Happy New Year! We often try to set New Year’s resolutions to get fit or be healthy. I know I have tried to set goals like “I’m going to exercise more,” and frankly dropped those goals after the first month.
One of the most common mistakes in making fitness goals is making goals way too broad. Sure, you were thinking long-term when you said “I want to exercise more,” but you need to think short-term. Think of short-term goals as sub-goals for your main long-term goal.
Let’s start here: grab a piece of paper and write down your main goal. For example, my main goal is “I want to exercise more.” Write your goal BIG on your paper. Writing down your fitness goals will make yourself accountable for your goals and make it real. Post it on your fridge or at your office desk so you can see it every day.
Next, how do you want to exercise more? For myself, I love dancing, so one of my sub-goals is “Attend Zumba classes once a week for the next 10 weeks.” When you are writing out your sub-goals, make sure you include what type of exercise or activity you want to do (Zumba), the frequency (once a week) and the duration (10 weeks). Having such specific sub-goals will make it easier to achieve your goals. Make sure you write down goals that are possible; goals that are too challenging will get thrown in the trash in less than a month.
Here’s what not to do. My goal shouldn’t be “I want to run a marathon by February 2016.” I have never run a marathon in my life. I hate running. Even a specific sub-goal like “I will run 30 minutes per day for one week, then increase the time by 10 minutes every day,” for me, would be impossible. I would give up on the first day of my 30-minute run.
Instead the goal could be: “I want to run a marathon by June 2016.” This would give me at least 5 months to start training for this marathon. I could start off small and then work my way up. My first sub-goal would be “Walk for 20 minutes, with 2 minutes of jogging, once a day for the first week.” My second sub-goal would be “Walk for 20 minutes with 5 intervals of 2-minute jogs every day for the second week,” and so on. Since I’d be preparing for a marathon, I would work my goal up to running 26 miles.
Anyway, I will not be running a marathon any time soon. I honestly really hate running. I would rather walk briskly or jog for a bit. I will be sticking to Zumba and walking for at least 30 minutes per day, every day.
Stay motivated and focus on what is most important to you. Remember to write down goals that are achievable, and be specific about what you want to do, the frequency, and the duration.
