Fitness Goals For 2026: How To Set A Resolution You Can Keep To

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Want to get fit in 2026? It’s the most common new year’s resolution that people set, alongside trying to save money. So chances are, it’s on your list for the year ahead as well. 

And now we’re well into January, you feel like you’ve gotten something good started. You’ve been hitting the gym a bit more often, and you’ve been swapping out a couple of less healthy dinner options for things like more veggies or a bit more protein. You’re proud of the progress you’ve made – and you should be. 

But there’s going to come a point when you’re less motivated to keep it up. And if this isn’t the first time you’ve set a goal like this once the new year came round, you already know you’re likely to down tools and let it fade away at some point. 

You know why? Because you’re not setting the kind of goal you can keep to. Goal setting is quite the art, in reality, and many people fall short because they’re just not setting themselves up for success. 

So let’s try and make 2026 different for you. You want to get fit, you’re keen to commit to your resolution, and you want to prove to yourself you can actually do it. Let’s make it happen.

Keep it Small, Keep it Steady

You don’t want to give yourself the kind of fitness goal that’s next to impossible to achieve. However, it’s very easy to do that by just telling yourself you’re going to ‘get fit’ or ‘lose weight’ this year. 

This is just a broad statement – it’s not really a goal at all. And when you put it on yourself, and inevitably fail to keep up, you’re going to feel terrible about the fact that you broke your resolution. 

But this isn’t just a game of will power or determination. You’ll need those things to work on yourself, for sure, but you also need to give yourself a proper objective. Stop piling on the pressure by mislabelling your resolution with a lofty ambition. 

Make it smaller. Make it the kind of thing you can work on at a steady pace. 

Hit 10k steps every day? That’ll work. Just as long as you have something that’ll reliably track your steps.

From there you can add higher levels to the goal. But first, get your 10k step goal comfortably under your belt and only then add an extra objective on top. 

Make it a Habit

This is a good point to follow up with. 

We mentioned just above that getting 10k steps comfortably under your belt is essential before you add anything else to do, and that’s because your starter goal needs to code itself into a habit. 

You need a habit in place before you focus on doing something else. It needs to feel like second nature to hit that step amount, because it means you’ve adopted it into your day to day life without even needing to put the extra effort in. 

Once you don’t need that extra effort, you can try something a bit harder. After all, you’re ready for it now!

Speak to a Medical Professional

Sometimes you do need to double check with a nurse or doctor about your fitness goals. You don’t want to accidentally set yourself off on a path where you could do worse for your health in the long run, either through illness or injury. 

For example, if you have an issue that affects your joints, and you want to try running on a regular basis, double checking that you won’t hurt yourself further is a good first step. 

And if it turns out that your doctor doesn’t think you should try running, they can then suggest an alternative exercise that’ll be more beneficial. 

This is also where you can talk about your health goals in general, such as whether you want to lose weight, lower your blood pressure or resting heart rate, or lower the risk of type 2 diabetes, etc. 

Again, your doctor can help you come up with a long term plan that actually works for you – including medical treatments that might boost your likelihood of achieving your fitness goals. 

Options like https://medreinhealth.com/services/medical-weight-loss-treatment/ are available for many patients these days, and if your doctor thinks you could benefit from them, this is where you can discuss the possibility. 

They can also simply signpost or refer you to a medical professional (like a dietitian) who is more likely to be able to help. 

Don’t Forget to Enjoy it

Exercise and eating well do make the body feel good, even if it means you have to stretch to work off those aches and give up chocolate in the evenings. 

And after a while, you are going to feel these positive effects in your energy levels, muscle recovery, and even in the way you feel more stable in your moods.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy yourself along the way too. 

Simply put, if you’re trying to stay fit in a way that isn’t engaging you mentally as well as physically, change it. Find something else that brings your mind into it too.

Sticking to your Fitness Goals in 2026

It’s going to take effort, but so does everything worthwhile in life! But you can make the process of achieving a resolution a lot easier, especially when it comes to something as integral as your physical wellness. 

Start by breaking things down into chewable chunks, then make those bigger and better once you’ve digested the one before. Then, check in with a medical professional to double check you’re on the right path, and to make sure you don’t need any extra support.

And once you’ve set yourself up for a journey like this, you might just find it a lot easier to stay on target from January to December. And then, when 2027 rolls around, you’ll need to find yourself a new resolution to focus on!