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By Michael Scholtz, M.S., Best Life fitness expert

Setting realistic yet rewarding goals is a balancing act. For instance, a goal of walking 20 minutes, three times per week may be achievable, but may not feel like enough. And if you make your goal exciting, but too difficult, you may get discouraged before you even get started.

You can strike the perfect balance by getting SMART about your fitness goals. Whatever your aim, make sure it is:

Specific
Measurable
Action-based
Realistic and Rewarding
Time-based

Specific and measurable mean you can evaluate whether or not you have reached your goal by answering yes or no. Basically, you're making a concrete goal that you can't wiggle out of. Action-based means you can see yourself doing it. Realistic means you have the skills, knowledge, and tools to make it happen. As for rewarding, you should find it exciting and valuable. And time-based makes it closed-ended, so you can't continually delay the beginning or move the finish line.

Here are some examples of SMART goals:

• I will do a strength-training routine of five exercises, doing 10 - 12 reps with a challenging weight, on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 4:30 pm.

• I will walk for 40 minutes after work three days this week: Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.

• I will increase my time on the elliptical machine by five minutes, from 10 to 15 minutes, during each of my five aerobic exercise sessions this week, Monday through Friday.

• I will stretch for 10 minutes after each of my five cardio workouts this week, and complete at least two upper body and two lower body stretches.

• I will add two new exercises for my abdominals/lower back to my strength routine, which I will complete on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday this week.

Each of these goals are SMART because they address each of the five key characteristics. In comparison, look at some of these non-SMART goals:

• I want to feel better and tone up. (There is no baseline or way to measure progress, and the words 'want to' indicate a lack of certainty. Avoid using the words “want,” “try,” “may,” or “maybe.”)

• I will exercise 30 minutes per day. (It's not realistic to expect this will happen every day, plus, it's not well-defined what the 30 minutes will consist of, or when it will happen.)

• I will exercise more by getting up early. (There's no baseline.)

Now, you give it a shot: Write some SMART goals and post them where you can see them every day. Push yourself to try to meet them, and after a few weeks, evaluate how you did. Make changes where necessary. For example, if it became too easy, you can increase the intensity. If you still feel challenged, keep it the same. Too tough? Lower the bar a bit and try again if the goal is still important to you. But if you find out it's just not for you, trash it and try something else.

The point is to focus on your strengths and work on strategies to overcome your obstacles. For example, did you do cardio 30 minutes before work on the days you wanted? If so, you've discovered you're a morning person and this is your optimal time. Now, you can focus on the length, intensity, and duration of your workouts. If your goal was to work out during lunch and you struggled to keep that date because of work, evaluate what is behind the obstacles and how you can change your goal to overcome them. If your aerobic workouts don't give you much of a sweat, turn it up a notch. Can't make three days a week? Begin with two. You get the idea. When get SMART about your fitness goals, you'll be able to reach them much easier.