Set your Gymnastics Goals
Gymnastics goals: they are something every gymnast needs to improve and grow in this sport. They are what push gymnasts forward and keep them focused on who they want to be and what they want to do. Gymnastics goals can also be very hard to set. You may ask yourself, am I pushing my boundaries enough? Am I pushing them too much? Or am I even moving forward in the right direction? To help you out in setting your gym goals, we’re going to give you some tips on how to set good gym goals, as well as tell you the three gym goal categories to focus on when setting your goals. Finally, we’ll give you some fun ideas for how to reward yourself for achieving your goals!
How should I set a gymnastics goal?
Setting gymnastics goals can be challenging at first, but there are a few things you can do to help yourself set personal and realistic goals:
- Know your strengths and weaknesses: What is a realistic skill you can learn from where you are now in your gymnastics journey, and what is a realistic timeframe for you to learn that skill in?
- Make sure to choose goals that are not too easy for you to accomplish, unless you are setting multiple goals. Having easily accomplished goals is good to help you get into the swing of things and boost your confidence, but these goals are meant to be short-term as opposed to the long-term goals you’ll want to be setting.
- Think about yourself and what you want. What is your end goal in the bigger picture, many, many years from now? Start there and work backward, seeing what you’ll need to accomplish at each step in order to get to where you want to go from where you are now.
What should I focus on when setting my gym goal?
Here are three different categories you can focus on to start you on your path of setting good gymnastics goals for yourself!
- Performance Goals: Performance/competition goals can seem simple: focus on winning! However, there is more to it than just that. Choose goals that are under your control and aren’t tied to judging yourself or being judged. You can aim to improve your scores, add more difficulty to your routines, or hit all of your routines. Also, think of goals to accomplish that focus on feeling more confident, or supporting and encouraging your teammates. If you’re not competing, moving up a level and skill progression are great goals to set! You might also work on goals like attending a certain number of practices in a row or practicing at home every day for a certain amount of time.
- Health Goals: You can’t accomplish your performance goals if you’re tired, dehydrated, or injured! Choose a health goal that supports and nurtures either your physical health or mental health. Set a healthy goal to drink more water by substituting one soda per day for a bottle of water, or swap out one sugary snack for a piece of fruit each day. Think about your mental health, too. We’ve talked about mental toughness for gymnasts and shown that it’s not always about being tough all the time! Be sure to talk to yourself the way you would a friend - with kindness and encouragement.
- Fun Goals: Finally, set some fun goals, such as getting better at friendly competition in your gym, or owning a certain leotard, scrunchie, or grip bag you want! Maybe your fun goal is a bit silly, but having fun and being happy while working towards it is what counts!
Rewards!
When you accomplish one of your goals, feeling excited and proud is well deserved, as is a treat or reward! Putting in so much hard work and dedication is no easy feat, and rewarding yourself for achieving your goals because of that hard work and dedication is only natural. Here are some fun ideas for ways to reward yourself for a job well done!
- Candy, ice cream, or another sweet treat (once in a while is okay!)
- A new leotard, grip bag, or other gymnastics accessory!
- A trip to somewhere fun, such as a park, pool, or movie theater!
We hope these tips and ideas help you to set and accomplish goals in your gymnastics journey! Do you have any gymnastics goals that you have set or are working towards? What are some ways that you treat yourself after achieving your goals? Tell us in the comments below!
