Setting Realistic Fitness Goals

Setting realistic goals is important, but not always easy, especially when it comes to fitness. In this blog, I’ll be discussing how to set realistic fitness goals based on four key tips.

We’re approaching the new year once again. Crazy, I know. As a personal trainer, this is my busiest time of the year. I have a lot of people take interest in my services, and my calendar fills up very quickly.

Meanwhile, everyone wants to get in the gym and get their new routine going. Lots of goals are set. Commercial gyms are packed at 5am and there is an influx of new sign-ups. Exercise and meal plans are flooding social media. The people in the fitness industry (like myself) are often overloaded with clients, planning, emails, and so on. And people are super, super motivated! …for about 3 weeks.

Once February rolls around you’ll notice the gym to have a normal crowd. Trainers have a lot more cancellations all of a sudden. There’s much less consistency from those who were so ready for a complete life change just a few weeks ago. But why? Why don’t new years resolutions work?

I can think of a few reasons. Mainly, the goals aren’t realistic. Because of this, they probably also aren’t sustainable, and are definitely going to have you extremely exhausted and frustrated.

At this time, if you’ve struggled with an unhealthy habit surrounding working out/eating, I encourage you to hire a professional such as a therapist, personal trainer, or dietitian to help you along the way (check out my disclaimer here). Many eating disorders are developed if people are too crazy about their diet (orthorexia). It is definitely possible to overexercise or overtrain your body. Setting goals is great, but if they’re unrealistic, it can literally be dangerous.

Here are some tips, regardless of what you want to achieve, to help you set and reach goals.

1. Be realistic and pursue sustainability.

Setting an unrealistic goal can put a lot of pressure on you. Don’t set a huge goal and then expect to reach it tomorrow. Or, set a huge goal and give yourself enough time to reach it, along with some short term goals that complement it. There are several ways to go about setting realistic goals that don’t weigh you down.

It’s important to be real about your habits, your struggles, and your mistakes. If you want to lose weight and are totally not a morning person, don’t make your new years resolution to get up and go to the gym at 4am. If you hate smoothies, don’t make your new years resolution to have a smoothie every morning. Stop eating the vegetable you know you hate and you’ve tried a million times, just have more of the one you like. While discipline is extremely important, often times people make it harder than it has to be. Think about what will work for you and pursue that fully.

This helps with sustainability, which I believe is the key to setting realistic goals. Commit to the gym at a time it works for you and your schedule. Plan out a diet that has lots of fruits and veggies and protein that you like and enjoy having (trust me there is a way). Dedicate yourself to a goal that you won’t get tired of pursuing for a very, very long time.

While there is a place for things such as fasting or an elimination diet (more temporary things), these aren’t great to associate with a goal. They’re practices that have a specific purpose. With fitness and nutrition based goals, I like the phrase ‘if you can’t do it forever, don’t do it at all!’ It encourages a long term, healthy lifestyle and avoids destructive habits that can be associated with losing or gaining weight.

Take inventory of where you are currently and try to find what the next step is, then move forward accordingly. You’ll find it’s much easier (and also somewhat satisfying) to work towards goals that are actually attainable. And moving forward, you’ll probably just need to adjust a little each time you reset your goals. You’ll have much less resentment towards the gym or the kitchen when you are still enjoying some parts of it. Learn the basic rules and science associated with your goals and set them properly.

2. Consider the process.

Many times, we set goals with the end product in mind. There’s nothing wrong with this! But with that product in mind, seek steps that would get you closer to it. Make these steps your goals. They may be smaller, but they sure are mighty.

This is known as setting process goals. For example, if I want to lose 20lbs, my process goals could be losing 1-2lbs per week, exercising more, sleeping better, having better nutrition, and so on. Each thing can be a goal in itself.  When you set process goals, you reach more goals at a time and tend to develop habits around them. It’s kind of like taking the stairs instead of the elevator.

This can also help you be more positive about your journey. It allows you to celebrate every small victory you have. It’s a clear example that every step of the way counts. If you are consistent for a month, a week, or a day… you’re on your way. You have a reason to be proud and even a little fuel to keep going.

3. Enjoy the journey.

Rather than obsessing over the end product and how hard it is to get there, learn how to enjoy the journey. Being too focused on something that is far ahead can be a huge distraction. Believe it or not, it’s easy to miss the progress you make. This goes hand in hand with the process goals mentioned above: keeping the end goal in mind while setting smaller goals to help you get there.

Even if it’s hard to, document your journey. How you look, how you feel, how you train, sleep, eat. Use pictures, notes, or a journal to track your habits, thoughts, and feelings. You’ll be surprised at how far you come when you look back on the things you document.

This is a tangible way to see progress, whether it’s mental or physical. When you see the fruit of your labor, it’s so exciting. Unlike crazy and unrealistic goals, this will not drain you but encourage you to keep up the good work.

4. Be patient.

This one speaks for itself, but seems to be the most important step of everything mentioned.  They say ‘patience is a virtue’ because patience can be extremely hard to cultivate. Being patient, however, is not just pivotal in bodily health, but mental and spiritual health as well (it’s holistic!).

This virtue is essential for any type of progress. Good things often take time, and sometimes a good amount of it. And note, patience isn’t just waiting, it’s your attitude while you wait. Your attitude is another thing that can make or break your progress.

Approach your journey with patience, love, and grace. Try your best not to give up. Learn how to maneuver through highs and lows. Consider each step of the way rather than setting one big goal to live your life just to see the end of it.

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Those are some simple but applicable tips that I like to practice put into words. You’ll see themes such as sustainability, consistency and realism echo throughout my blog. Like I mentioned in my about page, I have fallen victim to unhealthy habits surrounding a goal just to make my body look a certain way. Now that I’ve pursued health in a holistic manner and try to do things that I know I can sustain, it is much less stress on my mind. Hopefully these tips help you, and if you have any other suggestions around setting goals, please share them in the comments! Much love, and see ya next blog.