Fitness goals can be overwhelming, whether you’re just beginning your journey, restarting the same goals you’ve had for years, or setting the bar higher with a new challenge. Achieving your fitness goals, especially for a newbie, can seem daunting and impossible.
Regardless of whether you want to lose fat, build muscle, gain strength or mobility, get faster or stronger, or maybe all the above, there are a few steps you can follow to achieve your fitness goals effectively with the help of at-home fitness equipment.
Table of Contents
Tips to Achieve Your Fitness Goals
1. Define Your Reason To Get Fit
Fitness is a vague term. Its meaning is different for every single person. Your fitness goals differ from the fitness goals of your neighbors, siblings, and people online. Sit down, think about what being fit means, and write down your thoughts.
While you may think you want to have muscles or fit into a specific pair of pants, that is not a reason to get fit. Health, strength, longevity of life, the ability to enjoy fun activities, and proving doubters wrong are some of the most common reasons people give.
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2. Set Realistic Timelines
Gaining 20 pounds of lean muscle in 3 months may be impossible if you have already done several rounds of cutting and bulking. Losing 30 pounds of fat in 10 days is impossible.
Do not fall into the trap of setting unrealistic timelines for your fitness goals, as this will only set you up for exhaustion and failure. Know that it will take months or even years to achieve your goals and a lifetime to maintain them.
3. Break Down Your Goals
Having one big fitness goal can overwhelm your mind and sabotage your goals. Breaking down your goals into smaller, more manageable ones gives you something to look forward to. Instead of staying fixated on gaining 20 pounds of muscle, break it down to achieving five pounds in two months. Then add a goal to be able to perform two push-ups without assistance. You can add your squat goal as well.
As you surpass these small goals, you will look back in a year and realize that you met your primary goal of gaining 20lbs; this works for weight loss, speed flexibility, and other fitness goals.
4. Get Professional Help
Consider consulting a trainer or a nutritionist to guide your exercise plan, train better, eat better, and efficiently achieve your goals. Professionals also give advice and support and can adjust your training to help you meet your fitness goals effectively.
You can find a trainer through social media, or your doctor may have a recommendation. Nutritionists and dieticians will help you properly nourish your body as you undertake the massive task of getting fitter.
5. Find Support
Having a community makes a big difference in fitness. Your lifting sessions will go by faster if you take a friend, and runs are more fun when competing with a sibling. An online community can give tips, help you achieve your goals more efficiently, and may have recommendations for at-home fitness equipment or tips for success.
You are not an island; you need people around you. Find one supportive person to take the journey with you. Alternatively, find an online community on any social media platform that is on a similar journey.
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6. Don’t Obsess Over Numbers
While numbers are a good guide, they are not the end-all, be-all. Your weight, fat and muscle percentage, macros, distances, measurements, and PRs can guide you and show improvement. You should not check these numbers obsessively, as they will fluctuate from day to day. For women, the hormonal cycle will greatly affect most of these metric figures.
Use numbers as a general guide and refer to them during set times. Depending on the goal, this can be weekly, monthly, or bimonthly. Divide your caloric needs by week instead of by day to lessen the chance of obsession.
7. Rest
Your body needs rest to function correctly, and your cells need time to repair themselves. Also, improper sleep can significantly influence your stress and hunger hormones. Take rest days and ensure you get at least seven consecutive hours of sleep daily.
8. Have Fun
Fitness is a lifestyle; you will never commit to it if you hate it. Whatever your goal is, find fun ways to achieve it. If you hate running, try walking or hiking with a friend. Calisthenics is a great alternative to weight lifting for building muscles. Jump rope, dancing, and boxing are fun ways to move in with at-home fitness equipment. You are not limited to doing the same thing every day. Find what works for you, and feel free to change it when it doesn’t.
Wrapping Up
Fitness does not have to be a daunting and soul-sucking endeavor. You can achieve your goals without stressing over them. Set realistic goals, stay focused, reach out for support, nourish your body and enjoy the journey. Remember, fitness is a lifestyle you have to commit to it.
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