Exercise and healthy eating can do wonders for the way you live. However, if you’re just starting out, these changes can be disheartening. The immediate result of beginning to exercise is discomfort and sometimes pain. The immediate result of healthy eating is craving your junk food. Unfortunately, physical fitness and a healthy body don’t come until later down the road. To keep yourself going, you need to have goals. If you’re having trouble meeting your goals, the following may be why.

They’re Unrealistic

We all want the perfect body, but that doesn’t come quickly. If your bench press is currently 120 lbs., a goal to press 200 lbs. in just a few months is completely unrealistic. Many beginners inadvertently set unrealistic goals for themselves and then get discouraged when their progress is slow. To keep yourself motivated, you need to be able to reach your goals in a reasonable amount of time. What a reasonable goal might look like depends on your current fitness and the activity you are working on. Consult with a physical trainer for advice on what would be agood goal for you.

They’re Too Vague

So, you want a skinny waist or big pecs. What does that mean? How will you know when you’ve achieved the goal? A vague goal is even worse than an unrealistic goal. You can never accomplish a vague goal and will always be disappointed even if you are making significant progress. Being specific clearly defines what you’re setting out to do. Instead of saying that you want a skinny waist, define what you want your waist measurement to be. Instead of big pecs, define a chest measurement or bench press weight. By specifying the details you’ll be able to track your progress.

You Have the Wrong Plan

Your problem may just be that you aren’t doing the right activities for your goal. If you want to lose weight, you shouldn’t just be exercising or dieting, you should be doing both. If you want to lift more, you shouldn’t be doing a max lift every day. All your activities need to be tailored towards your goal. If you haven’t studied physical fitness, it can be easy to overlook important details. For example, many weightlifters use special machines to target their largest muscles. By doing so theyneglect smaller balance muscles that are crucial for lifting heavy objects.

Your number one opponent in fitness is yourself. Your mental attitude will greatly define your failures and successes. This goes for all areas of life but is especially true in exercise and dieting. By following these tips, you can help turn your biggest opponent into your greatest advocate.

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