As an experienced personal trainer in London, I meet plenty of new clients this time of year who tell me they want to be fitter than they’ve ever been before. But getting into the best shape of your life isn’t a great goal to set.
Whether it’s a goal for your new years resolution or any other time of year, success requires two things:
- A clear understanding of what you want and why;
- A structured plan of how to get there.
I’ve written more about point 2 here, so for this article I’d like to focus on getting specific.
No one else can tell you what your goal should be. Goals based on external pressure tend not to be very powerful motivators. That being said, you might still be struggling for inspiration. I’ve made this list of potential fitness goals that might help you narrow things down.
Cardiovascular Fitness Goals
It’s great to have goals based around your cardio. These goals can impact the health of your heart and lungs, alongside general feelings of improved stamina in day-to-day life. If you’re completely new to the gym, cardio goals could also positively impact your body composition, strength, and bone density.
Here are some examples of cardiovascular fitness goals:
- A running challenge such as Couch to 5k.
- A step-count goal, like walking 5-10k steps a day. Simple ways to do this include changing your commute or taking walking breaks.
- Cardio machine goal – pick a piece of cardio equipment in your gym such as a bike, treadmill or rowing machine. See what distance you can cover in 10 minutes of constant work. Keep trying to beat this distance. As you get fitter, expand this goal to 20 or 30-minute distances.
- Take up an activity like paddle boarding or swimming, and set a goal of going 1-2 times a week.
Cardio goals tend to involve highly repetitive motions, so make sure you diversify your training to avoid overuse injuries.
Strength Goals
I’ve been writing about the benefits of strength training for years now. Aside from positive physical adaptations to muscle mass, bone density and so on, pursuing strength goals can also change your perspective about your body and what it can do. Strength goals can be some of the most empowering goals you can aim for, and they are perfectly scalable to your starting level.
Here are some examples of strength-related fitness goals:
- Pushups – anything from getting your first pushup to getting your first 5, to getting your first 50, depending on your starting point.
- Pullups – same as the above.
- Barbell lifts – learn how to squat, bench press, and deadlift, and then improve the weight you can handle. If you’re new to these lifts, you should be able to make some pretty impressive progress in a year!
- Develop specific muscle groups – you may want to build muscle this year. You may want bigger arms, glutes, or anything in between! The most accurate way to do this is to take a precise tape measurement of your target area at the start of the year, then compare every 3-6 months.
Note that if you also intend to lose or gain weight this year, it will dramatically impact the amount of progress you see in these strength goals. Losing weight may slow your progress, and gaining weight may increase your progress.
Lifestyle Fitness Goals
Lifestyle goals underpin everything that happens in the gym. If you’re lacking in these areas, it can severely undermine the results you get in the gym as well as affecting your health. Each topic on this list is incredibly nuanced, so do your research before starting and stay tuned for more tips from me!
- Eating healthier – this could mean including more protein, fruit or veg. It could mean managing your portion sizes, or eating more mindfully or ethically.
- Amount of sleep – you should be sleeping at least 6 hours a night, with 7-9 hours being ideal.
- Sleep quality – you could set goals around your bedtime routine, for example by starting to follow the “10, 3, 2, 1, 0” guideline.
- Exercise frequency – the fitness goals we mentioned above tended to focus on a training outcome or result. For now, it might be simpler to focus on just turning up. A good starting goal is 1-3 x 30-60 minute sessions a week.
I hope these lists have given you some clarity regarding your goals. If you want any further help on reaching your goals in 2023, drop your questions below: