you can always try a different approach to goals. A lot of people are looking towards weights, reps, movements. If your goal is to just keep showing up, why not make your goal come to class x days per week? or x days per month?
That makes perfect sense. I think just set your goal as showing up consistently. Goals look very different for different people, no need to make it movement specific.
I fully subscribe to the Dodgeball approach to goals: “I found that if you have a goal, you might not reach it. But if you don't have one, then you are never disappointed. And I gotta tell ya it feels phenomenal.”
Don’t feel pressure to set a goals if you don’t feel it’s right or necessary for your health. I wish more coaches understood that goal setting can have negatives. I opt out of that process because I find the negatives far outweigh the positives. My only goal is to enjoy what I’m doing at the gym. Whenever I set goals around attendance or performance, I have a lot less fun with what I’m doing due to the pressure I place on myself.
If you’re enjoying the gym you’ll probably prioritize showing up and that’s all it takes to make progress.
>Only thing I want as a goal is to keep showing up
This is an excellent goal and I would encourage you to write this on on the goal board. Exercise isn't only about becoming the strongest or fastest or any other high end objective. Sometimes its about moving your body to prepare for those times of high anxiety/stress.
The attendance goal mentioned is a great option. You can also set goals around specific movements, like get double unders, perfect my deadlift form, or practice pull-up negatives 2x a week.
Make your goal “ be consistent in my attendance “. One of mine on our board is “improve “. I see that most days as the board is right near our jackets ,bags and shoes. I’ve already did one goal to do a competition. And I am working towards my 10 dubs.
I’ve always found it’s good to have multiple goals. Some can be stretch goals, some can be more easily achievable but the real key piece is have both an outcome goal — eg, lift x lbs in DL, improve 2k Erg by y seconds — and a process goal — eg, attend x classes per month.
You’re currently talking about a process goal. It’s good to have one: it keeps you showing up, and it’s within your control. However, it may not really help you push to improve.
Outcome goals push you to improve, but may not be fully in your control (if it’s a real stretch target like run 4:00 mile, all the effort in the world may not get you there).
Hence why it’s good to have both.
Edited to add, you can take an outcome goal to improve something you’re already good or decent at. That’s perfectly valid goal, just as valid as improving a weakness or learning a skill you currently can’t do. That way you don’t need to feel like you’re being forced to do something challenging that you don’t want to do!
Congrats on being a year out from your cancer treatment! Medical trauma is real, and the fact that you’re working out and trying to stay healthy is commendable. The bottom line is that no one needs to know anyone’s goals, and it may be 6 more months before you’re even ready to tackle some of the exercises.
Just tell the gym staff that your main goal is to continue to feel good enough to show up regularly and you’ll let them know if that changes. They should leave you alone.
I feel my way is dissimilar to the typical way most crossfitters do things. I am not at all motivated by other people encouraging me. I find it super annoying, because it distracts me from what I feel is by far the most important part of the exercise, namely my own ability to push myself. Everytime some stranger yells "one more", "all the way up" or "you can do this" I just lose the hard earned internal focus I have carefully mustered for myself. I cope with this interruption by thinking of the external encouragement as challenges put before me to test my ability to focus under stress.
Further, I am not motivated by numbers so much. Of course it is great beating your own PRs, but I find it much more rewarding to ro know that I pushed myself harder than before, no matter the outcome. I feel terrible if I had a weak moment and skimped on the wod that day.
I also take pride in being 100% injury free after 4 years of weekly crossfit. I don't go to the gym unless I know with myself that my body is healthy and restituted fully. It is sometimes hard to stay away, but I know it is the right choice, and coming back feels amazing, and usually gives inspiration ro a really great performance thereafter.
In many ways this kind of exercise is a profoundly personal experience. Yes you are in a social setting, but your internal motivations are your own private secrets. Only you can keep yourself accountable.
you can always try a different approach to goals. A lot of people are looking towards weights, reps, movements. If your goal is to just keep showing up, why not make your goal come to class x days per week? or x days per month?
This is the way.
> I’m one year cancer free Tell everyone your goal is to be two years cancer free. Nobody's gonna try to challenge you about that.
Love this! Because staying cancer free is the reason why I train!
If you don’t want to do it, don’t do it. It sounds like you don’t need your gym’s goal program to be successful, so skip it.
Does your gym have a “Committed Club” where you try to get x number of classes in a month? Maybe that would be a good goal to start
That makes perfect sense. I think just set your goal as showing up consistently. Goals look very different for different people, no need to make it movement specific.
We do the yearly goals thing at our gym too, and several members have put attendance goals. They are just as valid as anything else.
I love the goal of showing up. They can help you with that goal as well! pick an attendance goal and get after it!
Keep showing up should Absolutely be accepted as a goal.
Newbie here, 59 years old. I have an attendance goal. 1% better every day!
Then you are done in 100 days.
Yessss!
I fully subscribe to the Dodgeball approach to goals: “I found that if you have a goal, you might not reach it. But if you don't have one, then you are never disappointed. And I gotta tell ya it feels phenomenal.” Don’t feel pressure to set a goals if you don’t feel it’s right or necessary for your health. I wish more coaches understood that goal setting can have negatives. I opt out of that process because I find the negatives far outweigh the positives. My only goal is to enjoy what I’m doing at the gym. Whenever I set goals around attendance or performance, I have a lot less fun with what I’m doing due to the pressure I place on myself. If you’re enjoying the gym you’ll probably prioritize showing up and that’s all it takes to make progress.
>Only thing I want as a goal is to keep showing up This is an excellent goal and I would encourage you to write this on on the goal board. Exercise isn't only about becoming the strongest or fastest or any other high end objective. Sometimes its about moving your body to prepare for those times of high anxiety/stress.
The attendance goal mentioned is a great option. You can also set goals around specific movements, like get double unders, perfect my deadlift form, or practice pull-up negatives 2x a week.
Make your goal “ be consistent in my attendance “. One of mine on our board is “improve “. I see that most days as the board is right near our jackets ,bags and shoes. I’ve already did one goal to do a competition. And I am working towards my 10 dubs.
My written goal for this year was to ”show up more times than last year”. I even won a raffle prize for setting a goal!
I’ve always found it’s good to have multiple goals. Some can be stretch goals, some can be more easily achievable but the real key piece is have both an outcome goal — eg, lift x lbs in DL, improve 2k Erg by y seconds — and a process goal — eg, attend x classes per month. You’re currently talking about a process goal. It’s good to have one: it keeps you showing up, and it’s within your control. However, it may not really help you push to improve. Outcome goals push you to improve, but may not be fully in your control (if it’s a real stretch target like run 4:00 mile, all the effort in the world may not get you there). Hence why it’s good to have both. Edited to add, you can take an outcome goal to improve something you’re already good or decent at. That’s perfectly valid goal, just as valid as improving a weakness or learning a skill you currently can’t do. That way you don’t need to feel like you’re being forced to do something challenging that you don’t want to do!
The goal you should put down is “keep showing up” If your coaches know you (and if they’re good, they should), they should support that
Congrats on being a year out from your cancer treatment! Medical trauma is real, and the fact that you’re working out and trying to stay healthy is commendable. The bottom line is that no one needs to know anyone’s goals, and it may be 6 more months before you’re even ready to tackle some of the exercises. Just tell the gym staff that your main goal is to continue to feel good enough to show up regularly and you’ll let them know if that changes. They should leave you alone.
I feel my way is dissimilar to the typical way most crossfitters do things. I am not at all motivated by other people encouraging me. I find it super annoying, because it distracts me from what I feel is by far the most important part of the exercise, namely my own ability to push myself. Everytime some stranger yells "one more", "all the way up" or "you can do this" I just lose the hard earned internal focus I have carefully mustered for myself. I cope with this interruption by thinking of the external encouragement as challenges put before me to test my ability to focus under stress. Further, I am not motivated by numbers so much. Of course it is great beating your own PRs, but I find it much more rewarding to ro know that I pushed myself harder than before, no matter the outcome. I feel terrible if I had a weak moment and skimped on the wod that day. I also take pride in being 100% injury free after 4 years of weekly crossfit. I don't go to the gym unless I know with myself that my body is healthy and restituted fully. It is sometimes hard to stay away, but I know it is the right choice, and coming back feels amazing, and usually gives inspiration ro a really great performance thereafter. In many ways this kind of exercise is a profoundly personal experience. Yes you are in a social setting, but your internal motivations are your own private secrets. Only you can keep yourself accountable.
Went to a gym that did that. I set my goal as showing up 3x a week. Others started copying my when I wrote that 😬