How to Set Your 2018 Fitness Goals

Are you ready to set your 2018 fitness goals?

The first of January is the time that most people start setting their New Year resolution. Many of them involve losing weight, getting healthier, and eating better. Statistics show that 64% of individuals who created resolutions were still making a valid effort at the end of January, but six months later the number drops to only 44% of people. Will you be one of the 56% who will fail?

Goal setting is important in life and sports and fitness. Goal setting is a strategic approach to behavioural change by which progressive standards of success are set in an attempt to achieve a desired level of achievement increasingly. For example, a person may make their 2018 fitness goal to complete ten pull-ups successfully.

Types of Fitness Goals

There are three types of fitness goals you can make:

Process goals are goals you have a high degree of personal control over. For example, the amount of effort you apply during a workout is a type of process goal.

Outcome goals are goals you have little control over. Outcome goals are exemplified by social comparison, as in winning or beating an opponent in a race. Outcome goals are ideal for people who are competitive, but outcome goals are less likely to be achieved.

Performance goals are harder to achieve than process goals but less so than outcome goals. They are typically based on a self-referenced personal performance standard rather than trying to beat an opponent. For example, you may want to break the 30-minute mark in your next 5k run, even though others are doing 25 minute runs.

How to Set Your 2018 Fitness Goals

You should set both long-term and short-term fitness goals. Short-term goals provide a strategy to achieve your long-term goal. A long-term goal should be a meaningful pursuit for you. Your short-term goals should be effective, yet challenging, and have about a 50% chance of success. A short-term goal that is meaningless or too easy will lead you to go through the motions instead of investing real effort and time into reaching your goal.

When setting your goals keep in mind the following:

Specific

Measurable

Action Oriented

Realistic

Time Bound

(also known as SMART)

Let’s look at an example: John is a mildly active man who weighs 100 kg. He wants to lose 10% of his body-weight. Ten percent of his body weight is 10 kg.

Working with her personal trainer, John made a practical long term goal and workout plan. His goal is to lose 10 kg in six months. The goal is realistic in that it is healthy to lose about 0.25-1 kg a week.

Jack also chose a goal of losing 10 kg, but he decided to give himself an extra four weeks in case he has a bad week or two. Jack and his trainer also created several process goals, such as replacing his regular Diet Coke with a large glass of water and keeping a positive attitude when working with his trainer.

What are your 2018 fitness goals?