No matter what we are trying to achieve, it’s always best to have our goals clearly defined. It helps us to stay on track and keep progressing. The same is true in fitness. While making positive changes to your lifestyle to improve your fitness level is always beneficial, you’ll see much more results if you strive toward certain goals. What kind of fitness goals should you be setting? This article outlines five of the best to reach for.
1. Building Muscle
Bulding muscle is the ultimate fitness goal for some, especially men. It’s no secret why; they want to look and be strong. However, building muscle should be a fitness goal people of every gender, age, and size. Muscle does so much more than just sculpt a David-like physique. Muscle helps to hold your joints together, increase your metabolism, and help alleviate aches and pains. Regular strength training should be on the repertoire for everyone looking to improve their health and fitness. Need some ideas on how to get started? Check out this list of 12 science-backed workout plans.
2. Cutting Fat
After you’ve built a strong body, your next step would be to get rid of any fat that is covered your hard earned muscles. Low intensity cardio is one of the best ways to target fat burn but an even bigger proponent to burning fat is to eat the right way. Nutrition and fitness are very closely linked. It’s hard to get fit if your eat a bunch of junk food, but working out will make you hungry. So, it’s not always about the quantity(although limiting your food intake is a part of the process), but it’s about the quality of foods you are eating.
An easy rule to follow is to eat things that are real, whole foods. For example, fruit from the tree is a real food but if you take that fruit, mash it up and add a bunch of corn syrup and preservatives to it, it is not longer in its natural state. It’s all about cutting out processed foods that make cutting fat very difficult. Learn more about the whole foods diet and exercise here.
3. Improving Endurance
Now you have a healthy amount of muscle, you’ve cut down on bodyfat, but you still get winded when you walk up a flight of stairs. What’s the deal? Well, you still haven’t improved your endurance. This is how long you can last in physical exertion. The only way to improve this fitness ability is through cardiovascular exercise. Many people enjoy jogging but it doesn’t have to if the idea of going for a run makes you very anxious. There are many different types of cardio. You can do cycling, dancing, swimming, boxing, jump rope, play sports, or just power walk.
4. Increasing Your Flexibility
When you have low flexibility, bending, twisting, and reaching can be painful. Also, your joints and muscles can get stiff and make moving at all less than joyful. Improving your flexibility is a good fitness goal to have. This newfound flexibility will help you feel more spry and young. You’ll also deal with less chronic pain. Yoga exercises help with flexibility, but you can just include stretching into your daily routine. Find a daily stretching routine that’s perfect for you here.
5. Improving Your Balance
Lastly, you should always try to improve your balance as part of your fitness routine. When you have bad balance, you can fall or trip easily, leading to personal injury. Doing balancing exercises can help you to ensure that your muscles are strong enough to support your body. Much of your balance will depend on your core muscles. To improve your balance, strengthen your core. This includes your abs and back. You will also want to ensure that you don’t have an imbalance in your body such as your right being a lot stronger than your left. You’ll also want regularly include balancing exercises into your fitness plan. If you do this, you shouldn’t find yourself getting hurt from a fall. But if you do, find out how to protect your rights here.
Conclusion
These five goals are the best ones to aim for when you are starting a fitness regime. They will not only make you look and feel your best, but they can help you to avoid injury and age gracefully.
