Achieving our health and fitness goals can be hard when we want amazing, quick results. But, it’s possible to make them easier when we know what to do and how to strive towards it.
As a trainer, I taught my clients how to organize their goals in ways to be more achievable. This was also something my advisors in my Ph.D. program would instill in graduate students, so we can teach our students to be successful.
The one easy way to organize health and fitness goals have to do with using the SMART acronym. This might sound familiar to some of us.
We’ll go over each section and use the following complete example of a SMART goal: “I will go for a run 2 times per week for at least 30 minutes to improve my cardio. I will track my progress using a running app and will re-evaluate my goal on July 29th (2024).”
The hope is to demonstrate an easy way to be successful and consistent in our own desires.
S — Specific
We want to be specific when we’re making health and fitness goals. This will ensure we’re especially working towards our destination.
In this case, what are we doing?
“I will go for a run 2 times per week for at least 30 minutes to improve my cardio. I will track my progress using a running app and will re-evaluate my goal on July 29th.”
Being specific can include the activity and count of our goal like you see emphasized above. We can also include location (e.g., gym, park, neighborhood, etc.) in the goal as well.
The more specific we are, the easier it is to strive towards our health and fitness goals!
M — Measurable
Our goals should be measurable to course our progress along the way. This will ensure we know what we’ve been doing and keep us accountable in some way.
In this case, how are we tracking our progress?
“I will go for a run 2 times per week for at least 30 minutes to improve my cardio. I will track my progress using a running app and will re-evaluate my goal on July 29th.”
We can measure our health and fitness goals using apps, notebooks, calendars, and other methods we think can help.
A — Achievable/Attainable
This one can switch between the two terms, and it’s the same in the end.
In this case, can we accomplish the task we set out to do?
There’s no specific section written within the goal, but it’s very important for us to reflect on. We should consider our time, resources, fitness level, and effort when making health and fitness goals.
If the answer is yes, we can proceed as planned!
If the answer is no, we can always change it to fit our current lifestyle!
R — Relevant
Does this goal tie in to what we want to do?
“I will go for a run 2 times per week for at least 30 minutes to improve my cardio. I will track my progress using a running app and will re-evaluate my goal on July 29th.”
This section highlights the main reason for setting our goal in the first place.
We will definitely improve our cardio if we run twice each week for at least 30 minutes!
T — Time-Bound
When will our goal end to check our progress?
“I will go for a run 2 times per week for at least 30 minutes to improve my cardio. I will track my progress using a running app and will re-evaluate my goal on July 29th.”
A good goal is set between 4-6 weeks. This isn’t too long that it’ll take too long to complete, and this isn’t too short for us to see no progress. Hence, this is why I put July 29th — it’s exactly 6 weeks from the date of the blog was written!
On that note, we want to add the specific date to give us an exact day to re-evaluate our progress. It gives us a specific timeline to strive for in the end.
Summary
Health and fitness goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound to be efficient. This will give us an easy way to set objectives for us to be successful.
Is this perfect? No, but it helps by giving us a great starting point!
I also briefly alluded to the idea that we can change the goals we set to fit our lifestyle, which is important.
We can always adjust our goals if they’re too hard for us to complete at our current fitness level or time we can put into it. Similarly, we can adjust them if they’re too easy as well.
This tip has helped many of my clients and students be successful in whatever they want to achieve.
In the end, it’s about our motivation and effort to reach our goals!
What are some of your SMART goals?
Here are 5 areas of fitness we can set our goals in. These aren’t the only ideas, but it can be a good starting point.
Remember to check with a medical provider before starting a new exercise program and/or make life-changing decisions on health and fitness.
I hope this was helpful!
— Alex, M.S.