An Easy Way to Reach Your Baseline and Stretch Fitness Goals

Okay let’s be honest… setting goals can feel like the fun part until reality hits and life pulls you in a million directions. I used to think massive goals were the only kind that mattered until I learned something interesting from real science about habit formation and behavior change. Setting goals actually helps your brain focus on what matters and gives you direction, but only if those goals feel doable and connected to your daily life.

Big stretch goals sound exciting but they often create pressure and guilt when life gets chaotic. That’s the thing… your brain likes wins and will actually stick with behaviors that feel achievable. Small wins build confidence and momentum because they show progress and that feels good.

So instead of overwhelming yourself with huge lofty goals, pick 1 or 2 baseline habits you know you can do regularly. Maybe it is drinking a tall glass of water every morning or taking a short walk after dinner. Keep it realistic and feel proud of showing up for you after you do it. That steady consistency is where real change lives.

Lets talk about how important it is to set what are called BASELINE and STRETCH goals.

Baseline goals are things you can do regularly and should be able to do (with a little effort). The problem is that most of us start out with big STRETCH GOALS that take a lot of time or work or a big change in your lifestyle.

That means we give up because we can’t keep up when our schedules get busy or something else gets in the way. BUT that doesn’t happen if you set a BASELINE goal. The best part is that you can always do a little more than your baseline goal if you have the time or energy.

Here’s a good example of what I mean. People often set big fitness goals, like working out for 45 minutes five days a week. But working out for 30 minutes, three times a week could be a realistic baseline goal. You could always work out more on weeks when you have more time. But you don’t HAVE to do them to reach your goal and stay on track. Make sense?

I’ll give you a little challenge: try setting 1-2 baseline goals for the rest of this month right now.

This could mean doing something like drinking a tall glass of water every two hours or going for a five-minute walk after eating or whatever makes you feel good. This will help you keep up with your healthy habits.

You won’t believe how much they can change over time! Want to find out if we can help you fast-track your fitness goals. Set up a time to talk.

“Slow and steady wins the race,” as the old saying goes. That is definitely true for your goals! Now that you know this, go out and make it a great day!