The 'Hows' of Goal Setting

Mike Patton MKin

CSEP Certified Exercise Physiologist

You've seen plenty of 'Goal Setting' articles before, I'm sure. Everyone is quick to use the SMART acronym (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-Framed) when describing how to do it properly, but very few people write about HOW to measure goals or what measurement tools are available. The first and most important tool is a training log. The second is a powermeter. I'll explain why.

A training log in its simplest form is a record of each individual training session. Much more sophisticated training logs exist, and can do wonderful things in terms of showing you patterns that develop in your training. They can quickly answer questions like "why did I perform the way I did in my last race?" and "what did I do last year that worked, and what didn't?" One tool we use at TCR Sport Lab is called TrainingPeaks. It is a web-based training log system that we use to deliver training programs to our athletes, but our athletes really benefit because they can see how they are progressing on a day-to-day and year-to-year basis. TrainingPeaks is also extremely powerful because it can integrate and compile enormous amounts of data from the variety of gadgets that people now use for training. Then, it can distill that data down to key variables that help athletes and coaches alike understand the training the athletes are doing. All this makes setting measurable goals that much easier, because you can look at your training log and SEE where you're at, every day.

I also mentioned that a powermeter is an important tool for setting measurable goals. Powermeters can exist in a variety of forms, but the key is that progress is immediately obvious when using one. Some people are lucky enough to afford a powermeter that they can install on their bicycle (e.g. Quarq or SRM), but most people can benefit from a powermeter by going to a physiology lab such as ours for periodic testing. Our lab has a Velotron cycling ergometer, which is essentially a very accurate powermeter. We use this powermeter most often with our Metabolic Cart for VO2max testing, which provides information about your VO2max (the gold-standard measure of fitness) as well as your individual training zones. This testing is important because it not only helps you see if your training has actually improved your fitness, but it can help refine your training so that you can be more time-effective in achieving your goals.

Hopefully now that you are aware of some tools you can use to help measure progress and success, you can be one step closer to effective goal setting. Good luck!

Your next big goal can be a great experience....if you are ready. For more information on training, testing and coaching, please visit: www.tcrsportlab.com