Getting active shouldn’t just be about losing weight. There are so many other benefits of working out that will make you feel amazing both physically and mentally. We’re talking feeling more energized, building up your strength, and improving your heart health. Weight loss typically isn’t the best motivator. When you focus on goals outside of losing weight, everything usually falls into place. It makes exercise more enjoyable when you have goals that make you feel good. Check out nine fitness goals that aren’t about weight loss.
9 Fitness Goals that Aren’t About Weight Loss
1. Building Strength
There are so many benefits to building up your strength, especially as you get older. Gaining strength allows you to perform daily tasks easier, it lowers your risk of injury as it improves the range of motion and mobility in your muscles, and it improves heart health. It also makes your bones stronger and protects against age-related cognitive decline. Strength training, also called resistance training or weight training, should be done two to three times a week, alongside other forms of exercise like cardio and Pilates.
2. Enhance Your Life
Exercise makes you FEEL better. It gives you energy, reduces stress, and makes you feel happier. Finding workouts you love to do can enhance the quality of your life. Exercising should be a part of your day you feel excited for, because in turn, it makes you feel good. Figure out which form of exercise you love most, whether it’s outdoor jogging, boxing classes, cycling, swimming, Pilates, or HIIT classes. Once you find what you love, do it consistently and reap the results!
3. Complete a 30-Day Fitness Challenge
Completing a 30-day fitness challenge can be a great way to motivate yourself to get your body moving. You’re committing to daily movement, but this doesn’t mean you have to do an intense workout everyday. You don’t have to be super super strict and hard on yourself- figure out a routine that works best for you. Maybe that means getting to the gym three to four days a week, and on the other days you walk for 30 minutes.
4. Improve Heart Health
Heart disease (along with cancer) is the leading cause of death for women and men in North America. Taking care of your heart should be at the top of your priority list, and one of the best ways to have a healthy heart is to get your cardio workouts in. Regular cardiovascular exercise leads to a decrease in your resting blood pressure and heart rate, meaning your heart doesn’t have to work as hard all the time. It also helps maintain good cholesterol levels.
When done regularly, moderate- and vigorous-intensity physical activity strengthens your heart muscle. It improves your heart’s ability to pump blood to your lungs and throughout your body. As a result, more blood flows to your muscles and oxygen levels in your blood rise. Aim to do moderate exercise for at least 30 minutes 5 days a week, or vigorous exercise two to three days a week.
5. Get Daily Movement
Setting a goal for daily movement, even if it’s a short ten minute walk outside, is great for your physical health, and it will boost your mood. On your rest days, when you’re not planning to do a full workout, make the time to get some form of physical activity in. This could mean biking to work, taking a walk on your lunch break, or even cleaning and decluttering the house.
6. Improve Flexibility and Mobility
Flexibility is how much a joint can move through its full range of motion. Mobility is the ability to move freely. They’re both important and improving them is a great fitness goal to have. It will help prevent injuries and optimize training, and stretching is also a great stress-reliever. If you’re not already, incorporate dynamic stretching before your workouts and static stretching after. You can gradually increase your range of movement, as well as the time you spend on mobility and stretching as it gets easier.
7. Learn a New Skill
If you’re getting bored of classic workouts (or you haven’t found one that sticks), try something new! You can get incredible exercise outside of the typical running or workout classes. Take martial arts classes, try your hand at tennis, or sign up for pole dancing lessons. There are so many activities out there that will get your heart pumping and boost your fitness level. Plus, you’ll learn a valuable new skill that will benefit your everyday life!
8. Set a Running Goal
If you’re a runner (long time or beginner), pick a running goal that you can work toward. This may be running your first half-marathon or marathon, or if you’re newer to running, maybe you want to run your first 5K. If you’re a total beginner, you may start with brisk walking with short bursts of running that get increasingly longer as your body adjusts. If you’re an intermediate runner and want to increase your speed, incorporate intervals with harder running and easy recovery. Running is super accessible and there are so many ways to improve.
9. Have More Energy
Do you constantly feel tired and run down? Are you totally burnt out from work? Exercise is one of the best ways to boost your energy levels. It sends oxygen and nutrients to your tissues and helps your cardiovascular system work more efficiently. When your heart and lung health improve, you have more energy to tackle day to day life. Working out also increases your body’s production of serotonin, endorphins, and dopamine, all of which are powerful mood boosters and can make us feel more alert and motivated.
Fitness shouldn’t be all about losing weight. There are so many other benefits of exercise you should focus on to live a healthier, happier life!
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