What motivates you to keep fit?

Is it because you prioritize staying healthy physically, or you would love to tone your body into your most desirable shape, or maybe just like many, the idea of keeping fit makes you feel good. Whatever the reasons may be, keeping fit is a good investment into your physical wellbeing, and being motivated to do so is a great start. However, motivation alone is not enough to usher you into your fitness reality.

Keeping fit is that even though you do not compete with another but yourself to attain your desired results, you may easily give up on this all-important journey. This is the usual challenge you may face when keeping fit, and it breaks my heart to see people start the journey and give up along the way. This article offers free tips to help you overcome this challenge. You will learn simple steps to set and achieve your own fitness goals. Ready? Read on to find out how!

Just like how many of life’s journeys didn’t start and finish in a day, bear in mind that your journey to a healthier life would not yield the desired results in a day. It takes efforts applied consistently to help you get there. That is why you need to set goals. Well, don’t cringe just yet. Setting goals is a demonstration of optimism to succeed. It reminds you of the reason you are embarking on a journey to keep fit, and it helps you track your progress and make amends if necessary. It shows you value your health greatly, and you are willing to take up the responsibility to stay healthy always. So here are nine simple steps you can follow to begin turning your fitness dreams into a reality. Let’s delve right in.

1. Know your why

Putting down many goals without knowing why you are doing so is like setting out to cook without having a recipe in mind. It is not enough putting down a bunch of desired outcomes over a long period, and you should know why you are doing them. Goals are generated for specific reasons. So even before you begin setting goals, ask yourself why you have decided to set the goals. Perhaps during your last check-up, your doctor told you your cholesterol level was high. This could be the reason you decide to hit the gym for some workout sessions. Or maybe you realized that your new job would require you to live a sedentary life, and therefore you need a lifestyle fitness plan to make the necessary adjustments successfully. Even the simple reason for feeling good is enough to get you started on a fitness journey.

2. Decide the end from the beginning.

Before we begin talking about long-term goals, let’s take a quick look at some of the goals you can set for yourself when it comes to keeping fit. Goals are ideas of desired things you would like to accomplish over a given period in the future. It is also an end toward which effort is directed. In this case, the reason you want to start keeping fit is the end. Whatever your goal may be, it is better to break them into long term and short term goals. Long term goals are set over a long period. It may take within 3, 6 months, or even years to attain. Some examples of long-term goals one can set to keep fit include a desire to burn some calories, lower your BMI or cholesterol level, transition into a healthier lifestyle, tone the muscles, etc. Writing down long term goals is a good way of holding yourself responsible and accountable to attaining them.

3. Identify your immediate objectives.

Short-term goals are those set to be attained over a short time. They are usually the goals created to attain specific long term goals. These include daily goals, weekly or monthly goals. Some examples include a daily workout session at the gym, running a mile a day, eating supper before 8 pm each day, drinking two glasses of water three times daily, etc. Your commitment to attaining your short term goals will lead to the attainment of specific long term goals. Attaining your goals goes beyond setting them and writing them out. It takes great discipline and intentionality to bring them to fruition. This brings us to another important point.

4. Set Attainable Goals.

This means that you set goals that are within your ability to attain. One mistake people make when setting fitness goals is to try to do too much in too little time. Here are a few things to note. You do not have to rush your fitness process with unrealistic goals. Don’t set unreasonable goals because you might fail to attain them, and this may set you back from pursuing your goal and subsequently discourage you from even setting other future goals. For instance, if your current daily routine does not involve exercise, suddenly setting a fitness goal that requires you to work out the whole day is not only unrealistic but also unattainable.

5. Make your targets measurable.

Instead of doing a whole day work out, you could start by doing hourly sessions daily and gradually progress into doing two to three hours daily. In this way, you can measure your progress to know when to maximize or minimize your efforts. Running ten miles a day or doing four extra skips a day are examples of measurable goals.

6. Sign up for a gym membership.

If you are clueless about what workout activities to take on in your fitness training or need a little help to make your sessions consistent, I recommend you sign up for a gym membership. If you are set to achieve your fitness goals, you must be ready to go all out. One other benefit of a gym membership is that you receive instructions from a personal trainer trained to identify your fitness needs. This impacts your fitness greatly and hastens your results. Gym membership also gives you access to a variety of top-quality exercise equipment to enhance your workout and an opportunity to try varied fitness exercises. You can use weight machines, dumbbells, treadmills, elliptical, and Stairmasters are some equipment to help to kick start your fitness journey.

7. Inspire yourself

In attaining your fitness goal, one essential thing you must do is to encourage yourself always. A daily dose of ‘you can make it’ is potent enough to boost your confidence and push you towards your desired end. By reminding yourself why you started the journey and the fact that you can, you draw inspiration from within to continue.

8. Appreciate your efforts

Closely linked to self-encouragement is self-appreciation. Often we get so busy trying to reach our goals that we fail to look back at how far we have come. You do not have to be too hard on yourself when working on your fitness goals. Instead of talking yourself into discouragement, if you are not making as much progress as you expected to, look back and appreciate the progress you have made so far. Learn to take some time to give yourself thumbs up for the progress you have made so far.

9. Identify an accountability partner

Once in a while, we all need a support system to encourage us and hold us accountable to our goals. Studies have shown that those who use accountability partners reach their fitness goals quicker than those who choose not to. Accountability partners serve the purpose of encouraging you to commit to your fitness routine, checking in on your progress, and motivating you in times of weakness. These support systems are not only interested in your goal but also in holding you to higher standards, pushing you to attain set fitness goals. Close relatives or friends could be selected as accountability partners, provided you can trust them to be honest with you.