Fitness is one of the most popular types of sports in the modern world. Many people do engage in fitness for various reasons like weight loss and pleasure. Everyone has their motivation. There are several long term fitness goals that you need to strive to achieve. The question may arise – why do you set goals? But psychologists believe that doing something “just like that” or setting vague goals is the worst motivation. To achieve something, you need to know at least what you want to achieve. The more clearly defined goals, the clearer and shorter path to achieving them.
Here are five long term fitness goals that you should try to achieve:
- Reduce the percentage of fat.
People often start to do fitness or come to the gym to “lose a couple of kilos.” Sounds familiar? But you probably also heard the expression: “Muscles weigh more than fats.” And although from a technical point of view, this is not entirely true, muscles are much denser than fat and occupy less volume than the same amount of body fat.
Therefore if your goal is to lose weight, then you should strive to “change fat to muscle,” that is, reduce the percentage of fat in the body and replace it with muscle mass.
- To become stronger
To become a little stronger is one of your long term fitness goals, you should be striving to achieve. In facilitating the usual everyday activities, it will be easier for you to drag bags with groceries to the house, climb the stairs to the eleventh floor, if the elevator breaks, move the wardrobe during cleaning, etc. But you will hardly notice an increase in muscle relief in the mirror.
- Become healthier
Sport helps to lengthen life, reduce weight, cope with stress, improve sleep and mood, and strengthen the heart and blood vessels and serves as a prevention of diabetes and even certain types of cancer. And maintaining the activity of the body makes the brain active, both in the short term, increasing clarity of thought, and in the long term, slowing down the process of senile extinction.
Physical activity stimulates the growth of new brain cells, especially in the area responsible for memory and learning, improves cerebral circulation, and even increases brain volume and the number of convolutions! To start a fitness program, it is better to determine what goals you need to achieve. And so that it can be measured. Do not set yourself vague goals like “improve the heart and blood vessels,” and specifically lower cholesterol and glucose.
- To acquire a useful skill
It is useful to make it your goal to acquire a new skill if you are not a big fan of running/weight lifting/sweating at all. Sometimes physical activity must have its own specifics, its own “highlight,” which will allow you to love being physically active. You can always find a sport that you like and come in handy in life, and convince yourself that you must certainly thoroughly master it. It can be tay-boxing, swimming, any dancing, yoga, etc. If in this case too routine catches up with you, divide the goals into even smaller ones: master a new movement, a new swimming style, a headstand in yoga.
- Get involved in training
Usually, a craving for fitness appears on the eve of some significant event – a meeting of school friends, an upcoming vacation, birthday. Of course, there is nothing wrong with wanting to look good for any reason, but it is still better when fitness turns into a long-term habit. Naturally, when training for an event, the motivation is much stronger, but, honestly, do you spend all these efforts only to shine for a couple of days, and then return to your previous hated form? Try to tune in advance to ensure that your workouts will become stable: find a permanent way in your schedule, select a fitness club, pool, or a park with bike paths closer to home. But it is especially important to choose a physical activity to your liking to be able to love the activity.
A person who seeks to achieve a goal is admirable. A great desire often inspires a person to do great things. If we talk about fitness, then to achieve the intended goal, you need a realistic approach. To achieve the main and distant goal, you need to start small. In fitness, you should always remember that your main goal is not to get injured, but to achieve a result.
Having set your long term fitness goals, we are full of enthusiasm and determination at the beginning, to achieve it. Over time, there comes an understanding that not everything is so smooth and simple. It is necessary to set realistic, specific goals, upon reaching which you will each time come one step closer to your cherished dream. First, you need to create a plan and divide the main goal into small stages. It will be easier to move forward (both psychologically and physically). Thanks to this method, you can raise your degree of preparation without the risk of injury and gradually.
What is the purpose of the goal? Is it possible to achieve it before three months? If not, you need to set a goal more specifically or break the main goal into several stages.
What must be done to achieve your long term fitness goals?
It’s about regular training. If you need to train five times a week, but due to objective circumstances, you are unable to come to the gym so many times, then you need to revise the goal or the time frame for achieving it. Objectively evaluate the time to achieve your goal. Do not forget about your degree of physical fitness. You can achieve results in fitness over time. The correct assessment of your capabilities will be protection. Slowly but surely go towards your goal!
Will you be able to achieve your long term fitness goals?
You will have to use a long-term program that will last more than one week. You have to be honest with yourself and ask yourself if you can complete these programs? If your answer is yes, then the goal is achievable!
Many people want to achieve their goals immediately, forgetting about fatigue and pain. In this case, the risk of injury increases. Injury is dangerous because it puts an end to your goals! In fitness, an essential component of achieving long term fitness goals is to encourage yourself after every success, even the smallest one! And yet, do not be afraid to adjust your goals.