Let’s be honest – sometimes it is hard to motivate yourself to exercise. If you are like me you might even love to exercise, you just hate getting yourself started doing it. There are other things to do, you might feel like being lazy, you don’t have enough time, etc. I have a long list of excuses that will creep up out of nowhere to stop me from getting a workout in. This past weekend those excuses and poor time management got the best of me and I didn’t exercise at all. Not one tiny bit.
Since I really do want to exercise, today I’ve been thinking about ways to motivate myself to do so. One of the best thoughts was setting a goal, like finishing (finally) the couch to 5k program. Personally that would be a good goal for me since I’ve started it twice and still never gone all the way through. Reaching the end of that program and being able to run 5k is very motivating for me and makes me want to put on my running shoes and head out right now.
Setting a goal can take many forms. You can set a goal for weight or body measurements if you would like. You can also set the more attainable goals of number of days to work out or a number of miles to walk this week. A lot of people like to set goals like walking 100 miles in a month. It takes dedication and plenty of exercise to reach that goal but at the end of the month you get the accomplishment of walking or biking hundreds of miles!
Be sure you set a realistic goal. If you set a goal of losing 100 pounds you will find the task huge and overwhelming. If you set a goal to lose, say 10% of your body weight, you can easily make that happen and find the satisfaction of reaching the goal. It is very rewarding to reach a goal you set and that success will further motivate you to exercise and reach your goals.
I think most of us set the weight/size goals. We all have those in mind, but I enjoy setting fitness goals more. So this week I’m motivating myself to exercise by setting some exercise goals to get me back in the groove. What are my goals? Well, I am considering restarting the C25K program (maybe week 2?) but that is not my goal for the week. My goal this week is to walk 15 miles. Considering I walked zero miles last week I think that is a mighty fine goal. I’ll let you know how it goes, and you let me know: do you use setting and reaching goals for motivation? Have any goals for this week? This month? Life?
photo credit: emdot
Great post!
I love your goal for this week! You CAN do it! :D
I use goals or as I like to call them challenges for motivation all the time. I challenge myself to do so many crunches a month or challenge myself to walk so many miles. It keeps me focused and gives me a reason to push myself. As for my weight, I try not to set weight loss goals for myself. (Although I just made one in my last blog post, LoL) I know I have a long way to go with my weight loss journey, and telling myself that I have soooo many pounds to lose doesn’t motivate me at all. In fact, it discouraged me. So for now, I focus on exercise challenges.
Hope you have a FANTASTIC week, Miss Mary! Looking forward to seeing you reach your goals. :)
Great goal! You can totally do it.
I adore this kind of thing. If it weren’t for constantly working towards different goals and setting up various fitness challenges, I’d lose motivation SO fast, I’m sure.
Also that card is so cute.
YES! It’s all about goals for me right now as well, but I’ve had to shift to household goals because my journey of “self” has resulted in a pile of my husband’s laundry that just won’t quit. Sorry, honey. My bad.
For myself it seems like goals aren’t enough for me and then when I don’t reach them I beat myself up. I don’t know what I need but somehow goals get in my way. Weird, I know.
I think that setting realistic goals is so important – both in life and in weight loss.
On my way down the scale I found it overwhelming to look at the gigantic number of pounds I had to lose. I broke mine into 5 pound increments – that really helped me.
I like you idea of going a certain number of miles. That’s a great way of setting an exercise goal! Good job!
@Robin
I don’t think that is weird at all. Everyone is different and what works for some people doesn’t work for others. Sometimes goals don’t work for me. I like to set fitness goals but I don’t set weight loss goals anymore because they are out of my control and I used to beat myself up for not making them happen. Some people like to set weight loss goals though and they enjoy meeting them. It’s not for me. Fitness stuff tho is a great way for me to motivate myself. I like seeing time add up and if at the end of the week I say I walked __ it makes me feel very accomplished. So I am trying to reach my goal for that positive feeling I get once I complete it. Doesn’t work for everyone but it does for me. :)
Great post. YES, goal setting & planning are key! And you are so right on setting realistic goals and they should be SMART – Set Specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time based.
Every week there are goals for me in terms of what I want to accomplish in my workouts. I plan them.. sometimes they change but I have something I want to accomplish. Long term, it is to be as healthy & fit for as long as possible. Fight the aging process! :-)
You are doing great Mary!!! Do not give up or surrender!
I have shifted my focus into fitness goals as well, and it’s been so great! I was definitely that person who was overwhelmed by my desire to lose 100 pounds, and when I split it up into smaller increments it was really helpful.
Great post!
My goal is to get into my Gap Jeans by my birthday–Sept 17th. Daily–this week is to visualize myself as a Balance eater who is eating to fuel my body.
Good post. Good luck with exercise. Off to do some yoga. Thanks for getting me off my rear.
Goal setting is so incredibly important. I have started the Couch to 5K so many times and have never completed it. However, I have still run a couple of 5Ks, even though I did walk portions of them.
Anyway, this is a great post.
@Michelle
Sounds like a good goal. Glad I could get ya moving!!
Great post! I totally agree about the goals, good luck with the 15 miles :)
Yes, realistic goals are so important. I set weekly exercise goals. That is I specify how many minutes I’ll walk, run, lift weights, stretch and do yoga. My goals are challenging but obtainable. In a good week, I’m done by Friday (I start my week on Sundays). And in a not so good week, I push myself a bit harder on Saturday or plan extra activities that incorporate my exercise goals such as a walk to the park with the toddler or a hike…
Good luck with your goal this week! :)
You are right motivation is the key of success. Motivation gives you a spirit and excitement for chasing the goal.
That’s a great goal!
I am the same as you… Love to exercise, but loathe to start.
About 4 years ago I started running without a goal. Yes I wanted to run 30 minutes but that was it and when I did that I quit running. There was no challenge anymore.
This year I picked up running again and had a goal: 5K in June and I did it. Next goal 10K in September and I’m going to do that.
I’ve made a whole plan: http://dutchgirlgetshealthy.wordpress.com/2009/08/04/running-goal-200920102011/
Concerning my weight I didn’t set a real goal, I just want to lose weight every week and hope to lose most of it by the end of this year but there’s no pressure anymore. I’ve proved myself that that doesn’t work for me.
Have fun by reaching your goal this week!
I have a ton of goals. Losing over 100 pounds is high on the list. Fitting into old clothes. Running a 5K. Fun stuff along those lines.
The goals rarely motivate me, though. The only one that has worked to be a good motivator is that I need to get my ass in shape because my body requires it. Right now, I am young and fat, but I am not far from middle aged and fat. I can not allow myself to have the horrid medical problems that I see every day, that make life so much harder. Diabetes, COPD, stuff like this. Life is hard enough without those difficulties. But the big one is, I do not want to have a heart attack at age 35. I have had moderately high blood pressure since Jr. High, and I did even when I was in fairly good shape. So, my goal is to get my heart healthy, and that one actually works to motivate me.
Though the clothes thing does get me from time to time. Like tonight. Urgh.
lovelovelove. and I need more goals which are CLEAR AND CONCISE in my fitness life.
right now Im too focused on the world of work and happy to simply WORKOUT.
But the rut Im in has grown realllly comfy :) never a good thing.
Mary, I couldn’t agree with you more. Goals are a great motivator. I try to re-evaluate mine weekly.
I always have a ton of goals on the go at once – I find it means I can hit one of them every couple of weeks, which = motivation!
Breaking my weight loss into small goals has worked really well too, it’s not as overwhelming and I get to celebrate more often.
Great goal! Yes, the petites victoires way of life is all about setting and achieving goals, broken down into easily accomplished bits. As I’ve advanced in fitness the bits get bigger, but I started out with goals like, “2 minutes of exercise five times a week.” It got the ball rolling. I’m looking forward to seeing how you progress!
This is exactly what I needed to hear today. I am dreading going to the gym right now. I really do need a goal!
So true that the challenge leaves quickly. I think your goal is a great one too! Good luck!
You goal is great and good luck on it.
As for me and my goals 1 is 10% which i am almost at. But even that took too long. I didn’t give it a date maybe giving it a date would be better. I just thought having a goal to hit 10% would be good no matter when i hit it. I started that goal in the begining of the fit mission and honestly forgot about it. So my advise would be to remind yourself of it all the time. I have daily goals like drink a lot of water bring my lunch to work, limit my going out to eat but just like the 10% if you are not reminded throughout the day I tend to forget. Any ideas on how to keep these in mind all the time?
You rock! I have the same problem… love to exercise, but find it hard to get started. Great goal… you will do great!
XO
Angie
I think your goals are great. My goals right now are to do some form of exercise daily and to ideally lose about 5 pounds a month. I haven’t missed a day of exercise since the end of May. I am a little short on the weight loss goal and that is ok. The scale is going in the right direction and I am am working on maintaining almost 50 pounds lost. I find myself working more on the emotional aspect of my eating these days and think it is the core of my weight issues. I like your blog!
Setting-up realistic goals are good- they act as both reminders and motivators for us to get us off our butts. It’s important however that we don’t beat ourselves up if we’re not able to reach them because their there to help improve our lives and being overly serious about them defeats the purpose of getting a “merry life.” ; )
Setting goals has always been difficult for me. Recently however I stumbled across a great book titled, “Natural Success Principles,” by Jack Hatfield that has really motivated me to do better at losing weight. I learned by reading this book,that it possible to achieve my weight loss goal, however that it is going to take work and motivation on my part. I have been trying to set realistic goals which include going to the gym 3 times a week (not every day as I had originally tried to do) and really paying attention to eating 3 meals a day, not snacking on anything but fruit/veg. It is coming off very slowly, but it is coming off.