We’ve all been there in the beginning of the year, making resolutions and falling off track shortly after. According to a study at Scranton University, 81% of people don’t stick to their resolutions. Whether your goals are activity-based training-related, adaptive fitness-related, or just general life goals, we’re here to help set you up for success in 2021 with some simple steps, tips, and examples for goal setting!

STEP 1: Define Your Goal

When it comes to goal setting, you can’t set a goal without knowing what it is that you want, and that’s where defining your goal comes in. This year, Tina (an imaginary CORE client) wants to lose weight. Sounds like she’s already defined her goal, right? Tina may have a goal, but she can further define it using SMART goals. This means she’s going to look at her goal and make sure it’s specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. So instead of just wanting to lose weight, Tina should say something like she wants to lose 25lbs by the end of 2021. With this, she hits all the key points of a SMART goal. Now that Tina has the details of her goal nailed down, she can move on to step 2.

STEP 2: Plan

You could just dive right in and start working toward your objectives at this point, but having a plan in place is essential for success. Tina comes to her training session with her goal in mind and lets her trainer know she wants to lose 25lbs by the end of the year. Her trainer recommends that she participate in CORE’s Weight Management Program, and then they come up with a gameplan. After taking her starting weight and measurements, Tina’s trainer will set milestones for her to lose roughly 2lbs a month throughout the year. She’ll hold herself accountable by doing weekly check-ins using CORE’s accessible scale, and record each weigh-in to track her progress. With a solid plan in place, it’s time to tackle step 3.

STEP 3: TAKE ACTION

This is the part where you (and Tina) get to work! Tina knows she can’t lose those 25lbs without putting in some effort. During the planning phase, her trainer recommended making cardiovascular endurance a focal point in her training program, and to focus on balancing her diet and eating healthy. With this in mind, Tina does three hours of cardio every week, preps healthy meals, and continues her weekly weigh-ins. As long as Tina sticks to her plan and holds herself accountable, she should have no trouble achieving her weight loss goal!

Sure all of this makes goal setting sound easy, but what if you start to fall off track? Here’s a few tips to help prevent that from happening:

• Set milestones and checkpoints – When you have small successes, you’ll be more motivated to reach that bigger end goal (think about CORE’s Success Wall).

• Use the buddy system – If you have someone trying to reach the same goal as you or invested in helping you reach yours, it’ll help hold you accountable, and maybe you can make your hard work a little more fun with some friendly competition.

• Take a different approach – If you feel like you’re getting stuck in a rut, try looking at things from a different angle. A fresh approach may be just the thing to keep you from getting bored. 

• Start small – Keep your goals realistic. If you start out small, you’re likely to have more success.