Setting Goals for Your Fitness and Wellness

Mankind has always been fascinated with health. Going back thousands of years we can see this infatuation even with the ancient Greeks when the first-ever Olympic Games were held in 776 BC (according to most experts). These games were a marvelous spectacle of human athleticism from boxing, chariot races, and wrestling. 

Over time, our interest in being physically fit shifted to other, equally important, aspects of health. Individuals began to realize that athletic excellence alone was not enough. One of the leading contributing figures to this thought process is none other than Hippocrates, the “Father of Medicine.” He was a physician who is famous for quoting, “let food be thy medicine,” as well as believing that disease was not a punishment from the Gods. 

Fast forward to the end of World War II and a physician by the name of Halbert Dunn coined the term wellness, a combination of well-being and fitness. The term eventually caught on and has been a gold mine in the marketing world for health and food companies. While the terms fitness and wellness are often used interchangeably, they ultimately reflect different aspects of health.

What is Fitness?

At its basic core definition, fitness could best be described as the condition of an individual based on their physical health. Whether that's being able to complete physically active tasks such as working out, completing cardio, or moving throughout the day without pain or injury, it is slightly an arbitrary concept as one person's idea of ‘fit’ may differ from someone else's. 

What is Wellness?

Wellness offers much more of an in-depth look at an individual. While fitness would fall under the wellness umbrella, it looks at many other aspects as well. Emotional, spiritual, financial (depending on who you ask), nutrition, mental, intellectual, environmental, etc. Ultimately it comes down to the overall well-being of an individual.

How to Set Goals for Fitness and Wellness

When it comes to setting goals for both fitness and wellness, it helps to break them down, set strategies in place, timelines, etc. One of the best places to start is to figure out what you want specifically (end goal) and then set up what are called S.M.A.R.T. goals:

S - Specific

M - Measurable

A - Achievable

R - Relevant

T - Timeframe

By looking at and answering those questions comprehensively, you can start to get a feeling of, if what you want to achieve, is in fact doable. It also helps to plan for setbacks and any possible roadblocks while working towards your goal. That way you are already coming up with solutions to potential, future problems. Here are a couple of things to remember for fitness and wellness goal setting and an example of each.

Fitness

Fitness goals are going to be anything related to physical health. Weight loss, body fat recomposition, muscle toning, strength, cardio performance, etc.

• Example Goal: Weight loss

S - 30 lbs.

M - Weekly weigh in’s - shooting for 1-2lbs. per week

A - Doable through proper exercise and nutrition management

R - Plan for setbacks (ex. Traveling for work)

T - 16-week timetable, give or take +/- 2 weeks for setbacks

Wellness

Wellness goals can cover almost any other topic of health. From practicing stress reduction, improving self-image, or prioritizing self-care, a good majority of these will be geared around successful habit building.

• Example Goal: Taking supplements every day (habit creation)

S - Take fish oil in the morning, and melatonin in the evening

M - Create a calendar chart to track progress - mark off successful days

A - Habit stacking (using a current habit to install new ones) is key to new success (ex. Putting supplements next to your toothbrush. Every time you brush your teeth, take supplements)

R - Setbacks: Miss a dose, take it later in the day once remembered. At night, skip and get back on track the next morning

T - It can take anywhere from 21 days to over 2 months for new habit routines to become rituals. Keep tracking until it becomes second nature

Progress Over Perfection

As with everything in life, implementing new goals, either fitness or wellness related, takes time and patience. There are going to be setbacks, sidetracks, and failures along the way, but it’s how you handle those situations that define true character and resilience. Regardless of what you end up working towards, consistency reigns as the key to long-term success. 

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