How to set your fitness goals for 2024

There is a lot of noise in the fitness and wellness industry, so it can be overwhelming to know where to even start. Take some time to yourself and actually think about what it is you truly want. What do you want to accomplish with your health? How do you want to look and feel? Is there anything in particular that has been on your mind lately that you want to do but just haven’t yet? Next, write it all down.

There are many different goal setting techniques to try. One of the most common ones is called SMART.

I would recommend using the right resources to help you along the way. Whether that is a pen and pad of paper to write out your progress and check in with yourself regularly, using a fitness or wellness app tailored to your desired goals or working directly with trained fitness professionals to help you further reach your goal(s). Using added resources will be a sure way to help you get off to a flying start on your wellness journey!

We all have areas of our health we want to improve so setting goals and following through can help us become one step closer to reaching our potential we desire. Setting goals is all part of the process. If you don’t set goals, how do you know where you’re going? Having no goals in mind is kind of like driving around in your car with no final destination.

Studies show that people who set goals are more successful in accomplishments than those that don’t. Whatever it is you want to achieve in life, you need to set goals in order to do so. Goals can provide focus, allow you to measure progress (a big element in fitness), help you feel a sense of accomplishment when you achieve your outcome and boost your self confidence.

Whether it’s health, fitness or life goals in general, big or small, think about what goals you want to achieve, write them down and take action.

Setting fitness goals can be hard at the start, but once you write out exactly what you want and be specific, you can realistically work out a plan to get there. Every baby step leads to big results.

Setting realistic fitness goals is important at the start so that you can build yourself slowly. If you set unrealistic goals from the offset, it may not be sustainable long term. You may end up feeling disheartened with your progress and struggle to maintain consistency. 

An important point I like to tell my clients is to always lead with self care and don't beat yourself up if you are slow to see the results you're after. Stick with it and stay consistent with your training, diet and sleep. The results will come!

Your goal could be simply to move a little more and get 5–10k steps in every day. Everyone’s fitness goals are unique to their desired outcome.

For example, your fitness goal could be lose weight, so you might set a goal to lose 1lb a week every week for the next x amount of months. Perhaps you want to build more muscle and get stronger, or get those abs of your dreams. No matter how far you get with your goals, remember that progress = happiness, so just keep moving forward. Decide to take action, get excited and try to enjoy the process along the way!

Did you know, by setting a goal and writing it down, you are 42 per cent more likely to achieve that goal? Make a list of goals you want to achieve and write down everything. Writing out your goals is an important part of goal setting, and gets your subconscious mind to work!

For example if you want to lose weight, how much weight do you want to lose and by what deadline? Being specific gives your mind more clarity on the outcome and provides structure to your goals.

Sometimes we may want to achieve a goal but our motivation is not that strong to follow through. Prioritise what exactly you want to accomplish and make your why strong enough. On the days you may want to give up, remember your why. This will help you to keep striving forward towards your end goal.

Visualising what you want goes a long way in goal setting. Envision yourself already accomplishing this goal and how you will feel when you do.

Choose a reliable person who can check in to ensure you're working on your outcome. It could be a spouse, friend, family member or trained coach. Someone who can be that accountability buddy you need for added support.

Consistency and self-discipline are key!