Establishing your yearly fitness goals requires that you think constructively and realistically about the progress you plan to make. A year is a good chunk of time to dedicate to your fitness goals but being in your tip-top shape could take longer depending on your current level of physical activity, your diet, and your ability to adjust to change. Here are three realistic fitness goals for this year to get you started.

Increase your endurance

Sometimes keeping goals general is more practical. Endurance can mean many things depending on the workout and type of physical activity. If speed is a goal, your endurance will relate to how fast you can go. If strength training is a goal, your endurance relates to the weight you can carry. To help build strength, you may want to invest in some weights to lift at home. Try searching for “best home weights” online and do your research to find weights most suited to you. Endurance depends on the relative arrangements you’ve set out for yourself.

Consider the workouts you’re interested in, and then decide how you can increase your endurance. This may look like increasing your time by five minutes or increasing the number of reps you do between sets. Pick an endurance milestone that feels challenging but practical. This is the time to be honest with yourself and consider how far you think you can get in a year’s time.

Find joy in exercise

Working your body is challenging and uncomfortable. However, there are ways to increase the amount of joy you get from staying active if you think strategically. Many runners are told to introduce themselves to the sport by running as long as it remains physically enjoyable.

Once that feeling of fatigue hits, that’s the time they are told to stop or switch over to walking. This beginners’ approach to distance training is crucial because it keeps runners motivated and away from the need to endure physical pain while working out. This is the same reason many coaches recommend minimalist training shoes. These shoes are lighter on the feet and make the process of running more comfortable for beginners.

To train like an athlete, this honeymoon phase does not last forever, but it is an excellent way to introduce runners to the mental stamina that is associated with the sport due to necessity. See if there are ways that you can gradually train yourself to whatever fitness activity that you’re pursuing so that it remains enjoyable while you are still starting. Another way to emulate this practice is getting into yoga.

Yoga can be a pleasant and comfortable activity, but it can also be too strenuous and exhausting. If you’re a suburban mum just getting into the fitness world, you might begin with kin yoga or yoga Nidra, both of which are very gentle practices. As these poses become more natural to you, you can increase to more advanced types of yoga, such as hot yoga and kundalini yoga.

Cycling is another enjoyable physical activity that helps you stay active without the dread and mental burden. It’s fun, easy, and low impact, so there’s no need to worry about severe strain and fatigue. You can even incorporate it into your daily routine by cycling to work or for quick runs to the store and the like. Moreover, there are power-assisted motorized bicycle options for people who can’t ride their bikes for too long because of health conditions. Cycling is generally a safe way to exercise for people of all ages.

Stay consistently active

The mental component of exercise is the hardest part. A worthy goal for anyone working out is to set the goal of commitment. Even if your workouts aren’t the best and you phone it in when you should be pushing yourself, just the fact that you’re able to get up and go work out for the length of time each week you establish for yourself shows that you’re committed to your fitness goals. When you get into the habit of staying committed, this will encourage you to crush your workouts as time goes on.

Keeping your fitness goals for this year general is a smart approach to consider. When we make plans for ourselves that are overly specific, we tend to find ourselves boxed into limitations. When these limitations arise, we feel as if we failed and often give up as a result. If we leave room to make mistakes and continue working towards our goals, we can always achieve them. Make your fitness goals flexible enough for failure and achievement. You’re only human!