- Make a plan of specific actions to take towards your goal
- Follow your plan
- Measure your success
If you would like to share your personal goals and achievements, I would love to hear about them!
