How Setting Fitness Goals Can Help You Achieve Work-Life Balance

Our health is a core part of our life, and every other aspect of our life revolves around good health.

As rightly said in an Arabian proverb:

“He who has health has hope and he who has hope has everything. – Arabian Proverb

But achieving a healthy life demands sheer commitment and discipline, and setting fitness goals is what makes it possible.

The Psychology Behind Setting Fitness Goals

Numerous studies conducted in behavioral psychology have proved individuals achieving far better results with focused goals than those who do not. Think about it! Even our day-to-day tasks revolve around setting targets.

For example, you need to meet an important sales deadline next week, and an excellent prospect has shown their interest recently, now you got a task to present a mindblowing pitch that focuses highly on your product. To make it a success, you quickly prepared a list of essential topics before your presentation. These are nothing but are your goals!

These are time-bound, specific, and realistic goals. The list you’ve prepared serves as a constant reminder of your goals and helps you organize them as per your thoughts. Now you are in a position to map out your goals and strategize accordingly to get it done.

Apply the same concept to your fitness goals. It’s no surprise that when you define your health goals, you have a greater chance of achieving the goal, similar to your to-do list.

For example, if your goal is to drink eight glasses of water a day, you are making a specific and achievable goal, where later you can quantify the amount of water you had in a week; instead of saying, “I’ll drink more water from now.”

As famously cited in the book “Psychological Foundations of Success” Stephen J. Kraus writes:

Goal setting can provide a surge in performance due to three factors, namely:

Direction: Goals can direct action. They require focus and effort towards the objective of the goal setter. These become an empowering tool that enables people to channel towards their life purpose.

Motivation: Goals help you to push your negative thoughts of quitting. It boosts your inner effort and persistence to achieve the target. It clarifies your doubts and makes your decision concrete.

Strategy refinement: After making concrete goals, you’re more pumped up to complete the plan. You become creative and brainstorm ways to accomplish it.

10 Benefits Of Setting Fitness Goals

No doubt, setting goals drastically improve your odds of reaching the desired result. Every year we make new year resolutions. As per Cooperaerobics data 38% of resolutions are related to weight and fitness.

While it’s good to know that people are concerned about their health and prioritize fitness as a health goal, yet there are times where some reports cite a whole different story. It might even surprise you to hear that 95% of people drop off their fitness resolutions by the end of the third month of a year. Even after going to the gym or participating in various fitness activities, they fail to keep up with their objective.

So if you’re still confused and searching for motivation for continuing this journey, then read on to discover some great benefits of setting goals for 2021!

1. Goals Make The Journey Interesting

Some people hesitate to commit directly to training and fitness programs, as facing enormous challenges, like changing a comfortable lifestyle to a more active one that requires self-esteem. These challenges may seem impossible to a few. In hindsight, if you set small goals that are actionable and quick, you will see changes.

2. Goals Instill Motivation

This is one of the most common challenges faced by any new fitness enthusiast. Even trainers face dilemmas keeping upbeat with their client’s motivation. So with the help of goals, you always have something to vouch for that helps you keep up through the pain. It must excite you, maybe not the journey but the outcome you will be getting. Try to keep your goal specific yet fun, such as finishing a 5k walk to achieve a reward.

3. Progress Is Another Name Of Goal

Goals make the changes possible. This itself a great motivation for many. When you have a goal to achieve, you work harder because you expect a positive change as you make progress. This progress becomes measurable that adds value to the transformation journey.

4. Make Your Workout Efficient With Goals

When you have specific goals, every fitness session will be efficient and focused. Be it weight training or Yoga, if you have vague goals, consistency and focus will be at risk. Right goals save you both time and energy, helping you achieve your targets in time.

5. Success Is Elusive With Help Of Fitness Goals

Without firm goals, success is the hardest thing to achieve. There may be some time where you feel healthier by starting a workout. This usually happens in the initial stages of weight training. Most people get satisfied and leave their regime feeling satisfied. But this was never the goal you wanted to achieve. Committing to long-term fitness goals determines real success, which is elusive only with the help of fitness goals.

6. Focus On One Goal At A Time

Fitness enthusiast wants to achieve many goals at one go. One of the biggest mistakes they make is "I want to accomplish everything. " For example, if a person wants to lose weight, they should focus solely on cardio and endurance and not jump to weight training.

It would be foolish enough to directly focus on weight training than cardio and endurance training altogether.
People also get anxious when they want to achieve so many things. When none of them gets fulfilled, they feel like a failure.

It might eventually lead to negative self-talk. When there are many negativities, individuals will feel demotivated, which will lower the chances of achieving any of the goals. Hence focusing on one goal makes things easier.

7. Do Not Keep Unrealistic Targets; Take It Slow.

Fitness goals shouldn't be that unrealistic. The goals should be within reach of what the person is doing. When individuals raise the bar high, it assures that they are confident enough to achieve those targets.

With willpower, the individual can sail through without any mental blockage for achieving fitness goals.

It is excellent when individuals set high targets and execute them. But if they aren't confident enough, it is not good to keep unrealistic targets as it will affect their self-confidence.

It all starts with setting the bar low and then further raise the bar once the individuals achieve those small victories on completing small targets, they kept for themselves.

8. Make Your Own Fitness Goals

We often scroll through Instagram and Facebook reels and get inspired by a famous fitness model.

And get envious because of the chiseled body. Setting the same goals for oneself by looking at others is neither productive nor practical. Every individual's physique is different, and they also have specific fitness patterns and goals of their own.

They also come up with other exercises, and it is also hard to identify the best fitness routine for you.
For example, a particular athlete has a specific fitness routine like 100 push-ups and 1km running. This fitness routine might not be the same for you. Individuals should have their own goals and not somebody else's.

9. Ask yourself The Reason Behind Achieving Your Goals

Whenever you start working on your fitness goals, stand in front of the mirror and ask yourself these questions. Why am I doing this? What is the thing that is driving me to reach my goals?

Many people have fitness goals for many reasons. For example, you might be feeling insecure about your body lately and wants to shed some extra weight. Another example could be preparing for a marathon or sports competition at a national level.

10. Get A Support System From Peers, Family, and friends

While preparing for goals, individuals can reach out to their peers, family, and friends who can encourage, motivate and support their fitness journey. When friends from their circle get enthusiastic about the individual's fitness goals, it will make a huge difference.

How Corporate Leaders Can Set Realistic Fitness Goals For Employees?

If you’re an employer, focussing on employees’ health must have been on your priority list. When it comes to your employees’ health and productivity, there is no limit to the number of benefits and increased wellness that an employer-sponsored health program can have on both your company and your staff.

For instance, one employee who begins walking regularly can cut as much as $3,000 per year from your company’s benefit-cost. An overweight employee that sheds pounds and gets in shape can not only mean added savings for your overall health costs, but it can also result in reduced blood pressure and cholesterol readings. It can save on pharmacy and wellness expenses. Plus, regular physical activity can slow future health claims for heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.

There’s a lot of research about the benefits of bringing a corporate wellness program into your workplace.

How can your company get started with better savings and better health? Simple? Set a fitness goal with Vantage Fit.

Related: 6 Employee Health Goals You Must Plan For 2021

How Do You Achieve A Successful Fitness Goal?

Having health goals is good, but having strategic and achievable fitness goals is even better! No joke, around 43% of people joins an expensive gym without a real purpose in mind. It’s like walking on the road, unaware of where to go? Sounds familiar?

Understanding why fitness will help you give a direction and help you achieve your “summer body” much faster than simply working out “for fun”! If you’re a trainer, you probably have a great idea on this topic, but if you’re a newbie, save a word in your memory: SMART Fitness goals. That’s it!

It stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Timely. All these are very important while setting a realistic fitness goal. You know, you can see excellent results more systematically and consistently. Want to learn to do that? Follow this detailed article that deals with the concept of setting SMART Fitness goals for 2021!