Setting goals in the pool

Why you should set goals

Goals are a strong and useful tool to help you improve upon your swimming.

We all often set ourselves goals without even thinking about it. Something as simple as today I’m going to swim further or faster than I ever have before.

While we may not always achieve our goals it still helps to have them in our sight so we can do the best we can to get there. 

Be specific

It’s important to set specific goals. Saying your goal is ‘to swim 400m freestyle without stopping’ is going to be easier to reach and achieve than just saying ‘I want to swim further’.

Writing down your goals is also a good way to improve your chances of completing them.

Seeing it every day and just having it physically set helps to motivate you to stick with it.

Setting a date you would like complete the goal by also helps you with procrastination and makes you feel great if you get there before your target!

Set multiple goals

Setting multiple goals over different time spans is also key to successfully completing them.

A goal such as training 2 times a week is good and has a short timeframe, but combining that with a goal to make it to states for 50m butterfly helps to compliment it.

In tandem, these goals help keep you accountable for each other as training 3 times a week will help you get to states but getting to states also requires you to train 2 times a week.

Breaking down your goals

Setting multiple goals and breaking them down into their parts helps you feel good as you work towards the main goal you have set.

It also stops you from feeling frustrated and feeling like you aren’t improving.

Breaking down the state goal into swimming 50m butterfly in under 40 seconds then after that under 38 until you reach your state time of 36.5 in this example helps you get that feeling of meeting your goals more often. 

Be persistent!

Persistence is also key, some goals you set for yourself will be difficult and require a lot of hard work.

Telling your coach, friend or parents can also help to keep you on track and gives you someone to celebrate your achievements with.