Setting Training Goals That Actually Stick
Updated: 23 hours ago
"I want to get better at everything." I hear some version of that sentence in almost every first conversation with a new athlete. Stronger squat, faster engine, first handstand walk, better at long workouts, maybe lose a little body fat along the way.
I smile when I hear it, because I said the same thing when I found CrossFit. Coming from swimming and volleyball, I felt fit, and I wanted every new skill at once. I chased all of them for months and got a little better at a lot of things and good at none of them.
There's nothing wrong with wanting it all. The problem is that a goal list that long isn't a goal at all. It gives you no way to decide what to do on a Tuesday when you have forty-five minutes and a tired body. And goals that can't guide a Tuesday usually fade by the end of the month.
So when I sit down with an athlete, we work through a short worksheet. It takes about twenty minutes with a pen and paper. Here are the steps.
IN THIS ARTICLE
Step One: Choose the One Goal That Leads
Write down everything you want to improve. All of it. Then pick one to lead for the next training block. Not forever, just for the next few months.
How do you choose? Ask which improvement would make the biggest difference to your training or enjoyment right now. Often it's the thing that limits you most in workouts: the gymnastics skill that forces you to scale, the engine that fades after ten minutes, the lift that holds back your barbell work. Sometimes it's simply the thing that excites you most, and that counts too. Motivation is a training variable.
Leading doesn't mean ignoring everything else. Your classes will keep you practicing a broad range of skills. It just means that when you have to prioritize extra work, energy and attention, this goal wins.
Step Two: Make It Measurable, Then Find Your Starting Point
"Better engine" is a wish. "Improve my 2K row from 8:10 to under 7:55" is a goal. "Get my first strict handstand push-up" is a goal. "Hold a 20-meter unbroken handstand walk" is a goal.
Write your goal so that anyone could look at it and tell whether you achieved it. Then record your starting point with a test done under repeatable conditions. Without a baseline, you can't judge progress and you can't set a realistic target.
For a rowing goal, that means a fresh 2K on the same machine and damper setting you'll retest on. For a skill goal, film your current best attempt from the side. That video becomes a surprisingly motivating reference point a few months later, when the difference is obvious on screen. I still have old clips of my own early handstand walks, and watching them next to newer ones reminds me how much patient practice adds up.
Be realistic about size. A sensible goal stretches you but is achievable in the time you have with consistent work. If you have no idea what's realistic, a coach can help calibrate it based on your training history.
My goals have changed with every season of my life. As a young swimmer it was a faster time. In volleyball it was a stronger approach jump. In CrossFit it was skills, then competing, and now Grid League has given me goals I never would have picked a few years ago. None of those goals were wrong. They fit the season I was in. Before you choose yours, be clear about which season you're in right now.
Step Three: Set a Timeframe and Checkpoints
Give the goal a timeframe, usually somewhere between eight and sixteen weeks for most strength, skill and conditioning goals. Shorter and there isn't enough time for meaningful adaptation. Longer and it becomes easy to drift.
Then set one or two checkpoints along the way, such as a retest at the halfway mark. Checkpoints turn a distant target into something you can see moving, and they tell you early if the plan needs to change.
Coach's cue: One goal. One plan. Then show up for the plan.
Step Four: Turn the Outcome Into Weekly Actions
This is the step most people skip, and it's the reason most goals don't stick. An outcome goal, like a faster 2K row, is something you don't directly control. What you do control is your behavior each week. So translate the goal into two or three process goals: specific actions you'll take every week.
For the rowing goal, that might be one steady aerobic row of 30 to 40 minutes, one threshold interval session and two short technique drills at the start of class warm-ups. For a handstand push-up goal, it could be three short strength sessions per week focused on pike and wall-facing progressions. The key is that each process goal is concrete and fits your actual schedule.
At the end of each week, ask one question: did I do the actions? If yes, you're on track even if the outcome hasn't moved yet. If no, that's the problem to solve, not a lack of motivation. The athletes I coach who ask themselves this every Sunday are the ones I rarely have to worry about.
Step Five: Plan for the Obstacles
Every goal runs into obstacles: a busy week at work, a sick child, travel, a minor injury, a bad sleep patch. The athletes whose goals stick are the ones who planned for this in advance. On your worksheet, write down the two or three obstacles most likely to interrupt your plan, and next to each one, write your response.
For example: if I miss a session, I do the most important one of the week, not all of them. If I travel, I do a 20-minute bodyweight session and a run. If something hurts in a sharp or persistent way, I modify the plan and see a physiotherapist or doctor instead of pushing through.
These simple if-then plans remove decisions from the moment when you're least equipped to make them. I use them myself. On a week when work piles up, I don't have to think about what to cut. I already decided, back when I had a clear head.
Your One-Page Worksheet
When you finish, you should have a single page with the following:
Your leading goal, written in measurable terms.
Your starting point and the date you tested it.
Your target date and one or two checkpoints.
Two or three weekly process goals.
Your if-then plans for likely obstacles.
One sentence on why this goal matters to you.
Put it somewhere you'll see it often. Review it every week, and log whether you completed your process goals.
When the Block Ends
At the end of the timeframe, retest. Whether you hit the target or not, you'll have learned a lot about what works for you. If you achieved it, choose the next leading goal. If you fell short, look at your process goals. Did you complete them? If you did and progress was slow, the plan needs adjusting. If you didn't, the plan needs to fit your life better.
Either way, keep showing up. Goals stick because they're built into a plan you can follow, not because of willpower alone. If you'd like help designing that plan around your schedule and your priorities, explore ATHLETESPHERE coaching. Individual coaching gives you personalized weekly programming, video feedback and a monthly progress review, so your goal has a clear path from worksheet to reality.
Your turn. Tried this? Tell me how it went in the comments below. I read every one, and your questions help shape what I write next. If it helped, tap the heart so it reaches more athletes.
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Further reading: National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA)
Coach Fritz Bautista · Head Coach, ATHLETESPHERE
CrossFit Level 2 Trainer (CF-L2) ✓ · CrossFit Programming Certificate · MBA · Digital Marketing Certified · Coaching athletes from all walks of life online
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