When I first got into health & fitness three years ago after discovering the magic of blogilates, I was really consistent with my exercise. I followed the workout calendars to a tee (probably a bit too obsessively), and I noticed some real good changes going on with my body.
Fast forward to present day when I no longer have an hour to workout everyday, nor do I have the patience or willpower to. I’ve definitely fallen off the bandwagon and my workouts have been just a tad inconsistent aka I don’t do them.
If you’re trying to get into a fitness routine like me, or even if you’re brand new to this whole exercise thing, here’s my advice on setting fitness goals and actually achieving them:
Set Goals
Be Specific. If your goal is to go to the gym more, how often do you want to go? Three times a week? Maybe you want to be more specific and focus on a particular exercise, like going running x times per week or practicing yoga every other day.
Find What Motivates You. Are you working out because you want to be stronger, to lose weight, because movement is good for you? Combine your motivation with your goal, and you’ve got a solid plan. My goal is, “I will workout 20 times a month because I want to be stronger.”
Plan Your Workouts. Planning your workouts means you’re less likely to skip them. I recommend using the Daily Greatness Fitness Journal or the free monthly workout planner at the end of this post.
Track Your Progress
Write It Down. Tracking your workouts keeps you accountable, and it feels pretty good seeing how much you’ve accomplished. I’ve been using a monthly journal and keeping a tally at the top so I know how close I am to reaching my goal of 20 workouts a month.
Allow For Change. Sometimes things don’t go to plan. You might not feel like working out when you said you would or maybe you feel like Zumba instead of running. Keeping your workout planner separate from your workout log means you won’t have to shuffle things around on one piece of paper.
Keep Going
Choose A Reward. If you want to keep going, you need something to motivate you. Think of something you want but don’t really need, and tell yourself you can have it once you’ve achieved your goal.
Don’t Give Up. Any time you’re unmotivated to workout, think about how much progress you’ve made and how it would be ever so slightly annoying if you didn’t get your reward at the end of the month. Also, remember that you are a badass human being who is capable of anything.
Workout Planner Printable
What’s your current fitness goal! How are you going to reward yourself once you reach it?
4 Responses
Great post! I have the daily greatness diary too but haven’t been using it as well as I should have oops! I also have the Lorna Jane diary though and write down every time I workout in there :)
Thanks, Amber! I’ve been using my Daily Greatness one religiously haha! Will have to check out the Lorna Jane one.
This last year I’ve really been able and had the motivation & energy to stick to my workout routine! Consistency throughout the year is really the key ?? It’s hard living in a cold and dark climate 7 months of the year, and my motivation usually falters around this time.
I think the great success for this time is that my boyfriend decided to join, and that has helped a lot. We’re both enjoy being active, so it rarely happens that both aren’t just not “feeling it”, but that usually at least one of us wants to get their 20min of heart beat and drags the other one along lol ?
Last year my goal was 20min of medium to high intensity workout everyday. Of course I didn’t do everyday, but some days I did 2h and did deserve a break you know :) But in short, 20min activity is quite achievable (walking/cleaning/Zova app/etc).
This year my fitness goal is simply to keep doing what I’m doing and to achieve being able to do one pull up. (I found out that I lack the muscle to do that, so I’ll need to train it) When I’ve reached that I’ll reward myself by trying to to three-five. I don’t think more is necessary? ?
I’m so impressed that you’ve been able to stick to it! And having someone to push you to keep going is always a big help. I also have the dream of someday doing a pull up – but I’m gonna need to do a lot of work before that happens hehe