While setting long term fitness goals can seem like a chore, this should help to make things a lot easier for you. Ultimately, if you want to make the change, you need to step outside your comfort zone a little bit and go for it. Continue reading for our guide on how to set fitness goals and achieve them.

Long term health goals

If you are not motivated to do something, it is unlikely that you will succeed. You may start and then fail, or you may just keep putting it off. Think about the motivation for achieving any goals you hope to set for yourself even short term fitness goals like these. You may have a wedding coming up, wish to be more active with your kids, or simply struggle less with your mobility. Whatever the reason you have for wanting to get fit, grab a hold of it and don’t let it go. Creating an inspiration board might be one way of reminding you to keep on track, either online via Pinterest or an actual one that you keep somewhere to refer to regularly.

When learning to drive, there are many milestones along the way. It is not expected that you will be able to achieve the entire skillset in one sitting. It is the same for fitness. Breaking up your goals into smaller, more manageable chunks is advisable. This way, you are set up for success and can see progress being made towards your final goals. If you are aiming to run a marathon to raise money for a cause close to your heart, start small and build up gradually until you are ready to take on that challenge. If you are hoping to lose weight, you cannot expect it to happen overnight. Celebrate every seven-pound loss.

Overcoming obstacles in life often feels a lot easier with the support of loved ones. Enlisting the help of friends and family when it comes to your long-term fitness goals will boost your chances of success on your fitness journey. If you are wishing to lose weight, having your partner and kids on board, for example, will certainly ensure that they are not sabotaging your efforts without even realizing. When it comes to fitness, such as running, having someone who is prepared to push you a little harder than you can yourself will be beneficial. You may wish to consider employing the services of an experienced and highly recommended personal trainer, too, to help you with your accountability.

If you want more of my weight loss story and how I grew up on little Debbies and soda and learned how to change my health and life through exercise and nutrition, check out this nutrition guide. It has some basic dos and don’ts that my wife and I used for me to lose 100 pounds and be on no medication at age 53. There are also some sample meal plans in there. It was a long process, not a quick fix, but if I can do it, so can you!

Sticking to diets and fitness can be tricky. However, if we find ourselves enjoying it, the process will be an awful lot easier. If you are trying to eat healthier, test out new vegetable recipes and experiment with food. There are so many ways to make healthy food tasty without resorting to plain salads night after night. Likewise, when it comes to exercise, just because you don’t enjoy a weights session in the gym does not mean that you can rule the gym out of your life entirely. You may find a body combat or aerobic workout more suited to you. For some, group exercise and the social aspect can be far more appealing.

Examples of long term fitness goals

• Lose 20 pounds
• Lowering your BMI 10 points
• Reducing your cholesterol levels by 30
• Run a marathon
• Reducing your dependence on medication
• Being able to run around with your grandkids
• Do 30 pushups in a row
• Be able to do the splits
• Perfect your handstand
• Run a 5K
• Develop a solid exercise program based on resistance bands and do it twice a week for 2 months
• Run a 10K
• Become proficient at three yoga poses
• Master a box jump
• Learn to swim or ride a bike
• Do 5 pull-ups
• Climb a rope
• Hold a plank for one minute
• Lift your bodyweight
• Learn to surf
• Learn to use a stand-up paddleboard
• Do 10 chin-ups
• 10% improvement in cholesterol levels and blood pressure
• Increased overall energy levels because and not feel exhausted at 3 pm every day, or when I wake up in the mornings.
• Do a 300-pound bench press
• Do a 400-pound squat
• Get a six-pack
• Hike a long-distance trail
• Learn a new sport

If you dream of one or more things on this list, I know you can do it! Just put your mind to it, get motivated, make an action plan and execute it! Try one of these easy workouts to get started.

Now for a joke:

Why did the Uber driver cancel his gym membership? Because he didn’t even Lyft, bro.

Ha ha ha!