Boise, ID is such a beautiful area but it doesn’t offer moderate weather year around allowing us to do more. But there are always there’s a lot of parks and outdoor activities that require fitness and often show off your body fitness, or lack of fitness. It’s easy to get caught up in a race to look better, but in order to get the best results, you need to set smart goals and achieve them. Like any other goal, fitness goals need to be realistic. If you had a goal to save money, because your checking and savings account showed a combined ten dollar balance, you wouldn’t set a goal to accumulate a million dollars in two weeks! It’s unrealistic. Neither should you set unrealistic weight loss or fitness goals.

Set fitness goals you really want, but start small.

If you’ve tried to set fitness goals before and failed, start small. Find one thing you’d like to change, like losing twenty-five pounds and create a plan to do it. Break it up to smaller goals that you can achieve quicker, so the faster results will spur you on to continue. The new goal might be to lose a pound or two a week for two weeks. Make the time frame shorter if you really have problems sticking with any healthy eating or exercise program. Then start!

Create a plan of action.

Your plan of action should be simple. Removing processed foods from your diet and eating whole foods could be a start. Increasing your exercise daily is another step to achieving your goal. Don’t try to do everything at once. Just plan on going to the gym three times a week for a more organized workout and increasing your daily activity in small ways, like walking to the store if its close or walking to lunch when at work.

Set a time frame and a way to measure your goal.

While it should be simple, it shouldn’t be vague or open-ended. Your goal should be to lose a specific number of inches if a smaller clothing size is in order or lose a specific number of pounds. There should be a time limit put on that, so you aren’t putting it off for a “some day.” A goal to lose weight should be something like, by a specific date, I’ll lose twenty pounds. I’ll do this by losing a two pounds a week for the next ten weeks. Every Monday I’ll weigh in at the gym to check my progress.

• Make sure the goal you set is something you really want, not something you “think” you should desire because of social pressure or other people’s suggestions.
• Put your goals on paper and look at them daily. Some people put them on the mirror with a sticky note in the bathroom to help remind them as they start their day.
• Make your goals a priority. Too often people put other’s needs first. Your fitness goal should be a top priority because if you’re not fit and healthy, you can’t be a help to anyone else.
• Schedule in your workout, which is part of the prioritization of your goals. One of the many reasons working out with a personal trainer is so effective is that it’s an appointment to exercise.