Achieving your fitness goals is easier than you realize.

First, let’s confront the bad news. Most goals are never reached. In fact, there’s research indicating 92% of all goals end in failure…and this includes fitness and exercise goals. 

But, there is a simple way to become part of the Elite 8% that successfully achieve goal success.

START SMALL

The best predictor of fitness goal failure is starting way too big. Most of us set an exercise goal because we want some sort of change to take place. This usually means we want to improve our health and/or appearance.

We get excited about this potential transformation and we want it to happen NOW so we set a really big goal. Sadly, those initial motivating emotions quickly fade and the goal quickly feels like a brick wall. 

It’s far better to set a really small goal to first establish an exercise habit. For example, instead of setting a goal to reach 10,000 steps a day, set a much smaller goal for a daily ten minute walk. That may not sound challenging, but it won’t feel like you’re facing a brick wall when your exercise motivation starts to wane.

Eventually, that ten-minute walk becomes a habit which starts to gain momentum. Once that happens you’ll have a far more resilient motivation to do even more. 

THINK LONG

If you have a New Year fitness goal, it’s important to think through what it will feel like on March 18, June 22, and even October 5. Actually, you can go even longer than that. What will your fitness goal feel like in 2023, 2029, and 2034?

The finish line for fitness is not a number on the scale or looking good for a special event. Fitness is about improving your health and quality of life for years and decades to come. Because of that, it’s important to choose a fitness activity you will ENJOY!

An intentional, daily ten-minute daily walk is not only sustainable, it can be a lot of fun. And, that enjoyment will compel you to do even more as your fitness capacity increases. With the wind of momentum behind your back, you’ll want to add more to what you’re doing moving you even closer to fitness transformation.

Most importantly, you’ll want to keep going!

MAKE A COMMITMENT

Even a daily ten-minute walk will encounter resistance. There will be days when the calendar is overbooked, the weather sucks, and you simply don’t feel like it. Those will be the days when commitment and accountability are needed to overcome the lack of motivation.

To help you keep your commitment, I’ve created a new podcast where we can walk together for ten-minutes. If you follow Walking is Fitness (where you get your favorite podcasts) a new episode will be waiting for you every day.

Each podcast is recorded during the first ten-minutes of my daily walk. It’s a simple way to make and keep your commitment to reaching fitness goal success in 2022. You can check out the most recent episodes of Walking is Fitness HERE.

The real exercise goal of 2022 should be establishing a fitness habit that is still growing by the end of the year. What you do today is key to making that happen. Committing to a daily ten-minute walk will help you build, sustain, and achieve fitness goal success in 2022.