Thought “get fit” or “lose weight” were great fitness goals? Think again. Despite being many people’s go-to goals, aspiring to lose weight or get fit is much too vague a milestone to aim for.
How do you know that you’ve reached “fit” status, and where do you go from there? What do you do after you’ve lost those however many kilograms? How do you stay motivated to maintain an active and healthy lifestyle after you’re no longer overweight or unfit?
It’s easy to assume you’ll just keep going, but a lot of people fall off the wagon because they don’t have anything to keep aiming for. Even the biggest gym lovers can become disillusioned with working out because they forgot their reason why.
Still don’t know what your “why” is? There are so many different goals you can choose that will influence how you train and motivate you to get in the gym. Let’s take a look at some general categories to help you decide.
Working out to look good
There’s no reason you can’t work out to look good naked. The key is to make sure your goal is specific. For example, the goal of “build muscle” can be refined to something like “build my delts” or “gain an inch on my biceps”.
Keep in mind that it’s all too easy to fall into the trap of thinking you’ll feel complete once you lose that weight or build that muscle. It’s also easy to feel disappointed if your goal is taking longer to reach than you expected, or your body just isn’t turning out how you thought it would.
If your goal is timely — for example, looking a certain way for an event like a wedding or bikini competition — make sure that you’re being realistic with your expectations of what you can achieve. Give yourself plenty of time to get there and don’t expect to look like an Instagram fitness model if that’s not your body type!
Training for endurance
Training for endurance is a great fitness goal because it’s easy to see when you’re making progress. Whether it’s running further than you could yesterday, climbing the leaderboard at Crossfit or completing that marathon, there’s no way your improvement will go unnoticed.
Again, be realistic with how much progress you can make in a set amount of time. Going too hard, too fast can lead to injury, which can set you back even further. Push yourself enough to improve, but don’t push yourself to breaking point.
Performance-related goals
Nothing beats the confidence boost from setting a new personal best. Depending on the person, that could mean squatting twice your body weight or simply being able to do one full push-up.
Performance-related goals are terrific for people of all fitness levels. It’s a great way for beginners to see their fitness improving, can make the gym exciting again when it becomes a chore, and is the perfect indicator to see if your routine is actually working for you. If you’re not progressing, are you really putting in enough effort?
Working out for benefits outside of the gym
The best part of having a regular workout routine is the benefits you get outside of the gym. If you’ve been finding it hard to stay committed to working out, then you might want to set goals that are relevant to other parts of your life.
Perhaps exercising improves your mental wellbeing. Maybe staying fit helps you to keep up with your kids. Or you might find that the more you lift in the gym, the less tired you are at work. There are so many ways that being fit can improve your life in more meaningful ways than simply having abs.
Feeling inspired? Be sure to check out our range of fitness equipment to help you achieve your workout goals, no matter what they are.