Setting your Fitness Goals with PUREPOWER Nutrition
Setting yourself fitness goals is a valuable tool as they hold us accountable and encourage us to push through temporary discomfort in the hopes of long-lasting change. When setting your fitness goals, they should be realistic, achievable, and manageable within a certain time frame. Setting goals can be a fantastic way of helping you to plan and achieve what you want from your fitness.
SMART goals are:
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Specific
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Measurable
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Achievable
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Relevant
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Timely
Be specific when setting your goal
When starting out, think about the “who, what, when, where, why, and how”. Try to describe what exactly you are trying to achieve and why you want to make this goal a reality.
Making your goals measurable
By tackling your fitness against a specific measurement, for example, running 10km. You can then measure your progress. Ok, today I ran 5km by doing this you can see your progress.
Set yourself achievable goals While the goals you set should challenge you, it is important that they are also realistic. For instance, I will be able to do 50 pull-ups in 2 weeks when you’ve never done a pull-up before.
Relevancy – Are your goals tailored toward your life, health, and fitness needs When setting a fitness goal, make this goal relevant to what you really want. For example, if your goal is to build upper body strength then running a marathon is irrelevant as it will target your lower body, core and cardiovascular.
Put a Time Limit on It
You should set a time limit in order to achieve your goals. By having a time limit to complete your goals you are creating a sense of urgency as without a time limit there is no reason for you to push yourself.
Achieving your Goals
Focus on One Goal at a time
What can also help you stay motivated throughout your workouts is if you set yourself micro-goals within your larger goal. For example, if your long-term goal is to run 10km straight run, set yourself a shorter goal of running such as 2km, 5km, or 7km by doing this you will see your progress and how far you’ve come pushing you forward in your goal.
Regularly Reassess your Progress
With any goal, it’s important to keep track of your progress. As your fitness journey grows you may need to be flexible and change your goal as you get stronger or if you find balancing day-to-day life with your new fitness goals means taking longer to achieve your goal.
Common Mistakes When Setting Fitness Goals
Setting negative goals – life is about balance telling yourself you’re never going to eat junk food or have an alcoholic beverage again is setting yourself up for failure. With meal planning, you can factor in your favourite meals and drinks and create balance.
Not rewarding your achievements – give yourself a pat on the back when you achieve a micro goal or a larger goal. Celebrate achievements you are working hard you deserve to high five yourself.
Focusing on Perfection – With any fitness goal, your progress will not always be a linear progression. There are so many factors why you didn’t lose weight that week or lift heavier weights. Consistency is key so as long as you are still focusing on your longer-term goals there is no need to stress out and enjoy the journey.
