Goals Redefined: How to Set a Fitness Goal That Works for You
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Before you start changing your exercise, nutrition or lifestyle, it helps to know what you are actually working towards.
A goal gives you somewhere to go. It helps you decide what is worth your time, what you need to do and whether the things you are doing are moving you in the right direction. But there is a difference between having a goal and having a goal that is useful.
“I want to get healthier” might be something you genuinely want, but it is difficult to know what you should actually do with it. “Lose weight” is more specific, but it still doesn't tell you much about what you want your life to look like once you get there.
A useful goal needs to give you direction, but it also needs to mean something to you.
START WITH WHAT MATTERS
Before worrying about whether your goal is SMART, start with what you actually want to achieve.
Maybe you want to lose weight, get stronger, improve your fitness or become more active. Or perhaps there is something behind that goal. You might want to keep up with your kids, get back to playing a sport, feel more comfortable doing everyday activities, or have the strength and fitness to keep doing the things you enjoy as you get older.
The more clearly you can describe what you're working towards, the easier it becomes to know whether you're moving in the right direction.
It is also worth thinking about what achieving that goal would actually mean for you. Losing 5kg might be the measurable part of the goal, but perhaps what you really want is to feel more comfortable in your clothes, have more confidence, or be able to keep up with your children. Getting stronger might be the goal, but what matters is being able to lift, carry and do the things you want to do without worrying about whether you're capable of them.
That gives the goal some meaning beyond simply reaching a number.
MAKE IT SOMETHING YOU CAN WORK WITH
Once you have a clearer idea of what you're working towards, give yourself something realistic to work with.
This is where the familiar idea of a SMART goal can be useful.
A SMART goal is:
Specific — you know what you are trying to achieve.
Measurable — you have some way of knowing whether you are making progress.
Achievable — it is realistic enough to work towards.
Relevant — it matters to you.
Time-bound — you have a timeframe to work within.
The timeframe is important because a goal needs some context. Losing 5kg in four weeks is very different from losing 5kg over six months. Improving your fitness for an event in three months is different from building your fitness for the next stage of your life.
You don't need to know exactly how long everything will take. You need a timeframe that gives you something realistic to work towards.
For example:
“I want to lose weight.”
could become:
“I want to lose 5kg over the next 12 weeks while maintaining my regular strength training.”
Now you have a clearer outcome, something you can measure and a timeframe to work within.
But the goal is still only the starting point.
ASK WHAT THE GOAL REQUIRES
Once you know where you want to go, think about what getting there will actually involve.
If your goal is to return to playing football, for example, the goal itself isn't the behaviour. You need to work out what playing football requires from you.
You might need to improve your fitness, build some strength, work on your movement, train regularly, allow time for recovery and think about how your nutrition supports what you're trying to do. You also need to find a way of fitting those things into your week.
The goal gives you direction. The requirements help you work out what to do.
This is where your current life matters as well. If three training sessions a week, better sleep and more consistent meals aren't realistic with your current work and family commitments, you need to work out what is possible from where you are now.
Maybe three sessions become two. Maybe you need to change when you train. Maybe your food needs attention before you add more exercise.
The goal doesn't tell you exactly how your week has to look. It gives you something to work towards, and you decide what is realistic for the life you actually have.
YOUR GOAL IS NOT A TEST
One thing I want you to avoid is turning your goal into a measure of success or failure.
You might not reach the goal in exactly the timeframe you originally chose. Your circumstances might change. You might learn that the goal you started with isn't quite what matters to you anymore.
That doesn't mean the goal was a failure.
Goals are there to give you direction and help you make decisions. As you learn more about yourself and your circumstances, you may need to change what you are working towards or how you are going about it.
That's important for long-term health and fitness, you want to become better at working out what matters next.
WHERE THIS FITS INTO 5xFITNESS
This is the thinking behind the 5xFitness Goals Card.
It helps you take what matters to you and turn it into a clearer direction for what comes next. You consider what you want to achieve, what that would mean for you and what getting there is likely to require from your exercise, nutrition and lifestyle.
From there, you can start looking at your current situation and work out what is realistic for the life you actually have.
The goal may change. The timeframe may change. The way you work towards it may change.
That's okay.
The aim isn't to set one perfect goal and follow it forever. It's to become better at knowing what matters, working towards it and deciding what comes next.
START WITH YOUR GOAL
Use the 5xFitness Goals Card to work out what matters to you and where you want to go next.