“You can do anything if you set goals. You just have to push yourself to achieve them.”
Numerous studies show that people who set goals are more likely to achieve great things than people who don’t. And setting goals is an important part of your fitness journey. Health goals help you stay aligned to your target and they also help you track progress. With goals in mind, you’ll stay more focused and hold yourself accountable for every action you take.
Importance of Health Goals
Setting health goals has numerous benefits like:
- They help you remain more active.
- They help you manage your weight.
- They help you manage stress and remain both mentally and physically fit.
- They help you live a long life that is free from pain and illnesses.
On and all, health goals help you make better choices in life. Also, don’t forget to set SMART goals. Goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound. When you make such goals that are realistic, you have a better chance of sticking to them and actually achieving what you aim. All it takes is effort and consistency.
But a lot of times, even after setting goals, people tend to get distracted. And by distractions, I mean taking steroids to build muscle. What people don’t realise is that fitness is all about sustainability and taking steroids to reach your goals isn’t worth the risk it poses to your health.
Why are steroids bad for your health?
Using steroids for bodybuilding can have several side effects. They can damage your liver and kidneys and in extreme cases, they can also cause swelling in your brain. Consuming steroids can cause complications for your heart as well like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, enlargement of the heart etc. The list of downsides just goes on. The only upside is that the steroids help you get bulky but a similar effect can be achieved with the help of natural and health-safe supplements, exercises and diets.
10 Important Tips to Achieve Your Health Goals
Staying fit should be everyone’s topmost priority. Especially since the pandemic, it’s more important than ever to prioritise your health and have good immunity. And to stay healthy you first need to set some health goals. These goals will act as a roadmap and guide you through your fitness journey. If you already have goals in place, the below-mentioned simple tips can help you achieve those goals more efficiently.
Before you embark on a fitness journey, get a full-body medical clearance from your doctor. This will help you identify any underlying medical conditions and stay aware of them while you make changes to your diet and lifestyle.
Investing in a competent personal trainer is the best decision you can take for your fitness journey. They will coach you throughout the process and make sure that you reach your goals faster and safer.
This tip is relevant for anyone who is trying to lose or gain weight. Weight management should be more about managing body fat and not just weight. You should be more focused on being healthier and building your endurance. So, instead of worrying about the weighing scale, ask yourself if you are able to climb stairs without getting breathless, if you are able to hold a plank longer or if you are able to resist junk food cravings.
Strength training can help you increase your metabolism and burn more calories. So, if your health goal is to lose weight and become fitter, strength is your way to go. Besides effective weight loss, strength training can also improve your bone health, reduce your risk of injury and back pain and help you live a happier stress-free life because it enhances your mood.
Your health goals should not only be about getting physically fit, they must also incorporate your mental health. Make it a goal to spend at least 15 mins every day meditating and practising mindfulness. Also, get 7-8 hours of sleep every night because sound sleep is a powerful tool for managing stress.
Having a healthy relationship with food means that your diet contains food from different categories, it is balanced and you eat food to satisfy physiological and not emotional hunger. Sustainability should be at the care of the diets you take and it is always a good idea to keep a safe distance from fad diets.
Not all health supplements are bad. Some in fact are essential for your health. You just have to make sure you choose the right ones. Just keep in mind that supplements should be for essential vitamins and minerals that give a boost to your daily diet. In no ways are these supplements a replacement for your meals. You need to eat a healthy and balanced diet in addition to natural supplements to achieve your health goals.
Like I mentioned before, goals should be SMART. They should be attainable and realistic. They should make your work and they are not supposed to be comfortable but also not impossible to achieve. You should always run your goals through your mentor or trainer to make sure that you are going in the right direction.
Going to the gyms has been a constant struggle because of the pandemic but that should not affect your goals in any way. Nowadays, there are a lot of online training programs that allow you to exercise and stay fit while working out at home.
While following your fitness goals there may be days when you’ll feel demotivated. At such times you will need your loved ones to nudge you in the right direction and support you to achieve your targets.
With these simple and effective tips, nothing can stop you from achieving your health goals and becoming a better version of yourself.
