How to Set Fitness Goals You Can Actually Achieve, According to Trainers

Whenever a new year rolls around, everyone seems to be laser-focused on making resolutions around health and fitness. But the problem with resolutions is that most of them fail (by some accounts, 80 percent fail by the first week of February). Being healthier shouldn’t just be a January focus though, it should be a goal year-round, which means you should be planning for long-term success. Regardless of your fitness level or workout preferences, here’s how to set achievable fitness goals this year, according to trainers.

Be specific

Give yourself a better chance of reaching your fitness goals by making them measurable. “When you set broad statement goals like ‘I want to be more fit’ or ‘I want to run more,’ it’s easy to not really invest time or effort into them because what does ‘more’ mean?” says Jenna Langhans, a certified personal trainer for Daily Burn who specializes in cardio dance and kettlebells. Instead, she suggests setting smaller, specific goals such as working out for 20 minutes three times a week or setting a personal record for running a mile.

Start small

It’s natural to get excited in the beginning and want to go big when setting goals, but there’s also something to be said for pacing yourself. “When we try to go from 0-60 right off the bat, we tend to get discouraged and often quit. Smaller, tangible goals within our bigger goal can help us take those steps and stay on track without getting discouraged,” says Langhans. If you do have big fitness goals you want to achieve, she suggests working backward and making smaller goals to work your way up. For example, if your goal is to do 10 push-ups in a row, do one good push-up every day until you are able to add more.

Don’t lag or delay

Once you’ve set some specific goals, don’t think twice about it, and get started as soon as you can. “Procrastination often leads to cancellation. Just go! Getting started is often the hardest part,” says Kenta Seki, a fitness entrepreneur and FitOn App trainer.

Schedule your workouts in a calendar

You already plan for a variety of other things such as events, appointments, work meetings, family video chats, deadlines, etc. Treat your workouts the same way. Both Seki and Caroline Pearce, another FitOn App Trainer and former international heptathlete and bobsledder, advise scheduling your workout days and times ahead of time and putting them in a calendar. That way, it will be harder to miss a workout or put it off until later.

But also be realistic with yourself. “Know your schedule and plan ahead with when you can fit it in. By planning ahead, you’ll avoid agreeing to other time demands that take you away from your ‘you time’/exercise time,” adds Pearce. And even if your day doesn’t go as you expected, something is better than nothing. “A 10-minute workout is better than skipping out on your workouts because you perceive you don’t have enough time,” she says.

Get an accountability partner

It’s harder to slack off when you have someone else who is also working toward their goals. “Find a friend or partner that you are going to set goals with so that when one of you feels unmotivated, the other can help encourage and vice versa, says Langhans.” Even if you can’t work out together, you can always join a live virtual class with them.

Be consistent

Plan and schedule your workouts/meals, and make health a regular part of your daily routine, and you’ll likely make forward progress. “At the end of the day, consistency is key!” says Langhans. “If you are consistently putting in work to reach your goal, your goals will naturally evolve as you keep crushing your previous ones. Things that were once really challenging will probably start to feel easier, and you will develop new strength gains to meet or milage times to beat.”

Mix it up

Doing the same workout over and over gets boring and uninspiring. “Commit to a mixture of different workouts from Hiit to yoga to pilates to fight style fitness,” suggests Pearce. “Not only will you avoid boredom but you’ll avoid the plateau in results that comes with repeating the same workouts. You’ll also discover which style your body responds to best.”

Focus on yourself

It’s easy, especially with social media, to get sucked into other people’s fitness goals. Remember that everybody and every body is different. “Don’t compare yourself to other people’s journeys,” says Langhans. “You don’t know what kind of investments or sacrifices they made to get there, so just focus on your own improvement.”

Try to remind yourself that results do not happen overnight

All good things take time, so try to temper your expectations of instant progress. “I know it can be very, very frustrating when we put effort into something and don’t see results or changes immediately,” says Langhans. “This is the number one reason why we give up and go back to old habits. But if it were easy, everyone would do it, right? Building new habits takes time and dedication.” Pearce also suggests tracking your progress. By recording your workouts each week, you can not only see progress but also get a sense of achievement to motivate you for the next week.

Invest in your health

There’s no point in half-assing anything; if you’re going to set fitness goals for yourself, then invest in it, says Langhans. That could include finding a coach you trust, buying home equipment for your workouts, or simplifying just putting in the time. Other things to factor in are rest and recovery time, which are important to prevent injury, and hydration and nutrition. “What you put in your body is just as important (if not more) than the movement you give it,” she says.

Be gentle with yourself

We all have good days and bad days, times where we feel motivated and times where we just cannot be bothered. “Treat yourselves like you would treat a friend you love and care about,” says Langhans. “Be firm, but don’t punish yourself if you skip a day or eat something bad. We’re all human. Just try to stay on track.”

Did these tips help you? Tell us your achievable fitness goals in the comments–and shop Activewear to stay motivated (and stylish!)