3 Tips For Tracking Your Fitness Goals

Learn how to organize and track your fitness goals effectively so you can crush your new year’s resolutions and get healthy once and for all.

Have you recently made resolutions to finally get healthier than ever before, but you’ve hit a roadblock on Day 2 because you have no idea what you’re doing? In order to reach your fitness goals, you need to have a plan, and even more so, a way to track your progress. Without tracking the headway you’re making, you’ll lose motivation and fall back onto the couch with a pizza box and the latest episode of Housewives, then be mad that Lisa Rinna is in her mid 50’s and has a body like a 24 year old. These three tips can help you avoid falling off the wagon.

How To Track Fitness Goal Progress

1. Get A Fitness Tracking Watch

Sure, your phone may have a fitness tracker on it, but unless you have your phone in your hand or pocket all day long, it won’t do you any good. Do yourself a favor and invest in a fitness tracking watch. It can track your heart rate, steps, sleep patterns, and exercise, without you having to do anything extra. Bonus points, some even have the ability to store music so you can listen to your fave workout playlist through your bluetooth ear buds without having your phone around to distract you.

I have tried a few different types and brands of fitness tracking watches, and I have decided I like my Fitbit Versa 2 the best. It does a lot of what the iWatch does, but I personally like the Fitbit interface better. If you don’t want to spend a lot of money, Amazon also has an entry level tracker that’s under $30 for you to start with.

Once you’ve got your tracking watch all set up, don’t just wear it and forget about it. Take time a few times a week to actually look at the data. I like to take a look at my steps, active minutes, sleep patterns, and average heart rate just to make sure nothing is off. I transfer all that digital info into my Organized-ish Fitness Planner so I can see every day’s info at a glance.

2. Set Clear Goals and Log Your Progress

Whether your goal is to be more active, lose weight, or build muscle, unless you have a plan you’ll never make any real progress. It’s a good idea to sit down and figure out what your goal actually is, then figure out how you’re going to get there.

I like to make my fitness goals based on smaller sub-categories. For example, my cardio goal for 2021 is to be able to run all the way from my house to the next street in my neighborhood without stopping. And my strength goal for 2021 is to be able to hold a steady handstand for 90 seconds. See how clear that is? I know exactly what I want to do and I know how to get myself there.

If I had made a goal like “I want to be strong and healthy”, what the heck does that even mean? Who knows. I’d never reach that goal because it doesn’t have an end game. My Organized-ish Fitness Planner has some great pages for defining your goals and tracking progress for each one, so if you’re a Binder Kit Member, I highly recommend using those resources.

3. Participate In A Challenge

Instagram and Pinterest are swirling with fitness challenges, from nutrition to exercise to even meditation. What’s great about a challenge is the schedule is already laid out for you. Challenges usually last for 5, 7, 10, 14, or 30 days, and the creator of the challenge has done all the hard work of planning ahead of time. For example, a 14 day squat challenge would have a specific timeframe scheduled out for every day. Rest days are assigned, and there’s no wiggle room for excuses.

My biggest tip for participating in a fitness challenge is to do it with a friend. You’ll be able to keep each other accountable, and you’ll be much more likely to follow through with it. You should also use a challenge tracker sheet (or habit tracker sheet) to keep up with your progress. Physically crossing off each day on a paper calendar is SO satisfying. My Organized-ish Fitness Planner has two different challenge tracking sheets for whatever your preference is, or you can create your own just by drawing a grid on a piece of paper.

Need An All-In-One Fitness Planner?

The Organized-ish Fitness Management Planner in the Organized-ish Binder Kit Collection is a planner for improving your lifestyle. There are pages for weight loss, muscle building, workout routines, home gym setup guides, nutrition cheat sheets, and mental health resources. I personally use this planner myself, and I keep it in a binder in my own home gym.

If you’re a member of the Organized-ish Binder Kit community, you already have access to the planner at no extra cost. If you’re not a member, you can join here for the Fitness Planner, along with all the other home and life organizers inside the library.