Training goals can be helpful, but equally, they can be detrimental to progress and motivation. It all depends on the person setting the goal.

At first, it can be hard even to know what is a good goal to set, so people often dream up goals based on what they think they should do vs what they actually want to achieve or the goals are just too vague. For example, getting your first chin-up is a good goal, but that could take a year, depending on your start point. Three months down the line, when you still feel quite far off, this goal works against you as far as motivation.

One of the great things about doing a structured plan where you repeat the same workouts is getting into the habit of weekly wins. A slight increase in load, an extra rep on a given weight, a faster time on your run or row. These weekly wins are a great way to look at progress overall. 

Then, within the above framework, a more short-term goal might become clearer. For example, if you get to 72kgs on your hip thrust, you might set a goal of being able to do 80 kgs. That sort of goal is excellent, it’s totally aligned with what you are doing.

A word of caution; I’ve seen many people set these sorts of goals. 100kg back squat or a sub 27min 5k. These could be done following the above “within workout” structure but what if you are right up on your limit already. Every increase becomes marginal and takes longer and longer to achieve or the goal gets you to the point you start going much faster than your body can cope with or your technique can handle.

There is an art to goal setting. For some people, they are a fantastic way to get focused but for others, they can be problematic. Don’t be afraid to be quite fluid with a goal. Don’t be dogmatic if you feel like it’s not helping your training. Instead, have simple goals like a monthly adherence target or a weekly step count target. Things that are not going to affect your mood or motivation negatively. 

The better you understand your internal response to goal setting, the better you will be able to set goals ongoing. And don’t worry, you don’t HAVE to set goals. Weekly wins are a great place to focus your attention. 

Stay tuned next week for another instalment of Master the Basics and don’t forget to follow me on Instagram where I share exercise techniques, and show you how to maximise your training. I hope you enjoyed this blog post, if you have any questions I host a weekly Sunday Q&A session on my Instagram channel. Otherwise, please feel free to email me at andy@andyvincentpt.com. 

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