60 Measurable Fitness Goals that AREN’T Weight Loss
My mom was visiting me last year and we were chatting about fitness. The topic of weight loss came up and she said something along the lines of, “You know me, I need something to track and measure. If you’re not tracking weight-loss, how do you even know you’re making progress?”
This question isn’t new. As a trainer, I’ve heard some version of it during hundreds of intro sessions throughout the years. But the way my mom said it (or maybe it was just because it was her) got under my skin. You wanna know what you can track?!? Buckle up…this is gonna take a while!
Weight loss has no-doubt become the default prescribed goal of the fitness industry. Given the influence of militarism, white supremacy, ableism, and patriarchy in the origins of modern fitness, anti-fatness has been the message and shame has been the prevailing motivator (an ineffective and rather boring motivator if you ask me). Organizations like the Association for Size Diversity and Health, who developed Health at Every Size®, and individuals like Sonya Renee Taylor, who wrote the book The Body is Not an Apology, have been instrumental in changing the zeitgeist.
As we as a culture move away from body shame into acceptance and even joy, us fitness folks need to do a better job showing you your options. We need to do a better job at showing you what you have to gain…not just what you *should* lose.
So here is a short, non-exhaustive list of 60 measurable fitness goals that AREN’T weight-loss. If you get through the list and are still lost, just pick one and run with it. As my friend Yasmine Salem Hamdan said in a podcast interview, “you can’t change course unless you’re running a race.” Just start somewhere, show up, and let the magic reveal itself over time.
Consistency Goals
Measuring and tracking consistency is often where I suggest people start. It’s through the practice of showing up consistently that you uncover what activities you enjoy, what movement lights you up, and what other goals even interest you. When you show up regularly for yourself and your body, things start to change and you begin to understand yourself better. If you’ve never given yourself that gift, start here.
# of classes or workouts each month: Create a simple habit tracker, use your Google Calendar, or go all out in your Bullet Journal. Give yourself a gold star each time you attend complete a workout. (15 minute workouts totally count!)
Complete a couch to 5K training plan: There are plenty of running training plans. Don’t sweat finding the *right* plan. Just pick one and complete each step. Be sure to not skip ahead in the plan as that can put you at risk for overtraining injuries.
Get a wearable fitness tracker: Feel a sense of accomplishment each time you close all of your rings or meet your step count goal.
Complete a 100 day challenge: Challenge a friend to 100 push-ups, squats, or other movement each day. Keep it up for 100 days and track your progress. Whoever completes the most total days wins.
Complete a year of 30 day challenges: Dabbling in different movement modalities is a great way to figure out which types of exercise work best for your body. Browse Google or Pinterest for 30 day challenges focused on yoga, kettlebells, stretching, dumbbells and more!
Complete a ‘year of badassery’: During the pandemic lockdown, I came up with a plan to layer on a new habit each month of the year. The first month I chose to give up alcohol, the second month I stayed sober and did 100 kettlebell swings each day. Each month, I added something new…in theory. Some months, I didn’t end up enjoying the new addition and let them fade. But I spent a year sober and did thousands of kettlebell swings. It was a total win.
Curiosity-Related Goals
As a trainer, we’re taught to help our clients define highly specific SMART goals. However, most people who I’ve trained don’t have the foggiest idea of what’s even possible for them. They just want to feel better. Slapping on an arbitrary goal just wouldn’t have much staying power. Instead, we let curiosity take the lead. Dabbling, exploring, and asking questions is a great way to approach fitness when you don’t have a ‘big goal’ to chase.
Attend classes at a minimum of 5 local studios: This is for people asking, “what do I even like to do?” Try acro yoga, boxing, water aerobics, Zumba, strength training, barre, etc. until find a routine you like. Each studio is going to have its own culture and vibe, so try a few until you find what works for you.
Complete a fitness audit: Gather data and figure out what you are currently capable of. How long does it take to walk/run a mile? What is the heaviest thing you can lift? How long can you plank? Or hang from a tree branch? How long can you balance on one foot? These 5 tests are a simple way to start. Many gyms and trainers offer some sort of fitness assessment like this, or you can totally make up your own! After completing an audit, ask yourself what you’re most interested in improving and practice! Re-test after a month.
Track your Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE): Head over to the free movement library and pick a movement (literally any movement that piques your curiosity or looks cool). When you begin, note your RPE (how hard that movement is on a scale from 1-10). Over one month, dig in and improve your skills. Compare your RPE at the end of the month to where you began, and celebrate your progress.
Learn how to use a new piece of equipment: Use the RPE approach and apply it to a new piece of equipment. Bands, dumbbells, bosu balls, slack lines, jump ropes, kettlebells, oh my! What shiny object is calling to you this month? Explore!
Track your total training volume: Each week, track all of your activity, and then increase it by 10% week-over-week. See how far you can get!
Track your cycle: If you have a menstrual cycle, train according to the stage of your cycle. During the menstrual phase (starts on day 1 of your period and typically lasts 3-7ish days), try low impact movement like walking and yoga. During the Follicular phase (lasts 7-10ish days), channel your increased energy into cardio and higher intensity workouts. The Ovulation phase (around day 14 of your cycle) is a great time for strength training. And as you enter the Luteal phase you may notice a dip in energy and need to incorporate more rest days.
Movement-Specific Goals
Certain movements just speak to certain people. Pick a movement you’ve never been able to do and train. These are just a few of the movement-specific goals I’ve heard over the years.
Do a pistol squat
Learn to do a Turkish Get Up
Do a freestanding handstand
Do your first push-up
Learn the kettlebell swing
Do a pull-up
Do your first cartwheel as an adult
Skills-Based Goals
There are several foundational skills that contribute to overall fitness. Pick a skill and develop it over the next three months.
Strength: Test the maximum weight you can pick up in a given lift. A max deadlift, Turkish Get Up, or goblet squat is a great place to start. These are the types of movements we focus on at Ashland Strength Studio. If you’re working out in another space, make sure to use a spotter and follow all safety recommendations. If you’re an equipment minimalist, test your max number of pull-ups, push-ups, bodyweight squats, etc.
Agility: Track improvements in agility through drills that require quick changes in direction. Try the Davies Test for your upper body or the Shark Skill Test for your lower.
Power: Measure explosive strength and power through activities like a vertical jump, long jump, or box jump.
Speed: See how fast you can complete a sprint around the block or your favorite hike.
Reaction time: I grew up in the era of Dance Dance Revolution, a video and arcade game with a light up dance pad that tested your ability to do quickly step on each light before it dimmed. There are so many versions of this type of game now. There are smart soccer balls, boxing trainers, and more.
Coordination: GMB Fitness put together a great list of 12 coordination exercises. Pick a few and track your progress.
Flexibility / mobility: Tight shoulders? Creaky hips? Dedicate a month and sort it out! The Alex Murphy’s YouTube channel is a fantastic resource for improving your mobility.
Endurance Goals
When humans demonstrate physical endurance, how we see ourselves often changes dramatically. Persistence becomes part of who we are and how we perceive ourselves, which can be a huge confidence boost. And it doesn’t just impact us as individuals. This concept may be partially responsible for human evolution as we know it.
Kelly McGonnigal, author of The Joy of Movement, explains the science benign the runners high and re-labels it a “persistence high.” She links the body’s production of feel-good chemicals called endocannabinoids during high-intensity exercise to our evolutionary need to persist as hunters, gatherers, and foragers.
By participating in endurance activities, you can change the way you see yourself, find out what you’re capable of, and participate in a tradition as old as the human race.
Number of kettlebell swings or snatches completed in 5 minutes
Time to complete 100 swings, jumping jacks, pushups, etc.
Maximum time hanging
Maximum distance in a farmer carry
Maximum continuous loops you can walk around the block
Hiking distance or elevation
Time to complete a 5K, 10K, marathon, etc.
Maximum number of :30/:30 walk/run intervals in a row
Number of laps or distance completed swimming
Number of continuous successful jump rope jumps
Maximum continuous boxing rounds completed
Aesthetic Goals
In my mind, size is one of the least interesting variables when it comes to aesthetics. And just because we’re not talking weight loss here doesn’t mean we can’t talk about looking and feeling good! Because, let’s face it, vanity can be a big motivator for a lot of us. Here are a couple of non-shame-y ways to harness the power of vanity to fuel your fitness.
Muscle size or definition: Keep track of changes in muscle size and definition through measurements or photos. One of my go-to programs is Kettlebell Strong because it’s super straightforward and makes my biceps look incredible. I feel more badass when I look more badass. While we aren’t physically able to ‘spot reduce’ fat, you can certainly focus on gaining targeted muscle, which often achieves the ‘toned’ look a lot of folks are looking for.
Confidence rating: Track your confidence looking in the mirror before and after each workout. Look at trends and how certain activities either negatively or positively impact how you see yourself.
Skin health: Working out has been known to improve skin heath. Track the number of days per month you feel a glow and notice if that changes as you add more activity into your routine.
Posture: I grew an inch and a half in the first year of being physically active. And I could no longer see my shoulders in my peripheral vision. Did I hit a late growth spurt? No. I was just able to hold myself better. HUGE confidence boost! My overall posture had improved so dramatically that I had to get my drivers license updated to reflect my new height: 5’3”. Posture is ever changing and really just refers to whatever shape your body is in at a given time, so you could measure posture in a bunch of different ways. Height, for me, was the obvious choice.
Waist-to-hip ratio: This ratio can be seen as either an aesthetic or health outcomes goal. If you’re looking for a goal that feels similar to weight or BMI, but far more beneficial, this is a good stand-in. The waist-to-hip ratio can provide insights into body composition and health risk factors.
Health Outcome Goals
If you’re nerdy about science, or just want to get as close to immortal as possible, these types of measurable health markers might be just the right thing to track.
Time to balance on each foot
Grip strength
Resting heart rate
Blood pressure
VO2 max
Ability to get up from the ground without your hands
Sleep quality
Heart rate recovery
Water intake
Joint mobility
Cholesterol levels
Bone density
Mental Health Goals
When I was training to complete my first kettlebell certification, I was simultaneously unpacking a recent PTSD diagnosis. This combo meant that any time I’d use ‘hardstyle’ breathing, I’d have panic attacks and flashbacks and be shaking on the floor in the gym bathroom. That way of breathing is how you keep your low back safe during explosive kettlebell movements, so it wasn’t optional. I’d have to learn how to work with my breath and nervous system to stay in the moment. And I did!
This showed up again when I was learning to run. The heavy breathing once again reverse-engineered a panic attack. Over time, I started asking myself, “what’s the most badass thing I can do and NOT have a panic attack?” That question helped me run a 15K and is now motivating me as I train for my first ultra marathon. When you let your curiosity guide you, and you figure out which questions motivate you, it’ll take you far.
Find the question that motivates you: What questions keep you up at night? Create an experiment and solve the mystery. I’m still working on my big question. What’s yours?
Track your mood: Keep a journal to track changes in mood and mental health as a result of exercise
Create and repeat an “emotional support workout”: Kettlebell clean and presses are my comfy place. One of my regular clients often comes in for a few heavy swings and a sandbag carry. Kettlebell halos are the go-to for another. There are certain movements that just feel like home. Try a bunch of things until you find yours. Then play it on repeat like your favorite song or most comfy t-shirt.
Define and do the bare minimum: During the pandemic lockdown, 100 swings a day became my bare minimum. I knew I didn’t want to slack on that. As long as I got that done, I could release every other expectation I’d put on myself. Too often, we think we have to do it all or it ‘doesn’t count’ for some reason. This is your reminder to do the bare minimum. That can be enough.
10 Minutes of intentional movement each day: On any given day, ask yourself how you’d like to feel. Then spend 10 minutes doing movements that bring you closer to that intention. Want to feel more grounded? Do a 10 min strength training circuit. Want to feel more relaxed? Try 10 minutes of yoga. Want to feel energized? Go out for a 10 min jog. Want to feel free? Dance. Track how many days each week you show up for your 10 minutes of intentional movement.
How long should I stick to a particular goal?
Right after choosing a goal, there usually comes a moment where you start to ask, “but how long do I actually have to DO this thing?” In short, stay as long as it serves you. Pretend it’s a party–stay while it’s fun, leave when it’s not!
There are several other ways to think about duration. Here are my favorites:
Stay as long as there’s more to learn.
If you have a question you’re answering or a skill you’re building, stay as long as you’re learning something! When you’ve gotten your answer or your curiosity starts to wane, pick a new goal! YOU get to set the timeline.
Move on or level up when it starts to feel too easy.
In general, fitness is all about getting better at things you currently suck at. At some point, lifts are going to feel easier or you’ll want to add some distance to your usual walk. Hell yeah! It’s time to level up or move on to a new goal.
Stick it out long enough to get good data.
If your goal involves collecting data around waist-to-hip ratio, VO2 Max, or bone density, you’ll probably have to commit to a longer timeline to see meaningful change. You may need to stick with it for a year or more. As you set up your goal, decide ahead of time what data you’ll need to see in order to mark your goal complete.
In conclusion…
There are so many incredible ways to get to know your body on a deeper level. You’re in charge of how you play, experiment, and set goals. Only you will know what goal is right for you in this season. There’s no ‘right’ way to approach fitness, so just pick something and follow your curiosity.
And if you need help along the way, I’m here for you. Reach out if you have a question or need a loving kick in the butt to get going. Cheers!
