We are now in the heat of summer and off-season base training for the upcoming year is probably still far from complete. As athletes put in copious amounts of distance work, what do they think about achieving in the upcoming year? What are their goals? It seems obvious that we need clear goals to dictate the purpose of training for the year, but some coaches and athletes never have objectives that are more specific than "get better", "run faster", or "get fitter". Goals such as these have not been shown to be effective, but setting goals in other ways may more strongly influence behavior. Goals that are more specific and challenging have been shown to increase effort put towards reaching the goal and can result in higher levels of persistence even after setbacks (Locke & Latham, 1990). Clearly defined short term goals also allow for the constant monitoring of progress, and individuals can adjust their behavior if they are not accomplishing those short term goals that would ultimately lead to reaching a long term goal (Gill & Williams, 2008). In short, goals have been shown to increase motivation and help individuals focus their attention, but many individuals do not set goals as effectively as possible.

  So now that you know why goals are important, what guidelines should you follow to actually set your objectives? Extensive research on goal characteristics has been done in a variety of domains (sport, business, academics) and several components have been shown to be integral parts of effective goals that impact behavior. First, goals should be specific and measurable so that athletes and coaches can get a clear idea of what they hope to achieve and how to go about reaching that goal. Specific and measurable goals allow for better evaluation of a training segment or season after completion (Weinberg, 2002). Research has also indicated that specific and challenging goals help facilitate improved performance more than unclear or easy goals, such as "run hard" (Locke & Latham, 1990). It is also effective to write down goals and tell others about the goal to increase commitment and accountability (Weinberg, 2002). Goals should also be attainable but moderately challenging so the athlete or coach can be motivated by the goals. If the goal is too easy or does not make the athlete excited and even a bit nervous, the athlete may struggle to find the motivation to push through the challenging physical training and the other hardships they will inevitably face. But athletes also need to have the opportunity to experience success to continue to stay motivated and progress, and if they goal is overly challenging the athlete may never experience this taste of success and will lose interest (Burton & Weiss, 2008). It is also most effective to write goals positively, stating what needs to be accomplished rather than what should be avoided (Locke & Latham, 1990). For example, an athlete could say that they want to "run six days per week" rather than "avoid setbacks". Athletes and coaches should also set both short-term and long-term goals to maximize motivation and allow for the most accurate monitoring of success and progress. The short-term goals should generally be geared to helping an individual achieve a long-term goal (Gill & Williams, 2008).

`We can use an example to help illustrate how athletes or their coaches can write goals using these principles. Say that it is July and Tim has a  17:00 cross country 5k PR and Tim sets a goal to "run 16:30 before the conference meet on October 20th". This would be a good season goal for Tim since it is specific and measurable and it will be very clear to Tim and his coach at the end of the season if Tim achieved this goal. Let's also pretend that Tim and his coach are rational in assessing Tim's inherent ability and prior training and therefore believe that 16:30 is a realistic time for Tim to run if he builds a more consistent aerobic mileage base than he had the summer prior to when he ran 17:00 at the conference meet. Thus, this goal is also attainable and realistic based on Tim's ability and the time frame for reaching the goal. Now, Tim should also set some short-term support goals that will help him achieve his goal of running 16:30 this year. Since Tim and his coach believe that more consistent mileage will be key in helping Tim improve, a very short term goal might be to "run 30 miles this week" or "run 6 days this week". A longer term goal could be to "accumulate 700 miles of training over the summer". Notice that these goals are process-oriented and focus on achieving what Tim needs to do to reach his ultimate goal of running 16:30, which is an outcome goal. Individuals can largely control if they reach process goals, but could do everything right and still not reach outcome goals. So Tim can certainly choose to put in the mileage during the summer, but he still may not necessarily run 16:30 even if he does all the training. Intermediate goals, such as "running 17:00 at the second meet of the season", can also serve as checkpoints to mark how close Tim is to achieving his primary goal.

  I hope that you summer training or your life in general is going the way you always hoped that it would. But if you are lacking motivation or direction, setting realistic goals may be the key to helping you get back on track. In sum, pick an attainable goal and set intermediate goals that will lead to the ultimate goal. Create challenging process goals and do not necessarily worry about the outcome at all times. You won't be able to control the talent level of your competition or your number of setbacks, but like the great golfer Gary Player famously said, "The harder you work, the luckier you get." Focusing on process goals will put you in the position to achieve a desirable outcome. Finally set goals that are clear, measurable, and attainable based on your current performances and potential. Now you should be set to go after those goals and get one step closer to achieving your ultimate dreams.

Let us know your current goals and how you have achieved past goals in the thread below. I hope your words inspire us all.

I can be reached for comment at bryanloy@ymail.com

References

Burton, D., & Naylor, S. (2002). The Jekyll/Hyde nature of goals: Revisiting and updating goal setting in sport. In T.S. Horn (Ed.)

Advances in sport psychology (2nd ed., pp. 459-499). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

 

Gill, D.L., & Williams, L. (2008). Psychological dynamics of sport  and exercise(3^rd ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

 

Locke, E.A., & Latham, G.P. (1990). A theory of goal setting and task performance. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

 

Weinberg, R. (2002). Goal setting in sport and exercise: Research to practice. In J.L. Van Raalte and B.W. Brewer (Eds.), 

Exploring sport and exercise psychology (2nd ed., pp. 25-48). Washington, DC: APA.