New Year’s Resolutions – The Year Of Fitness Is Upon Us!
Following a Christmas period consisting of relaxation and indulgence comes the beginning of the New Year, a time that’s all about setting your objectives and establishing your intentions.
When it comes to setting your fitness goals for 2021, it’s important to go about it in the best way possible –want to know more? Keep on reading as we take you through some of our best tips and considerations when it comes to setting fitness goals for 2021!
Goal Setting Success!
In all walks of life and in all types of scenarios, goal setting can play a major role in the success and progression of an individual. Setting goals can create some truly powerful implications! Let’s take a look at some:
Motivation
Giving your efforts a concrete purpose and end-goal can give you a world of focus and motivation. Having a reason for putting in the work can be a motivating factor to really drive you through the hardships and remind you why you’re doing what you’re doing!
Remember, setting goals means that your efforts have a destination.
Measuring Progress
Progress is the middleman between the initial setting of a goal and the eventual achieving of a goal. With this in mind, knowing what our goals are and comparing them to where we currently are is an effective indicator of how well we’re progressing and moving forward.
Remember, the more defined and clear to you that your goals are, the better able you’ll be to stay on top of tracking progress!
Procrastination Killer
Procrastination is something that can impact each and every one of us. However, setting a goal that you want to achieve within a certain timeframe can be just what you need to better understand and apply a sense of proactiveness whilst avoiding being sucked into the vicious cycle of procrastination.
This is why establishing a timeframe for each of your goals is great thing to do- we’ll touch on this more later in this blog!
New Year – New Goals!
2020 will well and truly go down as one of the most abysmal years in history- so, well done for getting through it and coming out of the other side- it’s a massively praiseworthy achievement!
Though things here in the UK are still a long way away from normality, the start of a New Year presents a fresh chapter and the beginning of a new journey. With this mind, it’s no surprise that so many us see the New Year as a time to set our intentions and goals for the coming year.
When it comes to fitness, with the right attitude and efforts helped with a serving of effective goal setting, you can truly make 2021 a great and positive year for fitness progression! Let’s take a look at some key factors to consider prior to setting your 2021 fitness goals as well as tips that you can apply to get the most out of your goal-achieving endeavours!
The Importance Of Understanding The Fundamentals Of Your Fitness Goals
Right, so before you begin with noting down the fitness goals you wish to set for 2021, it’s super important to understand the nature of your goals and grasp the foundations of achieving the type of goal that you’ll be chasing.
So, if your goal is to lose weight, your fitness activities should involve high-intensity calorie burning exercises combined with a reduced intake of saturated fats and excessive carbs. Whereas the goal of building muscle should involve effective muscle activation training combined with nutrition which supports effective muscle fiber repair and recovery.
A summary of the steps to take prior to setting your goals
1. Clearly define to yourself what exactly what you wish to achieve.
2. Next, understand and establish the fundamental elements of achieving your specific goals- with an endless world of information now available at the end of our fingertips, make the most of all the guidance and advice that’s out there!
3. Finally, use the following tips to set specific and measurable goals before going on to chase you fitness goals for 2021!
LBL’s Top Tips For Effective Goal Setting
Set goals that are specific and measurable
Making your goals more specific will equip you with a clearer sense of purpose when putting in the work that’s needed for achieving goals. For example, a goal of increasing your 1 rep max for a squat by 10KG is more specific than simply wanting to squat more.
To further improve this goal, you can make it measurable. Noting down and recording your 1 rep max each week/fortnight can provide an indication of how much your squatting abilities are improving with training. A great thing about measuring progress is that it can truly motivate you and push you on to keep your efforts going!
Be realistic
Results require time and patience! With this being said, base your goals on your current fitness level, experience level and what you believe you can realistically achieve.
For example, if you’re a beginner, your main goal should be grasping how to execute exercises properly and gradually build your abilities over time. Whereas if you happen to an advanced fitness enthusiast, then setting challenging yet attainable objectives can be a great way to really take you to the next level!
Set timeframes for each goal
As mentioned earlier, setting timeframes alongside your goals can support you in being more proactive with your time, meaning training that is more productive. Realistic timeframes, whether they are based on short-term on long-term goals can be massively beneficial for your level of drive and motivation.
An example of a short-term goal may be to run a mile without stopping by the end of 4 weeks. On the other hand, an example of a long-term goal may be to reduce your body fat percentage by 5% by the end of the year.
Be kind to yourself
Life is full of chaos and it’s inevitable that on our fitness journeys we will be faced with challenges, setbacks and lows. So, just know that it’s normal to not always be progressing or meeting our goals within a certain timeframe. These situations are completely normal and should not be a reason for giving up or feeling upset!
Joining fitness classes as way to socialise as well as exercise can be a fun and exciting way to work on fulfilling your objectives!
The Art Of Goal Setting
Setting goals effectively is truly an art. When done properly, the right goals and timeframes can really support you in moving forward with you goals and aspirations- this is something that applies to all parts of life!
We’re now in 2021…let’s make it a year to remember. You can do this!