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Winning Goal Setting Strategy In Calisthenics
In calisthenics there’s many cool skills you’d like to learn and it's easy to become too excited. And the risk with this excitement is that you want to do them all at once…
But to reach your goals, it’s usually more beneficial to structure your goals in a SMARTER way, which this blog post will teach you to do, no matter if you’ve just started calisthenics or just won the world championships.
Set your goals SMART and you’ll actually reach them, and you’ll reach them FASTER.
Why Set Goals?
First off, why should you set goals in the first place?
Setting goals is important to keep your motivation high and direct your actions in the direction you want.
The type of goal you have will affect whether your motivation is driven by external or internal factors, as well as how strong your motivation is. Therefore, the type of goal is also important in achieving the goals you want.
Different Type of Goals
Long-term & Short-term Goals
To maintain motivation over a longer period, it is important to set both short-term and long-term goals.
Short-term goals can be seen as stepping stones toward the ultimate long-term goals and are designed to provide more frequent rewards that trigger motivation to keep moving toward the long-term goal. They can also boost self-confidence, which can have a positive impact on training and training outcomes.
Long-term goals are larger and span a longer period of time. While short-term goals are mainly meant to provide motivation along the way, long-term goals are what you truly aim to achieve.
The duration of the different goals can vary greatly depending on how long it is expected to take to reach your long-term goal. If your long-term goal is several years ahead, you may need short-term goals spanning months and medium-term goals spanning entire years.
Outcome Goals, Performance Goals & Process Goals
In addition to different goal durations, it is also important to have different types of goals. Here, people usually talk about outcome goals, performance goals, and process goals.
Outcome goals are goals that can be directly compared to others to determine whether your performance is better, worse, or equal. An example of an outcome goal could be stepping onto the podium at the World Championships or earning the most statics points in Freestyle.
Performance goals focus more on your own performance now and in the past. These are also comparable, but unlike outcome goals, they are based solely on yourself. An example of a performance goal could be achieving a lower time in a Strength Endurance routine than the previous year or learning a new trick.
Process goals are also based on yourself but do not directly focus on performance. Instead, they focus on execution and the experience, such as feeling a good flow during a performance. However, process goals can lead to better performance. An example of a process goal could be maintaining a good flow during your Freestyle routine in a competition or minimizing no-reps in Strength Endurance.
Why have different types of goals?
The advantage of performance and process goals is that you can succeed with them regardless of how your competitors perform. Focusing only on outcome goals has been shown to increase worry, anxiety, and other performance-impairing feelings during competition, so it can therefore be beneficial to use all three types of goals.
Another approach is to focus mainly on performance and process goals close to a competition, and on outcome goals during the off-season training. It is worth noting, however, that this naturally varies from person to person. Perhaps outcome-based goals do not affect you during a competition? This is why it is good to experiment and find what works best for you - like with most things in life.
SMART GOALS
So how do you, in practicality, set sustainable goals that enhances your progress?
This framework helps you set goals that you’ll actually achieve - faster than anyone else.
S - Specifik
M - Measurable
A - Attractive
R - Realistic
T - Time specific
Let's go through them one by one:
Specific goals – Your goals should be clearly defined and well-bounded, as this makes them easier to evaluate and helps maintain motivation over time. Motivation is more focused when there are fewer goals.
Measurable goals – Quantify your goals, as this makes it easier to determine whether they have been achieved. Include specifics such as time, number of reps, sets, etc. For example, “hold a front lever for 3 seconds” instead of “learn the front lever.”
Attractive – Choose goals that you feel excited and motivated to achieve - ones that make you eager just thinking about them. Goals that make you jump out of bed every morning!
Realistic goals – Set high goals, but not too high, as unrealistic goals can negatively affect motivation. They should be challenging and stimulating, yet achievable.
Time-specific & time-efficient – Set short-term, medium-term, and long-term goals, along with deadlines for when these sub-goals and final goals should be reached. This motivates you to work efficiently toward your goals and stay focused solely on achieving them.
We hope you’ve learned something new that you can take into your own training to grow and develop even further!
Good luck with reaching your new goals!
Best wishes from team PROVITY⚡️
