How To Set Health & Fitness Goals & Achieve Them

Are you ready to start making changes to your health and fitness, but you’re not sure where to begin? We’re here to help you every step of the way.

Creating health and fitness goals is a powerful way to help you achieve success. Goal setting will inspire you to take action and give you the motivation and direction you need to create sustainable, long-term lifestyle changes. Without a clear action plan, you’re more likely to lose interest, feel uninspired, and ultimately give up, which puts you right back at the starting line.

There are many types of goals you can aspire to - maybe you want to lift heavier, increase cardio, tone up, or break through a workout plateau? Whatever you want to achieve, having clearly defined fitness goals will help to keep you on track and give you something to work towards. Plus, it’s a pretty amazing feeling when you finally smash that PB!

The way you create your goals is crucial and if you don’t set yourself the right kind of goals to begin with then you could be limiting your success before you begin.

When it comes to setting your goals, consider five main focus areas:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Relevant
• Time-bound

Working towards SMART goals improves your chances of achieving success.

Here’s how you can set SMART health and fitness goals today:

Be specific

You need to be really clear on what it is that you want to achieve. Vague goals just won’t cut it here. Clearly define your goal and think about the who, what, when, where, why of your desired outcome. For example, if you want to lose weight, how much weight do you want to lose and by when? Another example of a specific goal could be “I want to be able to do 10 pull-ups by the end of this year”. This goal implies you are working towards improving your strength and provides a focus for your training.

Make your fitness goals measurable

To keep yourself motivated, it’s important to set your goals against a benchmark. If your goals are measurable, it's easier to track when you’ve achieved your goal or know how close you are. Our earlier goal of achieving 10 pull-ups specifies how many pull-ups you want to do and you can measure your progress by keeping track of how many you can successfully complete over time. Another example of a measurable goal could be running a personal best time, or lifting a specific weight for a new 1RM.

Make them achievable

Goals should be challenging and push you, but they also need to be achievable. Saying you want to achieve 10 pull-ups in the next week or so is probably not an achievable goal if you’re a fitness beginner, and if you don’t hit your goal then it can become disheartening and unlikely you’ll continue.

If you set big goals, that’s absolutely fine too! You will just need to break your big goals down into smaller, achievable goals that lead towards your bigger goal. For example you may wish to achieve 2 pull-ups by the end of your second week, or focus more on your upper body strength in your workouts so that you can work towards your larger goal.

Make your goal relevant to you

Your fitness goal has to be realistic and relevant to you and your individual circumstances, considering your lifestyle, health, current fitness level, resources, and available time. Think about why you want to achieve your goal and if it is appropriate for your health and lifestyle. Perhaps you want to achieve 10 pull-ups so that you feel stronger and healthier, and can be more active with your kids. If your goal is relevant to you and has meaning behind it, you will be more committed to working towards it. Goals should be high and challenging, but they need to suit your lifestyle. Trying to commit to making it to the gym five nights a week when you work late, have kids, or other lifestyle commitments, can be an unrealistic goal so try switching it for a goal relevant to your circumstances, for example working out at home. 

Goals should be time-bound

There’s no better time than the present. The sooner you start identifying and setting your fitness goals, the closer you are to achieving them. You’ll also need to set a deadline for your goal. This allows you to work out a realistic plan and schedule to achieve your goal.

Important things to remember:

Be patient. Unfortunately, when it comes to fitness and health you need to play the long game. Be patient and stick at it and you will be rewarded with success.

As with all goals, it’s important to keep track of your progress. You may encounter fitness setbacks - but that’s ok! Don’t give up, you got this! Stay accountable and track your progress within The Bod app, this will help you maintain motivation as you see yourself progressing towards your goal. Reward yourself and be kind to yourself, always. 

Start crushing goals from day one with The Bod app. With an on-demand video library, bespoke workout methods, and accountability tracker, it's like having your own personal trainer in your pocket to keep you on track with your goals. Get 7 days free with no strings attached, then as little as $16.65 per month.