How to Set SMART Goals for Strength Training
So, you want to get stronger?
Great.
There’s only one problem. That goal, in and of itself, is not clear enough to provide you with a concrete direction for your training.
What does “stronger” mean? What exercises must be done in order to achieve that word? How do you know when you’ve made it? Will you ever make it? And how do you design your workouts, your day, and your routines around that goal?
In theory, it sounds nice, but point blank: It’s simply too vague. Words like “stronger,” “bigger,” and “healthier” carry absolutely no meaning because everyone’s baseline is monumentally different.
Goals are the backbone of any fitness enthusiast’s routine. They give meaning to the rather arbitrary act of working out. For weightlifters, they provide benchmarks of success for which to keep striving.
The key to writing great goals? Make them SMART.
S - specific
M - measurable
A - attainable
R - realistic
T - timely
And while I do want to preface the rest of this post with the disclaimer that goals are not the only thing needed in order to enjoy a life filled with movement, they most certainly serve as a motivator and inspire accountability.
I recently participated in my first weightlifting competition and goals - specifically SMART goals - were a huge part of my success. I want to share the wealth (and show you an example of a very popular goal for my TL Method team members: push-ups).
Your goals should be specific.
I’ve always liked the saying, “Respect the process.” The specificity of your goal allows for all the stuff in the middle to add up to your final product.
Let’s go back to the word “stronger.” What part of your body do you want to be stronger? What do you want that part of your body to be able to do? Would you like to increase your squat? Would you like to run a 5K? Would you like to walk the ten flights of stairs up to your apartment building without having to take a break?
What exactly do you want to be able to do?
Example: I want to be able to do ten unmodified push-ups.
Which brings me to my next point: Make your goals measurable.
Measurements allow you to track your progress. The ability to track your progress keeps you motivated. It also allows for you to study what is - and what is not - working in your efforts to achieve the specific goal.
For this reason, attempt to make your goals as quantitative as possible (meaning, make sure they can be measured numerically). If you want to increase your squat, what’s the magic number? If you want to run a 5K, how fast?
If your goal is more qualitative, like making it up the ten flights of stairs to your apartment, is the only measurement there to not take a break? Do you want to get faster? Do you want to be able to conquer this task multiple times in one day?
Going back to our push-up example, the measurement there is clearly ten.
This month, I competed in my very first powerlifting competition. I set A LOT of SMART goals back in October, at the onset of my training. I didn’t achieve all of them this go-around, but I watched A LOT of women reach their own, and I was reminded of my mantra to always “respect the process.”
The next thing we want to ensure is that the goal is attainable.
Can a human physically attain this goal?
Running a 5K in 15 minutes is reserved for most of the world’s elites. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but most of us, we are not them.
Our bodies are all unique, and that uniqueness means that we are designed to perform in certain ways.
So, stay realistic.
If the goal is attainable, then can you physically attain this goal?
Be honest.
And this is where goal-setting gets really tricky.
Because goals are designed to push you. They should be just beyond your reach, something to work toward, something that feels hard to achieve. But they shouldn’t be impossible. And there is such a thing as impossible (going back to the whole attainable thing).
If you can’t currently do a single modified push-up, setting a goal of ten unmodified push-ups in a row isn’t realistic. Right now. It’s not realistic right now.
It’s perfectly okay to make your goal be one single unmodified push-up. The beauty of being real is that you reach the goal and then set another goal that pushes you beyond your previous limitations.
Finally, make them timely.
Without a timeframe, the accountability kind of goes out the window. A time limit is the driving force to make yourself uncomfortable. It’s the voice in your head telling you that you can try to do just one more - especially when it hurts - if only for the sake of hitting that target by your deadline.
So, the short-term goal may be to do one unmodified push-up in a week. The long-term goal may be to ten in a month.
It’s good to concentrate on both categories because the baby goals get you to the big ones.
The new year is upon us and maybe you’re thinking of laying out some new goals. Awesome, I encourage you to make them SMART (shameless plug: if you’re really struggling with goal setting, I offer a small-group intensive course every quarter called The Academy, and it’s the perfect place to work on your approach and execution).
I also encourage you to remember that they are not permanent. Again, goals are a great motivator, but it’s important to give yourself grace.
The perfectionist in me used to die a little inside when I wasn’t making my targets (especially as a young track athlete), and the ripple effect of an unmet goal should not be our own mental destruction.
Newsflash. We should not meet all of our goals.
If you’re a person who so happens to have met all of them, I’m here to tell you that you’re not shooting high enough.
I mentioned recently attending my first weightlifting competition. I set a lot of PR goals - all specific and measurable and realistic - that would ultimately lead to my overall victory.
I didn’t win. Because I didn’t reach all of my goals.
And that’s okay.
Because as corny as it is to say that “It’s all about the journey, not the destination,” it’s all about the journey and not the destination.