How to Set Fitness Goals
Setting Realistic Goals Can Help Motivate an Exerciser to Succeed
© Kim Ford
Sep 20, 2009
Setting goals will give an individual something to work towards and every time he works out he will be one step closer to achieving that goal.
Having something to work towards can also be a powerful motivational tool. If an individual can not be bothered to exercise and does not have a target to work towards he will very often skip his workout. If there is a purpose to his training session he is less likely to overlook it.
Once a goal has been reached the individual often feels a great sense of achievement and this will encourage him to stick with his plan and set more goals for the future.
Set Specific and Measurable Goals
It is important for the exerciser to set himself specific goals that can be measured otherwise he is unable to tell when his objective has been reached. Many exercisers aspire to ‘get fitter,’ ‘become faster’ or ‘lose weight’ however they are unable to track this accurately and will never achieve their target.
In order to turn these into real objectives the exerciser could look at his fitness aims and turn them into specific and measurable goals. If the individual wants to increase his strength he could set himself the challenge of completing a weight training set with say 50kg weights instead of 45kg.
This method can be transferred to all aspects of fitness training. If an individual wishes to increase his speed he can aim to knock two seconds off of his personal best and so on.
Setting Achievable Fitness Goals
Targets set by an individual must fit in with his lifestyle otherwise they will not work from the beginning. De-motivation and a feeling of failure will set in if the goal is unachievable.
There is no point in an individual setting himself the target of working out every day after work if he already has other activities which will limit his exercise sessions; however, he could turn this into a more positive objective such as training four days per week. This way he could fit the sessions in to his life without the pressure of having to ensure he works out every day after work.
Goals should also be achievable. It would be unachievable for an individual to set himself a target of losing a stone in two weeks. However this aspiration could be broken down into more manageable chunks such as loosing 1lb per week or loosing the first 2lb. The smaller objectives could be plotted onto a goal setting worksheet as the individual works towards the larger goal of losing a stone.
Goal Setting Time Scales
The time scales should also be realistic, obviously an individual can not lose a stone in one week but he can lose a stone over a longer period. For this reason the individual should look at his objectives and set realistic time scales.
Goals should be achievable in a reasonable amount of time otherwise the individual will get bored and forget about his aims. To break up a long term objective he should set himself smaller targets that work up to the main goal.
Overall goal setting should be a fun and motivational tool used to help exercisers achieve their objectives.
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