Realistic Fitness Goals- How to Reach Them
Too often individuals setup personal fitness goals that are bound to lead them to failure. Ideally our aspirations should be to get fit, healthy and be our best selves. The problem is when set goals like losing 10 or more pounds, develop one’s abs and go down in clothes size. These are long term goal thus don’t give you immediate satisfaction. Where as if you set your goals like you want to feel good, increase your energy and functional level, you my get the satisfaction of accomplishment in just a few days or weeks. In short set goals focusing on how you feel than how you look. Here are some simple realistic fitness goals and how to reach them.
Try one new workout each month
Doing exactly the same fitness routine is not a good thing. Not only does the ritual becomes boring and your body gets into a plateau and would not continue to improve. Trying something new will add more fun and that is very important to keep you in the program.
How to do it
Always be on the lookout for new opportunities for new workout like group activities. Walking, running, aerobic dancing like Zumba. Join a cycling club or a martial arts program. Create a new mix in your gym routine
Stretch More
One of the more important part of fitness that is often overlooks is stretching. This activity not only promotes muscle strength, makes joints more limber but it also prevents injuries. The more intense ones workout the more important one has to do stretching to prevent injuries. This is also very important as one gets older to avoid limited mobility.
How to do it
Make flexibility and stretching part of your daily routine. Take a few minutes when you wake up in the morning and before going to bed at night. When working out slightly stretch the muscles that you work on without exception.
Get an exercise buddy
Having a buddy make you more accountable, and one is less likely to cancel at the last minute. Plus it having a friend keeps it from being boring and you could motivate each other.
How to do it
Team up with you friends at work, church, family members or make friends in your gym. You could discuss with them your goals and ask them to help you stick with the program.
Get the right amount of sleep
Sleeping 7-9 hours is very important. It gives your body time to recover, builds up muscles and prepares you to have more energy in your next workout.
How to do it
Stick to a regular sleeping schedule as much as possible. Establish a routine before going to bed like reading, meditation. Avoid heavy supper and don’t take any food 4 hours before bed time so your digestive track does not keep on digesting food while you sleep. This also causes acid reflux and poor sleep. If feel hungry just drink a glass of water. There are now apps that monitor you sleep from a wrist monitor and feed it to your smart phone. It will measure REM (rapid eye movement) which is a sign deep sleep and also gives you a feedback of the amount of sleep you get.
Right form of exercise
You could consistently be working out for a long period and wonder why you may not be getting the strength, stamina and physical form. You may even get injuries as a result your workout.
How to do it
Before starting on a workout routine, it may be good idea to have a trainer to assess your state of fitness, your goals and help you map out and exercise routine and periodically access your progress. Discuss with your trainer proper exercise technics. This would prevent injuries and keep doing the proper form of exercise to attain your fitness goals.
Drink more water
I am sure you already know the importance of drinking more water. Too often we forget and it does not become a priority in our workout. The body is 60% water, the brain and the heart is 73% is water. To keep the body in peak performance it has got to be hydrated because even if you are slightly dehydrated your muscles can’t work as hard for you.
How to do it
It important to set up goals that you could easily follow. I find myself only drinking when I feel thirsty, and when I try to account for how much my water intake for the day I find I drink a about 3 to 5 glassed a day. I try after waking up in the morning drinking about a glass of water before eating or taking any beverage in the morning. Before lunch and dinner try to drink 2-3 bottles water and after diner to bedtime drink 2 glass.
To enhance the taste and add nutrients by adding fresh ingredients like mint, lemons, ginger or some slice of fruits. Remember just slice for flavor and not fruit juice which may have higher number of calories and have higher sugar content.
Increase your physical activities each day
Many of us are employed in jobs that involve sitting down most of the time 9-5pm. This is bad for the heart, muscles strength and for our nervous system. You go home exhausted crush of the couch watch TV munching of some chips and with some soda drink while waiting for a big dinner to be served.
How to do it
Make a conscious effort to increase your activity. If you work close to where you live, you may just go ahead a walk, or if you have to use a car park further so you could walk. Use the stairs instead of the elevator. After work instead of sitting in front of the TV you may take you children, partner or dog for a walk or work in your yard or play with your children. Plan the day to involve more physical activities.
Track your fitness progress
Few years back my children gave me a wrist brace call Fitbit that monitored the number of steps I took each day. The goal was to take 10,000 steps or more each day. Believed me it made me find ways to reach my daily goal. These days these devices that are more sophisticated multipurpose that monitors your heart rhythm, GPS location, calories you are burning, you may receive and send text messages and replace your watch with it.
How to do it
My wife and I were given trial membership in gym call Orange Theory. We came in and they strapped a monitor on our chests. The signal from this device went to a receiver and the information is shown in large screen monitor after our name while we exercised and when we get home we could download the information into our computer. This helped us pace our exercise instead of competing with folks who were one or two generations younger than us. Now you could get personal devices like this that could give more information to track your progress. This devices called trackers are usually worn in the wrist and is also a watch and some even are phones in themselves. There are also apps you could load in you phone that could tract the calories you burn and the calculate the calories in the food you eat and help you schedule what kind of exercise to need to do.
Have a balance program
Working out following the same routine each day will result in physical and mental exhaustion. You have to balance your exercise. You may have heard the saying no pain no gain but it should not be so. Many times, people who are not conditioned to exercise go immediately into an intense training to the point that they get sick and tired of exercising give up on the idea of physical fitness.
How to do it
Vary your exercise routine. A good example is I would exercise my arms and legs one day and next day I would do may back, chest and do pushups. I do this routine 5 times a week alternately rest two days each week. Avoiding doing intense exercise successive days to a same group of muscles, give it time to rest and recuperate. It also lessens the chance of fatigue, injury and keeps you from being bored. Listen to your body if you feeling bored with your routine you may switch or talk to you’re a fitness trainer for some suggestions.
Make sure you enjoy your exercise program. Try to avoid the boredom of repetitive routine, mix it up or switch to another form of exercise. Even with food try to vary, learn how too master health cooking rather than be stuck with same bland protein and vegies. You may also vary your exercise schedule.
Compliment yourself every day
Self-worth is very important element in achieving your goals. Believe in and love yourself. Remember, you are the most important individual in the planet because without you this world would not mean anything to you. With that positive attitude you would give priority of to achieve you goals for the right reasons. When you put yourself down that is a sure formula for failure.
How to do it
Have you ever thought of giving yourself a compliment every day? I remember someone who would first thing in the morning go to the mirror slapped himself on each cheek and exclaim, “This handsome face.” Looking at him he looked alright but I would not call him handsome. But to him he started each day on that positive note. I suggest complimenting yourself as your start your day with this thoughts:
- I am beautiful
- I am strong
- My life means something
- I am alive and important
- I am loved
- I am intelligent
- I am in charge of my own life
- I am happy
Don’t depend on the compliments of others to make you happy and contented. Remember as far as you are concern the most important opinion on who you are is what you think about yourself. Many times the thing that is keeping you from becoming the strongest and healthiest version of yourself is your own belief that you are not worth it.
My Exercise Program
I have been through different exercise programs since I was in high school. In high school my main exercise was horizontal bars, in college and medical school I was not in to any program. In my thirties I had a home gym and faithfully worked out till stared working as emergency physician which made have have a irregular sleeping schedule. After retiring from full-time ER medicine at 67 years of age I and my wife started walking 5 times week then after a year we joined a gym and later we decided to work out at home for the last couple of year.I work out using 20 lbs. dumbells, pushup’s, crunches, squats with weights, running up and down steps. We do them about 5-6 times week usually while watching TV. I exercise different set of muscles every other day.
Yes, these are simple realistic fitness goals and how to reach them for a better version of you.
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