Goal Setting and It’s Importance
I am slowly obtaining a bachelor of science in Kinesiology one course at time. Every 8 weeks I start a new university course. Currently I am in the middle of sport and exercise psychology. It’s been a fascinating subject. For one of my assignments, I researched goal setting and its importance. I thought to share my findings below. I apologize ahead for my formal writing style, is how I need to write for my research papers :)
Goal setting has been around for a long time and has been extensively studied (Weinberg & Gould, 2019). Many studies show that goal setting has a consistent and powerful effect on behaviour regardless of age and for what sport and exercise activity (Weinberg & Gould, 2019). A literature review demonstrated that 80% of goal setting within sport and exercise produced moderate to strong effects (Weinberg & Gould, 2019). Results indicate that specific goals that have short term and long term aspects and are moderate to very challenging are connected with better performances (Weinberg & Gould, 2019). Goal setting can be very powerful, but it needs to be implemented correctly (Weinberg & Gould, 2019).
Specific goals influence behaviour change more effectively than non-specific goals or no goals (Weinberg & Gould, 2019). It’s important that the goals be specific and measurable, not vague or undefined (Weinberg & Gould, 2019). Another important factor is that goals need to be realistic, the outcome needs to be achievable with hard work. There is a fine line between a goal being perceived as too difficult which leads to a feeling of helplessness or too easy where a person isn’t challenged and becomes bored (Weinberg & Gould, 2019). Personal trainers and strength and conditioning specialists are in a special position to help guide their clients to create meaningful and effective goals. They have the ability to connect and motivate their clients which could potentially increase exercise success (Jackson, 2010).
Self-efficacy is an important determinant of someone’s behaviour and has been positively correlated with increased exercise adherence, as well as, increased health levels and achievement of specific personal fitness goals (Jackson, 2010). The important strategies to increase self-efficacy within exercisers is through planned mastery experiences, being around others who can model healthy behaviour, social persuasion, and experiencing the increased mood benefits from the consistency of exercise (Jackson, 2010).
I have had the privilege to witness clients start to “own” their workouts after finally believing that they can achieve their health and fitness goals. Through purposeful self-mastery techniques, I have planned the appropriate exercise over a period of several weeks where clients can achieve their perceived challenging exercise. I love this aspect of my career!
Proper goal setting techniques are powerful tools to improve task performance, which is crucial during the initial phase of an exercise program (Jackson, 2010). A large road block to overcome for many is knowing how effective specific goals can be. This misguided belief is a common obstacle to formal goal setting in individuals (Weinberg & Gould, 2019). Notions that goal setting takes too much time, people’s previous failed experience with setting goals, fear of embarrassment if they don’t reach their goal, and feelings that the goal is too structured are major setbacks (Weinberg & Gould, 2019). Continual education on goal setting benefits is key. And knowing we can’t expect perfection (that doesn’t exist!), we are striving for progress.
Remember SMART? My textbook has added another S to make: SMARTS
S: specific. Goals should indicate precisely what is to be accomplished or achieved.
M: measurable. Goals should be quantifiable.
A: action oriented. Goals should indicate something that needs to be done with specific action steps to achieve the stated goals.
R: realistic. Goals should be achievable given various constraints.
T: timely. Goals should be achievable in a reasonable amount of time. Have variety of short term goals (4-6 weeks) and long term goals (1-5 years).
S: self-determined. Goals should be set by, or with input from, the participant.
Need help setting SMARTS goals? Send me an email asking for my handy step by step guide I use for my studio clients.
References
Jackson, D. (2010). How personal trainers can use self-efficacy theory to enhance exercise behavior in beginning exercisers. Strength & Conditioning Journal, 32(3), 67–71. https://doi.org/10.1519/SSC.0b013e3181d81c10
Weinberg, R. S., & Gould, D. (2019). Foundations of sport and exercise psychology (Seventh edition). Human Kinetics.
