Fitness goals you should be making this year and how to keep them

The new year brings with it a new-found motivation to be healthy, aspiring thousands of people all over the world to come up with fitness goals and diets to follow. Some adhere to them and see them through, while others don’t. These goals are usually long-term intentions with no short term actions and that seems to be one of the main problems for your lack of follow-through.

The path to fitness can be a daunting and confusing one and many people don’t even know where to begin. Are you supposed to jog every day? Should you join a gym or yoga class? Is one of the new diets answer to all my fitness goals? With so many questions and no absolute answers, it can be really hard to set and follow fitness goals. But fear not, we are here to bring you some easy and well-rounded goals which you should be making this year and how to keep them.

Try a new workout every month

When it comes to working out, we can get bored easily, and rightly so because working out takes up a lot of will-power and if the workout is boring or getting repetitive then it can be hard to keep yourself motivated. The solution is to try out new forms of workout every month. Remember that your ultimate goal is to work out, not going through the motions.

To keep things fun and challenging, find new opportunities for working out. Try Zumba, yoga, gym, swimming, and even jogging. Sign up for HIIT workout, or a dance class to make working out fun. You don’t have to stick to your routine as long as you are working out one way or another.

Set daily walking goals

Walking at least 10,000 steps per day is a standard recommendation from WHO as well and living an inactive lifestyle is not healthy anyway. This year make it a goal to walk 10,000 steps every day. Even if you don’t reach the 10k mark, you will still be walking a lot more than you usually would.

Set up daily walking goals and try to one-up your last day’s number every day. Walking or Cycling to commute is one of the best ways to kickstart your fitness and this will be a fun personal challenge for yourself as long as it helps you achieve your fitness goals. Walking also helps you stay active throughout the day, and keep your mind and body active.

Drink more water

Have you ever wondered how the immense wheel of life keeps rolling on and on? What if I tell you that the wheel of life is like a water mill, the water is the force that keeps driving it on and on! This may not sound like much of a fitness goal, but water is literally the essence of life and if you are dehydrated you won’t be able to perform at your peak physically or otherwise. And another added perk of drinking water is that it is good for skin and it will make you look and feel fresh.

This year, set daily goals for yourself to drink more water. Measure your usual water intake to see if you need to add drinking more water to your routine or not. If you are drinking less than recommended amount, then set an easy to follow goal, like “drink three glasses of water before lunch” or “I am going to drink one glass of water as soon as I wake up.”

Track your fitness progress

To stay on track of your fitness goals you need to track your progress and ramify it to make it more fun and exciting. If you aren’t competing against yourself, then where is the fun?! To achieve your goals, set for yourself a measurable goal, and measure and track it using a tracker. Tracking progress makes it easier for you to stay motivated.

Try workouts apps to measure your progress – they also send out notifications and reminders to guilt you into getting back on track and honestly, we all need someone to keep us accountable even if its an app. Get a fitness tracker to keep track of everything from your heartbeat to your steps – remember the 10k steps goal.

Stretch more

Now, stretching may not seem like a fitness goal, but it is one of the top things you can do daily to strengthen your muscles and increase your flexibility. When muscles are stretched out regularly, your muscles are less prone to injuries and stress. Stretching takes up less than 10 minutes a day and you will notice your body feels nicer and lighter after a stretch.

You can stretch in the morning or before and after every workout. No exceptions here! Stretching should be an essential part of your fitness routine because it prevents injuries and it feels good, so why not?

Lastly, the key to staying on track of your fitness goals is to keep things fun and interesting. Don’t see working out as a thing you have to do, rather see it as an activity to refresh the mind and soul. And lastly, set measurable goals and track your progress. Because without a tracker, you may lose motivation to even continue working towards the goals and we don’t want that.