Beginning a fitness journey is easy, but staying the course throughout the year is a true test of will that often sees many people fall by the wayside.
With the right strategy, however, you can easily achieve your fitness goals.
Julias Komu, popularly known as Adus by his clients is a decade-plus experienced fitness trainer. He says that before anything else, you need to keep in mind why you are going for a fitness exercise.
At first, your main goal may seem out of reach, however, it is useful to know how far you have to go.
You might even need a personal trainer to jump-start your fitness journey.
By setting goals, you are able to hold yourself accountable and show yourself what you are capable of, and also it helps you push through the more difficult moments to make a long-lasting change. It gives you a certain discipline.
“Setting fitness goals is important. Without them, we wouldn’t know how much progress we have made or have a cause to celebrate when we reach our ultimate goal. Thinking big is great, but you have to plan how you will get there,” he says.
The way you create your goals is important. If you don’t set yourself the right kind of goals, you could be limiting your success before you even get started.
So, how can one make fitness goals?
Coach Derrick Mwangi of Anytime fitness says that as you set fitness goals, also remember to keep them specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART).
Specific: Have goals that resonate with you. If your goal is to lose weight, keep fit, add weight, or even emulate an active lifestyle for fun purposes, then stick to your training routine and not be carried away by other people’s goals only to end up not achieving yours.
Measurable: By having your goals measurable against your target or a benchmark, it is easy to track your progress, and with that, you are able to know whether you are far or closer to achieving your main. It keeps you focused and motivated.
This aspect of SMART goals applies across the board when you narrow down to each measure of workout. For instance, if you were not able to do 10 squats or push-ups in the first week of workout and after 2-3 weeks of workout you are able to achieve that, that’s having a benchmark to measure your progress on.
Achievable: Set goals that you can achieve without being over-influenced by what you see on social media or by people that have been working out for a longer period.
It’s good to be motivated but also exercising patience is part of working out; patience is a workout by itself.
Start small and in any case, the best way to handle your bigger goals is by breaking them into smaller and achievable goals.
Relevant: You need to set goals that are considerate to your health condition if there is any, current fitness level, your budget, available resources, time, and location.
Being self-motivated when starting a fitness journey is the best remedy because you are not easily distracted and your goals will always come first.
Time-bound: Having a time bound or a start and deadline goal is key since you will always stay on track.
It is also easy to plan ahead with a schedule in place; this will help in acknowledging any progress or milestones achieved.
You are able to point up the strengths or weaknesses that you need to improve on during your workouts.
Mr Mwangi advises that if you feel less motivated or don’t know what to do, you can get yourself a personal trainer/accountability partner who will help you through by having a workout plan or meal plan set for you and helping you track your progress.
Even as you set your smart goals, Mr Komu reminds you that you should not be hard on yourself.
“Part of success is overcoming barriers and not giving up when things don’t go to plan. Sometimes you have to rest due to illness or injury, or you don’t see results as quickly as you would like. This can be disheartening, but if you come back and try again, you can only improve. Trying to continue training through illness or injuries will only make things worse. So, don’t be too hard on yourself. Just wait until you are feeling better and try again,” he says.
Also, know when to push yourself. If you have a slight sniffle but it is not a full cold or the flu, you might know your body well enough to know you can continue training.
Or if your muscles ache from previous training sessions, you can learn to be self-aware and differentiate between your muscles getting stronger and a potential problem.
However, if you rest every time you experience the former, you will never see a lasting improvement.
To achieve the target, persistence, consistency and self-discipline are key.
You need to be persistent with what you are doing.
Always stay consistent and disciplined both in the fitness arena and outside.
You need self-discipline especially when it comes to diet.
