When it comes to health and fitness, setting the right goals can be the difference between lasting success and fleeting efforts. Goals provide direction, purpose, and a sense of achievement, but to be effective, they need to be more than vague aspirations. Here, we’ll explore why being specific matters, how uncovering your deeper motivations fuels progress, and why developing both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations can boost your commitment. Plus, we’ll provide a practical workflow to help you set goals optimally that you can use on your own or with one of our coaches.

Why Specificity is Key

“I want to get fit” or “I want to lose weight” are common goals, but their lack of specificity makes them hard to act on consistently and over a long span of time. Being specific gives you a clear target and parameters to help you measure progress along the way. For example:

• Instead of “I want to get fit,” try “I want to run a 5km in under 30 minutes within the next six months.”

• Instead of “I want to lose weight,” try “I want to lose 5% of my body weight over the next 12 weeks by exercising three times a week and improving my diet.”

Specific goals are actionable, measurable, and allow you to track success over time.

Digging Deep: The Importance of Asking “Why?”

At ONI, we’ve collectively helped thousands of individuals achieve their fitness goals. One thing our most successful clients do well is dig deep into their motivations to really understand them. When you develop deeper awareness of your motivations, you also develop the buy in necessary to achieving your goals. Superficial goal setting often lacks the emotional weight to sustain your efforts, so it’s crucial to uncover your deeper “why”. Ask yourself questions like:

• Why is this goal important to me?

• How will I feel achieving this?

• How would it change the way I saw myself?

• How would I feel if I didn’t achieve this? What’s at stake?

For example, if your goal is to build strength, your deeper “why” might be to keep up with your kids, feel more confident, or improve your health markers to prevent chronic disease.

Motivation: Balancing Intrinsic and Extrinsic Drivers to Build Buy In

Motivation can be broadly categorised as intrinsic (driven by internal factors) or extrinsic (influenced by external expectations, rewards, praise, or punishment). Both types have some cross over (think Venn diagram styles) and can both a role in your journey. Building awareness of these two types of motivation is crucial for creating meaningful, lasting goals.

• Intrinsic motivation: This includes enjoying the activity itself or valuing the personal benefits it brings. For example, exercising because it makes you feel energised, more capable, confident, reduces stress, or because it provides a sense of accomplishment are all intrinsic. Intrinsic motivation fosters long term commitment because it is rooted in personal satisfaction and growth. It helps you view the process as rewarding in itself, making it easier to maintain healthy habits even without external validation.

• Extrinsic motivation: These are external factors that can include feeling rewarded for your actions or receiving validation, recognition, and praise from others such as friends and family. Extrinsic motivation can also include expectations or pressures to look a certain way, such as societal expectations. Or can also include consequences or punishments such as accountability from a coach or friend who expects updates on your progress. People who are extrinsically motivated will continue to perform a task even though it might not be in and of itself rewarding. For example, they will do something at their job that they don't find enjoyable in order to earn a wage.

Neither intrinsic nor extrinsic motivation is more important than the other; both play vital roles in driving our behaviours. Developing awareness of these two types of motivation allows you to find a balance between the two, helping you create a synergy that enhances long term commitment and makes your goals feel personal and meaningful. For example, if you enjoy weight training because it helps you feel confident and capable (intrinsic), but you’re also motivated by the recognition and praise you receive from your coach or gym community (extrinsic), you have multiple layers of motivation to draw from. This dual approach ensures you stay inspired both by internal fulfillment and external validation.

Practical Steps for Optimal Goal Setting

Here’s a step by step workflow to help you set and achieve your health and fitness goals:

Brainstorm and reflect:

Write down all the health and fitness goals that come to mind. Then, reflect on why each goal matters to you.

• E.g. "I want to lose weight because I want to feel healthier and more confident."

Uncover your intrinsic and extrinsic motivations:

Use these questions to develop awareness and build buy in:

What makes this goal personally rewarding for me? (Intrinsic motivation)

• E.g. "Lifting weights helps me feel strong, accomplished, and gives me a sense of progress and self-discipline."

Are there external factors driving this goal? (Extrinsic motivation)

• E.g. "I want to go to the gym with my friends regularly because it’s fun and keeps me accountable, and I also enjoy seeing the numbers on my lifts go up."

How do these motivations complement each other?

• E.g."Feeling stronger through weights improves my confidence and self discipline (intrinsic), while working out with friends and seeing tangible progress like increased strength keeps me motivated (extrinsic)."

Make it SMART:

Refine your goals to be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

• E.g. “I want to improve my cardiovascular fitness by running 3 times per week and completing a 10km race in 12 weeks.”

This is a SMART goal because it is Specific (focused on cardiovascular fitness and running), Measurable (completion of a 10km race), Achievable (assuming a realistic starting fitness level), Relevant (supports overall health and fitness), and Time bound (to be completed within 12 weeks).

Plan the process:

Break your goal into smaller, manageable steps. For instance, if your goal is to lose weight, your steps might include meal prepping, tracking habit consistency, and scheduling workouts.

• E.g. "I will meal prep every Sunday to ensure I stay on track with my nutrition goals."

Track progress:

Use a journal or our ONI Workout app (for clients only) to monitor your progress. Celebrate small wins along the way to stay motivated.

• E.g. "This week, I increased my squat by 5kg and felt great afterward."

Adjust as needed:

Life happens. If you encounter setbacks, reassess, learn, and adapt your goals without abandoning them.

• E.g. "I missed my workouts this week due to work, but I’ll focus on making the next ones count and ensuring my overall consistency stays strong by communicating boundaries with my workplace and being more firm with my scheduled time for workouts."

Enlist support:

Share your goals with a friend, coach, or online community to build accountability and gain encouragement.

• E.g. "I told my buddy about my goal, and we’re now planning to workout with each other at the gym every week."

The Takeaway

Setting goals for health and fitness is about more than just choosing a destination; it’s about designing a roadmap that aligns with your values, motivations, and life circumstances. By being specific, uncovering your deeper “why,” and balancing intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, you’ll create a foundation for sustainable success. Use the practical steps outlined here to set goals that inspire action and lead to meaningful results.

Don’t hesitate to reach out to our team if you want help fleshing anything out. Remember, every step forward is progress, celebrate the journey as much as the destination!

Author: Laurent Pang

ONI Personal Training | Massage Therapy | Nutrition Coaching | Movement Coaching