
Six-packs, fat loss, and building lean muscle—it’s no surprise that most fitness goals are all about improving one’s appearance.
But this doesn’t necessarily mean there should be a stigma around the “vanity” of aesthetic-based goals. There’s nothing inherently wrong with wanting to improve your appearance. Many great fitness journeys begin with the desire to look better.
However, studies show aesthetic-driven goals aren’t as motivating and lead to quicker abandonment of fitness regimes.1 Now that you’re in the gym— let’s set some realistic goals to keep you there (and still end up with a rockin’ bod).
Performance-based goals are centered around improving your technical capabilities in a sport. This may mean running a faster mile, lifting heavier weights, or mastering a yoga pose.
Even bodybuilding, which is an aesthetic-based sport, requires performance-based goals. To build muscle and lose fat, one must progressively overload their weights to achieve muscle hypertrophy. In this case, a performance-based goal may be to increase the weight of a specific exercise by 5 pounds each week.
For these goals, consider adding Creatine Monohydrate, low-calorie Whey Protein Isolate, or L-glutamine to your supplement routine, as these are some of the most well-researched workout supplements for aiding performance and recovery.

According to a study published in 2021, “the pursuit of pleasure for the practice of physical exercise leads to increased persistence, positive psychological feelings, and reduced stress, leading to a greater propensity to feel energized, confident, and satisfied with the activity itself.”2
Basically, if you enjoy something, you’ll keep doing it. By making it your goal— nay, your mission— to enjoy exercise, your body (inside and out) will reap the benefits.
Setting goals around the “enjoyment” of fitness may look like indulging in a more creative type of work (like an 8-week-long aerial silks class), finding a gym buddy, or even curating the perfect gym playlist.

A 2009 study on goal-setting and motivation found that goals targeting the processes of exercise result in the highest level of intrinsic motivation and adherence to a routine and the lowest feelings of tension about exercise.3 Examples include keeping your heart rate above 140 BPM for 20 minutes, running five miles a week, or engaging your core while squatting.
James Clear (bestselling author of Atomic Habits) describes this as “focusing on your goal systems” rather than your end goal.4 By breaking down your goals into smaller, process-related goals— you’ll eventually find that you can make consistent progress while mitigating an aimless obsession to achieve an arbitrary outcome.

In other words, like in Sport of Life, fitness is about the journey, not the destination.
1. Segar, Michelle. “Goals Matter: Exercising for Well-Being but Not Health or Appearance Predicts Future Exercise among Parents.” Journal of Physical Activity and Health, Human Kinetics, 1 Jan. 2018, www.academia.edu/84562727/Goals_Matter_Exercising_for_Well_Being_But_Not_Health_or_Appearance_Predicts_Future_Exercise_Among_Parents.
2. Borges, Juliana Correia, et al. “Motivation Levels and Goals for the Practice of Physical Exercise in Five Different Modalities: A Correspondence Analysis.” Frontiers, Frontiers, 29 Nov. 2021, www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.793238/full.
3. Wilson, Kylie, and Darren Brookfield. Effect of Goal Setting on MotivatIon and Adherence In a Six-Week Exercise Program, 2009, files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1270832.pdf.
4. Clear, James. “Forget about Setting Goals. Focus on This Instead.” James Clear, 4 Feb. 2020, jamesclear.com/goals-systems.
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