I’ll be turning 50 this year, and I’d like to set up some fitness goals that are realistic in 2026. However, I want to go beyond just losing weight. I’d like to be in phenomenal shape by July.
Of course, this mostly comes down to breaking some bad habits and getting myself back to the gym. Time management is key, especially when I have so many things on my plate at the moment.
Anyway, I’ve never seen myself with less than 20% body fat as an adult. In fact, I don’t think I’ve seen myself at my goal weight since I was nine. And considering I’m going to be half a century old this year, perhaps I’d better get things in gear.
Why the Push for Fitness Goals in 2026?
Over the years, I’ve had an on-and-off love affair with the idea of being more fit. There were a few times when I would do exceptionally well and then, essentially, fall off a cliff made of chocolate and peanut butter.
So, I spent a few days really thinking about my last attempts and what my future holds.
Giving Myself 50 More Years
I’ll be 50 this year, and it’s kind of a scary milestone for me, especially since I clearly remember my grandparents at this age. Back then, it seemed people aged a lot quicker. You’ve probably seen those memes floating around about pointing out as much.
In any case, I’d love to give myself 50 more years. I highly doubt that I will make it to 100, but it’s a goal that I intend to keep. And that starts with taking better care of my health and fitness.
The Year of Action
Every year has a theme for me. It’s usually tied to my writing career, such as “The Year of the Book” and whatnot. For 2026, it’s the “Year of Action,” which could easily tie into health and fitness goals.
The idea for the theme is to be more proactive in life…not just from the perspective of writing, but in general. Avoiding procrastination, developing healthier habits, and going out of my comfort zone to get things done is what it’s all about.
Addressing Some Conditions
I have secondary polycythemia and high cholesterol. Combined, these pose a serious threat to my health. One ensures my blood is extraordinarily thick while the other clogs my arteries. You can see how that might be a problem.
On the upside, it’s unlikely I’ll develop osteoporosis, considering my tests showed my bones were exceptionally thick. The doctors also believe this is what is causing my myoclonic seizures. The bones in my spine are too tight around the nerves.
Rebuilding the Blog and YouTube Channel
Lastly, I’d love to rebuild the blog and get something going on the YouTube channel. While my main goal is to still help those over 40 when it comes to health, fitness, and mental wellness, I would love to make a few extra bucks on the side.
Since few people would take health and fitness advice from someone who can’t even take care of himself, that needs to change if I want something more from the blog and YouTube channel. It’s my audience who is going to hold me accountable.
Tentative Plans for the Year in Fitness
Saying you want to improve health and fitness and doing something about your goals are very different, especially in 2026. It’s too easy to get sucked into time sucks, like social media or perhaps gaming. So, you need to have a clear idea of what you’re planning to do to make those goals happen.
At the moment, I have just a few tentative fitness goals for 2026. I’m sure I’ll create more as the year progresses, but these are my immediate plans for putting in more action to get fit and healthy.
Spring Cleaning Challenge
Creating challenges for yourself is a great way to test your limits. They are meant to push your boundaries, but not meant as a way to set yourself up for failure. Challenges are best created based on your past experiences. It’s about self-improvement, not creating self-destruction.
I’m setting up a new fitness challenge in the next few days. I am going to prove to myself that I can finish one of these challenges before I hit my 50th birthday. In this case, I should be wrapping it up halfway through the spring – hence the name, “Spring Cleaning.”
In this particular challenge, the goal is to maintain a minimum of 10,000 steps per day while keeping the points green in the spreadsheet. What this means is that I have a certain point allotment for everything from exercises to food consumption. The idea is to gamify the challenge a bit more by using a point system to compete with myself.
I’m setting up a post with more details on how it all works, but the point is that I want to track everything from start to finish and see what I can do to myself in 12 weeks. That means absolutely tracking all food and drinks while taking action to get my daily points.
Less Junk, More Protein
Roughly one-third of adults over 50 do not get enough protein in their diets. Not getting enough protein can cause a variety of issues, especially as you get older. It can even affect overall grip strength in your old age.
I’ve been putting in the effort to get more protein as of late, vastly increasing how much I get during the day. According to my weight, height, and sex, I wasn’t even getting a third of what is recommended. So, I’ve added more meats and shakes to my daily routine.
I can say that I’ve felt a lot better overall since increasing the intake. I’m not burning out by the afternoon nearly as badly, and I have felt more alert and in greater spirits. I didn’t really notice until around the fourth day of the diet change, but it’s been worth keeping it up.
I’ll still have my sugar-filled snacks occasionally. But one of my fitness goals for 2026 is to consume more calories worth of meats and shakes than chocolate and peanut butter. Unfortunately, this also means spending a bit more for groceries, as prices are still outrageous in comparison to previous years.
Trying New Apps
The Internet is full of fitness apps of all kinds. From maintaining motivation to bodybuilding training, they are surely in abundance. The hardest part about using them is finding a fitness app that checks all of the boxes for you. Not every app is going to work for every person.
I’m going to start experimenting with more fitness apps. Not only would I like to find a replacement for Exercise.com (keeping track of personal records), but reviewing the fitness apps would give me a slew of content for the blog and YouTube channel.
You never know when you’ll stumble across something that works perfectly for your needs. That’s why I am open to trying new things in general. If I didn’t have that mentality, I wouldn’t have come across Reedsy, which has helped me publish two books thus far.
My point is that there is nothing wrong with experimenting with other fitness apps, even if you already have a favorite. Perhaps you’ll come across one that fills needs that your current fitness app isn’t fulfilling.
Breaking Personal Records
Breaking personal records is one of the best ways to fuel motivation and improve yourself overall. It doesn’t matter what anyone else can lift or who can run a six-minute mile. What matters is that you’re improving on your own abilities. Celebrate those wins, and keep in mind you’re better today than you were yesterday.
This is one of the reasons why I am looking for a specific app. Currently, I use Exercise.com, but it’s not as glorious as it was back when it was WeightTraining.com. The site lost a lot of its pep, not to mention functionality.
In any case, one of my primary fitness goals for 2026 is to break, if not shatter, a lot of personal records. I was thinking perhaps I can aim for a specific record every week. Even if I surpass my personal best by a single rep or a single pound, it’s still moving me in the right direction.
Since Exercise.com purged its database, a lot of my records have to be re-established. This is one of the reasons why I’m putting in effort to find a replacement app that isn’t overloaded with ads. If I had the time, I’d just make my own.
Being More Physical
Health and fitness are more than just focusing on losing weight or looking good for the camera. It’s about wellness, keeping yourself alive, and improving physical prowess, depending on your needs. And if the zombie apocalypse happens, you need to be prepared.
I am a desk jockey. I work and play quite a bit at my computer, sitting at my desk. I want to be more physical all around. Not just because I want to lose weight, but because there are a lot of physical activities I truly enjoy. I want to get back to them.
In fact, I wouldn’t mind joining a few sporting teams locally, meeting some folks, having some fun, and improving my health. Back in the day, I was a pretty good bowler, played first base and left field in softball and baseball, and loved to golf. I haven’t done much of anything in the past 20 years.
Now, I doubt I’ll get to the level I was at in sports in my early 20s as I round the horn at 50. But I am pretty sure I have quite a few good years left if I take advantage of them.
Training for Major Accomplishments
How much distance can you get from your golf swing by working on your shoulders and back at the gym? Can bicep curls, lateral raises, and oblique exercise improve your bowling score? In reality, lifting weights to any degree will impact any physical activity in which you want to partake.
In my case, I still want to cross the entire state of Colorado on a bicycle. It’s the whole premise of why I built this blog to begin with…hence its name. One of my fitness goals for 2026 is to start practicing and getting my health good enough to make that 280+ mile trip from the north border to the south.
To do this, I’m going to get back into using Runkeeper while adding stationary cycling to my gym visits. When it gets warmer, I’ll also start riding my bike to the gym instead of driving. It’s only half a mile up the road, but it’s uphill. So, it’s still a bit of a challenge for my out-of-shape body.
Riding across Colorado is only part of why I want to get back to the gym. As I said earlier, lifting weights impacts physical sports. I’ve already noticed a 20-yard difference in my drive while golfing compared to what it was five years ago, and I am inconsistent with working out. Imagine what I can do by the beginning of summer if I maintain a solid gym routine.
Competing with Yourself
I’ve said it hundreds of times; you’re only in competition with yourself. It doesn’t matter what anyone else can do or how quickly they can lose weight. All that truly matters is how you progress into the best version of yourself. This is true whether it’s health and fitness or when writing a book.
It all comes down to how you adapt and make changes to improve on your past.
Sure, it’s OK to idolize someone or feel inspired by the achievements of others. Just don’t pit yourself against what they can manage. Comparison is the thief of joy, meaning comparing yourself to others can cause you to discredit your personal achievements. Instead of feeling proud of what you have done, you may dwell on not being as good as someone else.
When setting up your own fitness goals for 2026, consider creating challenges and objectives based on your own physical prowess, needs, and wants. Be realistic with yourself and your lifestyle. You might not have six hours per day to spend at the gym to become a bodybuilder on Instagram. Surpass your own limitations, not those set by others.
And always remember that any victory is still a victory, regardless of size. If you’re able to crank out one more push-up this month than you did last month, celebrate it! You just began your journey of becoming the best version of yourself from a physical standpoint.
Let’s Make Fitness Goals in 2026 a Priority
Part of why I’ve been slacking so much lately is because of the sheer volume of stuff that’s on my plate. Throughout the day, I just don’t make my health as much of a priority as I should. The closer I get to 50, the more anxious I feel about aging like a melted piece of chocolate on a sidewalk.
This year, I’m going to put more thought into my health and make myself a priority over everything else. Because if something happens to me, not only would the household be screwed, but so would my clients.
How do I make myself more of a priority? Well, scheduling regular workouts and paying closer attention to my intake would be a good start. Maintain those scheduled times and foods, no matter what happens.
Let’s see what we can do for fitness in 2026. I’m going all in, and for me, the clock is ticking.
About Author
