Setting Training Goals

I am a goal setter by nature, sometimes obsessively so, and find that my strength training goals can get me in trouble. There are positive intrinsic goals that keep me motivated and enjoying my workouts as opposed to achievement-oriented measurement goals that keep me obsessing about progress and feeling like a failure when I don't make personal records. After the initial 6 to 12 months when progression comes relatively easily to all beginners, we need to set goals that will keep us motivated and strong for the long haul.

Some of my helpful goals are:

to resistance train until I am ancient for the sake of physical and emotional health
to perfect exercise form so that I can work safely and efficiently--and accomplish my first goal
to enjoy every training session, whether I set personal records or not
to keep learning about the health benefits of resistance training and nutrition for myself and others
to appreciate the power of my body to heal after illness or injury
to appreciate that, despite my graying hair, my body looks and feels better in many ways at 56 than it did at 36
to appreciate that I enjoy my good health habits, and eating well and exercising are a pleasure, not a discipline to endure
to appreciate the sense of alive and awake vitality I feel since I started strength training
to appreciate how amazingly strong I've become for the daily tasks of life--carrying the groceries, lifting up a piece of furniture, digging a hole to plant a new tree, or helping move a wood stove

Then there are less helpful goals built on extrinsic measurement of progress and expected future performance. We do need goals in all aspects of life, but if I get too fixed on these outer goals, they often result in disappointment and frustration. Examples of unhelpful goals are:

to handle a specific weight by a specific date (if I make my target, I'm thrilled, but if I don't make it, I am discouraged and irritated)
to be in a hurry to accomplish what should be lifetime goals
to obsess about what I think I ought to be able to do, especially in the deadlift (trap bar) or squat where I make slow progress
to obsess about what I lack rather than the enormous progress that I've made in the last 2 1/2 years

I am working to transform my goal setting energy into something that will be stimulating and motivating rather than discouraging. I work (not always successfully) to transform a drive for specific goals, such as "I'm going to dip my body weight for ten reps by a specific date," into something more open ended and positive. So, I say to myself, "I want to dip my body weight sometime in the near future. I think it's a realistic goal and I hope it can be achieved, but each time I dip, I can only do my best to inch toward the goal. I'll just dip the best I can today and enjoy the energy it brings to my arms, shoulders, chest, and back."

To implement all this in the gym, I have a general strategy to slowly add weight or reps without form cheating, while avoiding rigid progression goals. I plan my workouts carefully, knowing ahead of time what I will do and in what order. I stay with the same rep/set/routine plan for many months to see how my body responds, although if I'm stalled or heading backwards for more than a few weeks in a row, I take a week off--at least on the difficult movement--and rethink my plan. I often opt for less weight and more reps or a variation on the movement. I record results after each lifting session with a suggested strategy for adding weight, staying the same, or trying something new for the next time I do that exercise. I discipline myself to lower my intensity for better recovery, pushing hard on only a few compound or core exercises each workout. I like to push to the max on everything, but it makes me systemically exhausted and unable to recover completely for my next workout. It's far more fun for me to lift with moderately high intensity, moderate volume, and reasonable expectations so that training is a stress reducer rather than a stress maker.

My most helpful goal is to simply enjoy each session and be grateful for my strength, health, and all the great food I get to eat each day because I have a cooking metabolism.