Setting Fitness Goals, Then Make Them Work!

Setting Fitness Goals? Running your first marathon for that special charity? Entered a ‘Try a Tri’? Signed up for a long distance bike ride?  These are the kinds of events that often get us motivated to really get focused on getting fit and organizing our training.  You choose your event, get registered, mark it on the calendar and then think, what now?

Training for a specific one-off event – whatever your level – is called ‘reverse training’.  You set a date, and design your program backwards.  Makes sense?  Well, yes and no.

Make Your Fitness Goal Achievable

The problem is you aren’t starting from your current level of fitness.  You’re starting from where you think you need to be to achieve your goal.  And frankly, that may not be where you really are!  It’s easy with reverse training to visualize yourself achieving something that’s beyond your capabilities in the time you have – and an unachievable goal is a recipe for disappointment.

Set Your Fitness Goal And Plan Backwards To Create Your Training Plan

Set Your Fitness Goal And Plan Backwards To Create Your Training Plan

The most important thing to remember when you are designing a reverse training plan is to be realistic about what you can achieve.  If  your first marathon is in three months, and you’ve never run more than a 10K, don’t set out for a sub 3:30 time.  Aim to finish, even if it means walking some, and build your fitness program accordingly.  If it’s your first triathlon, and you aren’t a strong swimmer, don’t build a program that has you swimming 3000m tomorrow morning.

The same goes for experienced athletes –especially if you are coming off an injury or a rest period.  It’s easy to overestimate what you can do, especially when motivation is high.  You see yourself at your best, remember yourself in peak form, and forget that you need to build your program in small steps.  The fastest way to lose that motivation is to look at a training plan week after week where you haven’t met your goals.  Keep it realistic, and it will work.

Add Some Variety To Your Training Goals

That’s not to say that reverse training doesn’t have benefits.  You are focused on a single outcome – all your training is designed to support that one event or activity, and that will help to narrow and define your training program.  But when you do that, don’t forget to think ahead – are you really only going to run 10Ks this summer? Or do you think you might want to try a mountain bike race too?

If you focus too much on one activity, you may find you don’t have the skills or fitness for something else that comes along and takes your fancy.  It’s great to be determined and motivated to reach your goal, but a little variety in your program will keep you fresh, prevent injury, and allow you to try out something else if the mood takes you.

Allow For Some ‘Contingency Time’

Always allow plenty of ‘contingency time’.  Something is bound to come up – you may get sick, you may get injured.  You might need to go away for work, or move house, who knows?  If you have a training plan that will only work if you follow it religiously week after week, with no scope for a few days or even a week out here and there, you will put yourself under unnecessary pressure.  Make sure your plan allows for a few days every few weeks for you to miss training sessions without losing too much ground.  That way, you won’t feel you need to push yourself too hard if you aren’t feeling well or something comes up.

Remember To Include Some Goal Recovery Time

If you need a rest or a break, don’t miss out recovery weeks or easy sessions, and try to compress your hard sessions.  Just absorb your contingency time, and pick up where you left off.  This way, the worst outcome is you arrive on the big day most of the way through your program rather than all of the way, instead of not arriving at all because you’ve gotten injured or sick.

Finally, remember, it’s only one event.  You have a lifetime ahead of great achievements, and if this one doesn’t work out, or you miss it due to injury, illness, or just life’s little circumstances, it’s not the end of the world.  There’s always another event – pick yourself up, and start planning for the next one!

Picture Credit: Courtesy of MarathonFoto