Imagine working for success without setting a goal. How will you know if you are on your way to progress or you are just standing there struggling to hit the mark? In the case of fitness, experts call it losing the junk calories. If you keep working out without setting a goal or you set an impossible goal, you will soon lose motivation and lose the direction of your workout as well. To help the beginner set a goal, fitness experts and health gurus came up with the term smart goals. A smart goal is a goal that you set just before starting your workout. So, if you want to lose weight, you need to set a goal that you can measure so you can see how much more your need to work out. If the goal is not good enough or you are setting a long-term goal, you will eventually lose motivation.
With the help of this article, we will discuss what a smart goal is and how it is different from an ordinary fitness goal that most people set for a workout. We will also discuss the component of a smart goal so you can easily set your smart fitness goal before getting into a serious workout routine. With the help of this goal, you will maintain good motivation as well as you will see improvement in your fitness routine.
What is a Smart Fitness Goal?
A smart goal is just like any other fitness goal however it needs to be comprehensive and must address some of the most basic options. Your goal needs to be very specific so you can design a workout accordingly. It has to be measurable so you can track the progress. Your goal also needs to be realistic and attainable so you do not lose motivation. It has to be relevant so you can make a very precise workout routine that can bring you close to your goal. And your goals also need to be time-bound, this means you have to keep a 3 week, 3 months or 3 year time in mind.
In case your goal is very vague or you are just striving to lose weight, by the end of the week if you lose just one kg, you will have to address how much more you want to lose. So make sure you set a goal that is realistic yet measurable and falls into a certain time limit. A simple example of this can be, setting a goal for weight loss by adding a time frame like 3 kg weight loss in 3 weeks. This will break down your goal into short term aims that will help you stay motivated throughout your workout routine. The basic concept of a smart goal is to keep you motivated and help you change your workout if it is not helpful. Most people stick to the same workout routine for years without tracking their progress. Your age, sex, physical activity, and BMI changes with time so your workout also needs to change.
A recent study by the American health and fitness center concludes that smart goals help the person in translating their fitness desires into numbers which helps them see it as progress.
Why Do Fitness Trainers Emphasize on Setting Smart Fitness Goals?
Most fitness trainers and gym instructors will tell you to either use an app or start measuring or weighing yourself if you want to track progress. However, experts recommend using multiple methods and then using a journal to note all the details. The main issue is that within the first three months you will observe that your fat content is taking a nosedive and eventually you will see your weight is dropping as well. However, you will reach a time when the body will have a lot of muscle and you will not lose weight as easily as before. This is the time when you need to switch your workout routine and if you rely on just weighing or using an app, you will start to lose motivation. This is the reason it is a much better option to use different methods for tracking progress rather than relying on only one option.
Fitness trainers specifically ask their clients to use a smart goal method because they want to align the workout according to goals.
If you set a very broad time frame they will use a less intense workout routine, however, if you select a very small time frame they will have to intensify the workout routine. Apart from all these things it is very important to know that simple steps are required to make your goals align with your workout routine and your fitness trainer can help you with that.
Bottom Line
To sum it all up, your health journey will stay with you for the rest of your life. Smart fitness goals will help you stay motivated in all conditions, even if you want to challenge yourself or you are just looking for ways to maintain your current health and fitness situation. As you progress, your goal will keep changing, you will achieve one goal only to replace it with another and more intense goal. The transformation will be massive depending on the exercises you will choose however, the smart goal will stay consistent because it will help you track the progress. Most people start with simple goals but as they progress and see that they are about to achieve their goal, they add to it and move to the next step. However, experts say that it is better to wait and achieve your first goal so you can move to the next goal. As you are going to start your fitness journey, make sure you have time to reflect on your goal and then align your workout routine with your goal. Try to reduce the time frame and comply with it because short-term goals are much more helpful than long-term goals. You can set a 3 week goal and then after three weeks you can further increase the time or update it according to your workout progress.
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