Using Time Travel to Set Better Fitness Goals
Most people struggle with fitness goals not because they lack discipline, motivation, or effort.
They struggle because their goals are ambiguous.
They aim for outcomes without defining the decisions that create them. Then they wait for results to show up and judge themselves after the fact. When progress slows or life interferes, the conclusion is usually the same.
“This just didn’t work.”
That assumption is often wrong.
In Thinking in Bets, Annie Duke introduces a concept called time travel. It is a way to evaluate decisions without being fooled by outcomes.
It turns out this tool is exactly what most people are missing in health and fitness.
Why Most Fitness Goals Break Down
Common fitness goals sound like this:
Lose weight
Get stronger
Be more consistent
Feel better
These goals are not wrong, but they are incomplete.
They do not define:
What actions matter most
How progress is evaluated week to week
What success looks like when life gets busy
When results stall, people assume the plan failed or that they failed. In reality, they never removed the ambiguity.
What “Time Travel” Means for Fitness
In Chapter 7, Duke asks us to imagine traveling into the future and looking back on a decision without being blinded by the outcome.
Instead of asking:
“Did this work?”
We ask:
“Was this a reasonable decision based on what I knew and controlled at the time?”
That question changes everything.
Fitness outcomes are influenced by stress, sleep, illness, work schedules, and life events. Decisions are what you can control.
How to Use Time Travel to Set Better Fitness Goals
Step 1: Travel Forward 12 Weeks
Imagine yourself 12 weeks from now reviewing the process, not the mirror or the scale.
Ask:
What habits did I consistently follow?
What decisions held up during busy weeks?
What behaviors stayed intact when motivation dropped?
This reframes success around execution, not perfection.
Step 2: Assume Imperfect Results
Progress is rarely linear.
Assume:
Some weeks went well
Some weeks did not
Life got in the way more than once
Now ask:
“Would I still stand by the decisions I made?”
That is how you remove emotion from evaluation.
Step 3: Define Decisions, Not Outcomes
Instead of:
“I want to lose 20 pounds”
Try:
“For the next 12 weeks, I will train twice per week, walk an average of 7,000 steps per day, and eat protein at three meals per day.”
At the end of 12 weeks, you can clearly say whether you executed the plan. The outcome becomes data, not a verdict.
Why This Approach Works
When goals are defined as decisions:
Progress is visible before results show up
Setbacks become information, not failure
Consistency becomes measurable
You stop guessing and start learning.
Fitness becomes a series of reasonable bets that compound over time.
At Elevate Health & Performance, our job is not to promise certainty. Our job is to help you make better decisions with less ambiguity.
That means:
Clear expectations
Simple, sustainable behaviors
Progress you can evaluate even when life gets messy
Good training is not about perfect outcomes. It is about repeatable process.
Ready to Remove the Guesswork?
If you feel stuck, inconsistent, or unsure whether your current plan is actually working, the problem may not be effort.
It may be clarity.
👉 Book a No Sweat Intro at Elevate Health & Performance
We will help you define the right decisions for your current season, remove ambiguity, and build a plan you can actually evaluate.
Because progress should not feel like a guessing game.