Goal Setting

Setting goals is probably the most effective way to motivate one's self. Everyone has made goals for themselves at some point in their lives. "This year I'm going to hit the gym more often", "I'm going to do my best in the next 3 games", "I want to get Master of Sport". Ok. Can anyone see any problems with these goals? In this post, I will explain the general guidelines on how to set goals and how to follow through with them.



Basic rules of goal setting:

• Goals need to be SPECIFIC


• Goals need to be CHALLENGING, yet REALISTIC

I'd like to share one of my goals: achieve Master of Sport ranking in the LongCycle (in the 85kg weight class) at the World Kettlebell Lifting Championship at the end of August. I've established a specific time frame and a specific number of reps I'll need to do (minimum 64). Getting MS (Master of Sport) is definitely challenging, but given the time frame and my recent progress, it's realistic.

Now what?

1. Write them down. This serves as a reminder. Put it on your bathroom mirror. Put it as your desktop backround. My new training log for 2009 is actually a day planner. This will help keep me on track with my short-term goals (see #3).


2. Tell people your goals. This gives your goals a sense of urgency. Plus, now that you have told people, you know have an obligation to follow through.


3. Set short-term goals. This helps you to stay on track to accomplish your long-term goal. It helps to set the long-term goal first, then work your way back from there. It helps to keep a training log.


4. Reward yourself. When you accomplish a short-term goal, go ahead and eat out at your favorite restaurant.


5. When necessary, readjust goals. Recently I fractured a rib. It's caused me to put my training on hold, and hence, postpone my goal of Master of Sport to August as opposed to March at the Arnolds.

Remember, if you don't set goals, you'll never know if you've accomplished anything.

Short introduction

My name is Eric. I'm currently in my last year at University in Honors Life Science and working towards a CSCS diploma from the NSCA.

I've played a large number of sports growing up (everything from basketball to archery) but I never stuck with any of them longer than a few months. I guess you could have called me a "sampler". Recently I've been involved with a whole new sport: kettlebell lifting. A combination of Olympic weightlifting and running a marathon, as I like to describe it. For the first time in my life I KNOW that I will stick with this one.

Why have I started a blog? I have learned lots of things that some can find helpful to enhance their own training. What things, you ask? Tips on how to stay motivated, help with goal setting and how to get through a tough 10 minute set are just a couple of examples.

Feel free to comment and pose questions. Let's train.