Smart Goals For Fitness – And How To Make Them Smarter

If you’ve ever looked up smart goals for fitness, you’ve probably come across the classic 5-step S.M.A.R.T. formula. It’s one of the most widely used goal-setting systems ever created. SMART is an acronym, with each letter representing a key step in the process. But here’s something most people don’t realize… there isn’t just one version of SMART.

Over the years, different experts have tweaked the formula, swapped out words, and adapted it based on their own opinions or the context they were working in.

And originally, SMART goals weren’t even created for fitness, they came out of the business world, built on earlier goal-setting research and designed for performance management, not fat loss, muscle building, or long-term habit change.

That doesn’t mean the system is flawed. In fact, it’s a solid framework. It includes several principles that any good coach or psychologist would agree are essential for effective goal setting.

And yet, a lot of people have tried using SMART goals for fitness, especially around New Year’s resolution time, only to find that it works for a while, then they slip right back into old habits.

So what’s going on? Is the SMART goals formula broken? Or is goal setting itself just another piece of self-help fluff? Definitely not.

First of all, goals are vital – they are the starting point of all achievement. As motivational speaker Brian Tracy said, “Success is goals, all else is commentary.”

As for for goal setting formulas, I think SMART is a great starting point. It is incomplete however, especially for fitness goals, where consistency, behavior change, and long-term adherence matter more than anything else.

After seeing so many people struggle, even when they were doing “everything right” on paper, I started asking a different question:

What’s missing?

What would a goal-setting system look like if it were designed specifically not just for fitness results, but for sustaining motivation over the long term?

That led me to expand the traditional 5-step formula into something more complete. Not just a little tweak, but a significant upgrade.

I added two critical components that address the biggest reasons people fall off track.

The result is a 7-step system I call SMARTER: A goal-setting method designed not just to help you set goals, but to actually follow through on them.

The SMARTER Goal System: 7 Steps To Set Smarter Goal Setting For Fitness

1. Specific.

Set fitness goals with clarity. Your mind does not respond well to vague generalities. If you say your goal is to lose weight and then you lose one pound, you’ve reached your goal. But is that what you really wanted?

Get specific. Be precise. And do it in writing because things remain vague when they’re just ideas in your head. When you think about a goal, it’s a still only a fantasy. When you put it on paper and attach a plan to it, it’s real.

2. Measurable.

Set goals that can be quantified in measurable units such as pounds, body fat percentage, lean body mass, inches and clothing sizes.

Quantifiable health goals include metrics like blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar.

Lifting performance goals can include sets, reps, weight lifted, and scheduled workouts completed. Cardio and endurance goals can include time, speed, distance, elevation, and more.

Daily and weekly performance goals are an incredible source of motivation, and keep you focused on the process instead of the outcome alone. Reaching specific training and fitness goals can also help keep you motivated on weeks when the scale doesn’t move.

3. Accountable.

Set goals you can be held accountable to. First be accountable to yourself by using a weekly progress chart, a daily nutrition diary and a training journal.

Then double your motivation with external accountability and submit your results and journals to someone else who will hold you to your commitments.

4. Realistic.

Set goals that are realistic and physically achievable. For longer-term goals, don’t be afraid to set big goals that challenge you, and even scare you. Big goals are motivating. Most people only rise as high as the bar is set, and when you set the bar high, you usually rise to the occasion.

The right sized goal should make you stretch and feel uncomfortable. But you should feel optimistic that you can achieve it, and your deadlines must be realistic for the size of your goal. Realistically optimistic goals are the key.

5. Time Bound.

Set goals with deadlines. Time limits are motivating. With no time limit, there’s no urgency.

Set daily goals for nutrition and training, set weekly goals for weight and body composition and set 12-week goals for weight, body fat or measurements. Set long term goals as well for at least one year and even beyond.

Also, “set your goals in ink and your deadlines in pencil.” If you don’t meet your initial deadline, you didn’t fail, you simply under-estimated the time frame for your goal’s achievement. Keep the goal and set a new deadline, with your better understanding of your typical rate of progress.

And now, here are the 2 missing pieces that turn S.M.A.R.T. goals into even S.M.A.R.T.E.R. goals:

6. Emotional.

Goals give you a direction, but strong emotions are the propulsion system that drives you in that direction.

Build up a burning desire by identifying and then focusing on the emotional reasons why you want to achieve your goal. What do you value, and how can you connect your goals to your values?

What’s most important to you about reaching your goal? If you reach 9% body fat, or whatever is your target, what will that do for you? What will your life look like then? What will it allow you to do? How will it make you feel?

7. Reviewed often.

One of the reasons New Year’s resolutions fail is because they are casually set once at the beginning of the year and easily forgotten.

Stay laser-focused by re-writing and re-reading your goals every day. Repetition is one of the keys to re-programming your mental computer for success.

Use the goal card technique. Write your single most important body or fitness goal on a small card, then carry it with you every where you go, reading it several times a day.

Examples Of SMARTER Fitness Goals

Reading this new expanded goal-setting framework is one thing. Seeing it in action is another. So here are some examples across different fitness goals so you can model your own.

Fat Loss

Weak goal: “I want to lose weight.”

SMARTER goal: “I will lose 20 pounds of body fat over the next 12 weeks by following a 500-calorie daily deficit, lifting 4 days per week, walking every day for 30 minutes, and tracking my food intake. I will review this goal every morning. My reason: I want to look great and feel energetic at my daughter’s wedding in June.”

Body Composition (Fat Loss + Muscle)

Weak goal: “I want to get lean and toned.”

SMARTER goal: “I will drop from 24% to 17% body fat over the next 16 weeks while maintaining my current lean body mass, by following a structured strength program 3 days per week and hitting 160g of protein daily. I will measure body fat every 2 weeks and send my results to my training partner every Sunday night.”

Muscle Building

Weak goal: “I want to get bigger.”

SMARTER goal: “I will gain 8 pounds of lean muscle over the next 4 months by following a progressive overload strength program 5 days per week and eating 300 calories above maintenance. I will log every workout and track my compound lift numbers weekly, focusing on progressive overload.”

Strength

Weak goal: “I want to get stronger.”

SMARTER goal: “I will increase my deadlift from 275 pounds to 315 pounds in 12 weeks by training it twice per week with a structured progression plan. My reason: I want to prove to myself I can do something I’ve never done before.”

Cardio and Endurance

Weak goal: “I want to run more.”

SMARTER goal: “I will complete a 5K in under 30 minutes by May 15th by following a 5-day-per-week running program and progressively increasing my weekly mileage by about 10% per week. I will carry a goal card with my target time and read it every morning.”

Contest Prep / Peak Condition

Weak goal: “I want to get ripped.”

SMARTER goal: “I will reach 8% body fat by August 1st for my men’s physique competition by following a structured 16-week cut, tracking calories to within 100 of my daily target, and checking in with my coach every week and taking progress photos every two weeks.”

Beginner / Habit Building

Weak goal: “I want to start exercising.”

SMARTER goal: “I will complete three 30-minute workouts per week for the next 8 weeks, logging each session in a training journal. I will text my accountability partner after every workout. My reason: I want more energy to keep up with my kids without feeling worn out.”

Health Markers

Weak goal: “I want to be healthier.”

SMARTER goal: “I will reduce my fasting blood sugar from 112 to below 100 mg/dL within 90 days by walking 30 minutes daily, eliminating added sugar from my diet on weekdays, and getting blood work repeated at the 90-day mark.”

Parting Advice On Fitness Goals

Take your goal setting seriously, because it really is the master key to success.  And don’t be casual about this. As Zig Ziglar, the famous motivational speaker said:

“A goal that is casually set and lightly taken will be freely abandoned at the first obstacle.” – Zig Ziglar

As you think about your next goals, don’t forget to make your goals smarter… and make this your most successful year ever!

Tom Venuto,
Founder, Burn The Fat Inner Circle
Author, Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle

About Tom Venuto
Tom Venuto is a natural bodybuilding and fat loss expert. Tom is a former competitive bodybuilder and today works as a full-time fitness coach, writer, blogger, and author. In his spare time, he is an avid outdoor enthusiast, backpacker, and trail runner. His book, Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle is an international bestseller, first as an ebook and now as a hardcover and audiobook. The Body Fat Solution, Tom’s book about emotional eating and long-term weight maintenance, was an Oprah Magazine and Men’s Fitness Magazine pick. Tom is also the founder of Burn The Fat Inner Circle – a fitness support community with over 59,000 members worldwide since 2006. Click here for membership details