The last several years have seen a surge of interest in accountability. If you get people involved with your goal-setting and progress, they'll help keep you on track and motivated when things get hard. In this post, we'll explore applying this idea to your fitness goals by identifying the accountability partner or community that's right for you and making it part of your daily routine.
Set goals that are realistic and achievable.
- Define the problem before starting on a solution.
- Don't worry about what other people's goals are. If you need help figuring out where to start, try setting some tangible fitness goals for yourself in three or six months (or even longer). Examples could include: "I want to run 3 miles without stopping," or "I want my biceps to be bigger than my forearms," or "I want to strength train three days per week."
Focus on the little wins.
Small wins are important. They help you stay motivated, keep you going and celebrate the positive.
The best way to do this is by focusing on the little things that matter in your fitness journey. For example:
- Instead of thinking about how far away your goal seems, focus on one workout at a time. Focus on what worked well during each session, whether something simple like getting out of bed or running without stopping after five minutes (like I did yesterday).
- When working out with friends or family members, celebrate their successes as much as yours! It's easy for us all to get caught up in our own goals and forget how hard other people are working toward theirs too--and maybe even harder than us sometimes because they don't have access to our resources like trainers or equipment classes at the gym! So when someone else succeeds at something, make sure they know how proud we are of them by giving them high fives or hugs (or both).
Find accountability partners or a community.
You'll find it easier to meet your goals if you have someone to keep you accountable. If you don't have a workout partner, consider joining an online community or finding someone to help guide your workouts.
- Find a friend who wants to work out with you. Pick up the phone, send an email, and ask if they'd like to meet at the gym on Saturday at 10 am sharp!
- Join a fitness class or club where people work towards similar goals as yours--whether that means weight loss or building muscle mass--and use each other's support system as motivation when things get hard (or boring).
- Consider hiring a personal trainer who will design personalized workouts based on where your body is currently at and its needs so that they can help keep track of progress over time too!
Find something fun or meaningful to you and work on it daily.
Many people need help to stay motivated and accountable with their workouts. For example, I used to go to the gym every day, but then one day, I stopped going because I was bored with my routine and didn't know what else to do. It wasn't until a friend suggested that we try functional fitness that I found something new that was fun and interesting enough for me to want to keep going back again and again--and now I'm hooked!
Don't be afraid to change course if you need to!
If your workout isn't working for you, don't be afraid to try something new. Maybe your current routine isn't effective anymore, or it's just not fun anymore. Whatever the case, know that it's okay for things in life (and exercise) not always be perfect. If something isn't working out as planned, then there are better ways to accomplish what you want than continuing down the same road with no end.
It can also help if we remind ourselves that we aren't machines; our bodies have limits, and sometimes those limits will require us to change up how much or how often we exercise so that we don't overdo it on one day and then not feel like doing anything at all on another day because our muscles are sore from yesterday's workout session!
Setting goals and working towards them is something you can do on your own or with help from others.
- Setting small, achievable goals is always a good idea to help you build the momentum needed for larger ones. For example, if your goal is to run a 5K race in six months, it's better to start by training for half-mile intervals first, then slowly increasing the distance until you're ready for more challenging workouts like hill runs or speed intervals.
- Finding accountability partners (or friends who want to join in on the fun) can be helpful when it comes time for working out together! Having someone there who shares your interests makes things more enjoyable and keeps both parties motivated throughout their workout routines--which means less burnout down the road! You could also find an online community where people post photos of themselves exercising at home (or wherever else they choose) so everyone knows what's going on behind closed doors :)
Conclusion
It's important to remember that you don't have to do this alone. Working with others who share your values and beliefs is the best way to achieve your goals. Setting goals can be a lot of work, but when you have someone else there for support and encouragement along the way--someone who understands what it takes to get stuff done--it makes all the difference!
