Goal Setting

If you want to achieve anything significant in life then it pays to have goals and a plan on how to achieve them. Without written goals it is easy to get waylaid by life and without a plan you will meander along aimlessly and achieve very little.

There are hundreds of books out there on goal setting and motivation and if you have the time I suggest you find one you like and study it carefully. In this article I am not going to try and write one of those books I am just going to get down and dirty with a simple plan of attack for focusing your training so you can get stuck into achieving results. I will even provide a real life example based on my own goals.

So here it is our down and dirty goal setting checklist.

1. Do some blue sky dreaming – By that I mean you should allow yourself to imagine that anything is possible and write down a bunch of goals that may seem a bit far out. A good guide is that if you would be embarrassed to show them to your buddy for fear of mockery then the goals are probably ambitious enough. For instance if you compete in D grade sport you might write down that you want to represent Australia.

Personally I would like to achieve the following this year

Compete at strongman nationals in November
Clean and jerk 130kg, snatch 100kg
Squat 180kg, Deadlift 230kg
Master the muscle-up and handstand pushups
Row 2000m in 6:45

2. Apply some reality – Once you have your list of goals you need to sort through them and ask yourself the following questions.

• Is it realistic for me to achieve this goal
• When do I want to achieve this goal
• Do I have the resources
• Does one goal conflict with the others
• Can I set intermediate goals to check my progress
• Will I need help achieving my goals and where can I get it
• Do I REALLY want it

A quick reality check shows that competing at strongman nationals is feasible, but some of the other goals are going to have to go to make way for the training required to get there. The rowing and gymnastics stuff is certainly going to take the hit and the numbers for the clean and jerk and snatch are probably just out of reach considering my current level of experience with Olympic lifting.

3. At this stage you may decide that some of your goals are simply not practical given your work commitments, athletic experience or clashes with other goals. Modify and shortlist your goals and try to get down to no more than 1-2 main goals and some supporting goals.

Revised goal list

• Main Goal 1 - Compete at strongman nationals
• Main Goal 2 - Clean and jerk 110kg and snatch 90kg
• Squat 160kg
• Deadlift 230kg


4. Once you have a short list of focused goals you can start planning on how to achieve them. You may need to get a coach, buy extra equipment or reschedule things in your life to make time for training.

In my case I know I need to focus for the next couple of months on the qualification events for strongman nationals and I have written a detailed 8 week plan to address those events.

5. The last step is perhaps the most important. Type up your goals and print them out in big bold font. Stick a copy on your door, your fridge, your dog and your gym wall.

You need a constant reminder of what you are aiming for or one day you willl see an ab machine on TV and decide to ditch your focused training for the promised land of rippling abs. My goals are on the wall in front of my squat racks so that whenever I am suffering through heavy squats I am reminded of why I am doing it and how badly I want to achieve those goals.

Finally once you have set your goals and started working on them take the time every week to review your progress and modify your plan and goals if necessary. Just make sure you keep your eye on the big picture and keep heading towards what you REALLY want out of life.

Next time I will address the role of competition in keeping you motivated and traveling towards your goals.