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8 Tips on Goal Setting from Weightlifter Abby Raymond

Athletes

Abby Raymond headshot.As a Team USA weightlifter, setting incredibly specific goals is nonnegotiable for Abby Raymond. Because a single pound of weight on the bar could be the difference between a win or a loss, the granular focus on numbers is key to success. But it’s not always easy to predict performance like that, so Raymond has had to learn to balance ultra-specific goals with a more global vision of success. Here, she shares her best goal-setting tips for anyone who’s in a data-heavy sport.

 

1. You can’t do it alone

Setting goals and achieving them is almost impossible to do alone, especially in a sport that has so many data-driven demands, like weightlifting. “I can’t talk about goals without explaining that I have an amazing coach,” Abby says. “When setting goals, it’s super helpful to have people around you for support: There’s no way I would be where I am today if I didn’t have people around me. They’re there for mental and emotional support, but it’s really the strategic support and the coaching that helps me hit my goals. My coach writes my program, and I would really struggle to do that on my own, without any outside input. I’d hold myself back.”

 

2. As an individual athlete, you’re ultimately only accountable to yourself

Abby Raymond during a weightlifting competition.Unlike team athletes who can share accountability when they lose a game, athletes in individual sports are truly only accountable to themselves at the end of the day. “If you cheat the weight in a workout, you’re only hurting yourself,” says Raymond. “You’re not hurting anyone else. You’re the one who set these goals. So, if you’re not doing the work, then you’re the only one to blame when it doesn’t happen. I’ve played the blame game—and there are no winners there.”

 

3. You have to start with the daily goals

“Small daily goals are so important,” says Raymond. “If you don’t intentionally set those, then you just end up going with the flow, instead of having a strategy behind what you want to do. You’ll end up 10 years down the road and likely won’t have achieved any of your big goals. The daily goals can be simple: eating three balanced meals a day instead of just snacking, getting to the gym at a certain time, and completing your workout to the best of your ability—it’s not always easy, but these daily actions add up to allow you to meet your big goals.”

 

4. Always keep the long-term goals in mind

The Olympic and Paralympic Games only come around once every four years, which means that those athletes need to focus on the daily processes, while maintaining their focus on a primary goal that is often years away. “Yes, we have the daily goals and then the monthly goals, and then the quarterly goals,” says Raymond. “But we’re always keeping that long-term goal in mind. You plan for the next local meet, but you’re also thinking ahead to the bigger international meets that will happen a few months from now.”

 

5. You have to know the numbers—but not fixate

In a sport like weightlifting, it all comes down to numbers, both in body weight for your category, and then pounds of weight in each lift. “Everything I do is numbers, whether it’s tracking my body weight, tracking my macros and the number of calories I’m eating, or the actual weight I’m lifting on the bar,” says Raymond. “At the end of the day, it’s the person who lifts the most weight who wins. It’s an extremely objective sport. So, you need to know your numbers, but at the same time, you can’t spend all your time thinking about them. When I start fixating on a number, I really start to struggle.”

 

6. This is particularly true for body weight

Coach assisting athlete on a rowing machine.It’s impossible to ignore the fact that certain sports, like Raymond’s, are weight-focused. There are weigh-ins for competitions to determine what class you’ll be competing in, and that means athletes need to know their weight and pay attention to the number on the scale. That isn’t always easy, especially as it pertains to goal setting. “I think whenever weight is put into the equation, that’s something you have to really prepare your mind for because it can be dangerous to a positive body image,” says Raymond. “I’ve really tried to separate the two. I’ve learned to recognize that my body is a fuel source, and it’s what gives me the power to do what I love.”

She adds that the coaches that she’s worked with typically don’t let young athletes cut weight, because they’re focused on building muscle and strength at a younger age, and then when the athletes are done growing, they can settle into the appropriate, natural weight class. And if an athlete plans to cut weight, she adds that it should never be done solo. “There’s no way I could do it on my own,” she says. “This isn’t easy to do while maintaining performance, so you need to have some type of guidance from a professional who can support you.”

 

7. Learn how to brush off the losses

You can train for months and still miss a lift, says Raymond. It’s what you do after that failure that makes or breaks you as an athlete. “You will have disappointment that you feel in the moment when you have a failure because of the expectations that you create for yourself,” she says. “But how you cope with it after can make or break you. You can choose to dwell in that failure, or you can acknowledge the failure, learn from it, and move on.”

 

8. Don’t let sporting success define you

Finally, Raymond says that in a sport that is so numbers-driven, it’s tempting to attach your self-worth and your identity to those numbers. But it’s important to separate yourself from your successes and failures in sport. “It’s so easy to wrap up your identity in your sport, and when you have that mindset, it’s going to lead to burnout or depression. It’s not going to bring you long-term success,” Raymond says. “But remind yourself that your sport is just a thing that you do—and you do it because you love it.”

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Takeaway

Setting goals in metric-heavy sports like weightlifting often means setting numbers-based outcome goals, but those goals need to be combined with daily and seasonal process goals. Finding a balance between knowing your numbers while staying focused on the process rather than the result is key to success.

 

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Goal-Setting Lesson Video Transcript

Hi. I’m Trevon, Trey, Jennifer. Team USA wheelchair basketball player, Paralympian, and TrueSport Athlete. Today, I want to talk to you about goal setting. And there are three things that I would like you to know. First, successful athletes set goals and a planned roadmap. Second, goals should be written down, assessed over time, and changed if necessary. And third, goals need to be challenging in order to be worthwhile. As a freshman at Edinboro University, I was a part of a team that made the national championship game. And at that time, I recognized I was the low man on the totem pole, but I felt in my heart that I knew my dreams were so much bigger than winning a national title. I wanted to make Team USA. I knew what achieving my lofty goal was not going to be easy and that I would need to work hard every day.

So, as a reminder, I created a pyramid of goals that I kept right above my bed. This pyramid reminded me of the accomplishments that I was working towards and visually represented my need to create a solid foundation underneath me before reaching the top. In the bottom roll of my pyramid of goals I listed goals such as obtaining my bachelor’s degree, becoming a scholar athlete award recipient, and becoming an All-American. The middle row listed winning a national title and playing for a professional team. And at the top row, the most challenging of them all, I listed becoming a gold medalist for Team USA.

By understanding that there are smaller stepping stones to achieving my ultimate goal of being on Team USA, I was able to stay motivated and to stay focused on completing the smaller stepping stones fully before moving onto the next one. Now I’ll be the first to admit that not every goal that I listed on my pyramid was accomplished, but seeing my goals every day when I went to bed, I was able to push through the days that I felt like doing nothing in hopes of achieving the bigger picture. Remember, create a clear goal roadmap, assess your goals often, and continue to challenge yourself. I hope that you never stopped dreaming big or reaching for the stars. And I look forward to seeing where your roadmap takes you.

Body Image Lesson Video Transcript

Hi, I’m Kara Winger, Olympic javelin thrower, and TrueSport Athlete. Today, I want to talk to you about body image, and I have three things I’d like you to know. First, healthy thoughts often lead to healthier bodies. Second, there are varying body types and no one’s body is exactly like another. And third, true beauty goes deeper than the skin. As a multi-time Olympian, I’ve experienced a lot of variation and progression in my training. My coaches and I adapt to my training frequently, all with the goal of supporting my long-term success and health in the sport of javelin. I’m talking to you about body image today because sometimes even with the best of intentions and a common goal in mind, the changes you make to your training habits can prove to be detrimental if made for the wrong reasons. In the lead up to the 2012 Olympic trials, I was told in order to improve my performance on the field, I should try to become a leaner, skinnier version of myself.

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I’ve learned what a properly balanced meal for my body looks like and I recognize food as the fuel that keeps me throwing. I hydrate and allow myself time to recover. And I listen to and communicate with my body so that I can be the best version of myself. In the end, you are in control of how you see, treat, and respond to your body. We only get one and it’s amazing to discover how many things our bodies can do. Be a true sport athlete. Love who you are in this moment and get excited for all the places your body will take you.

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I believe that sportsmanship reveals true character. So, no matter what situation I encounter during competition, I know it’s important to always treat people with respect and be a good sport. Remember, be a fierce competitor, find grace in all your victories and losses. And I hope to see you out there.

What Kind of Coach Do You Want to Be? Video Transcript

Edwin Moses: You’re a coach. Maybe what you want is very simple, for everyone to just run in the right direction, score for their own team, to try and try again and again. Maybe you want your athletes to become all stars. You want them to earn trophies, medals, win titles. You want them to reach the highest height their sport allows. And wanting all of that, of course, that’s good. But as every great coach discovers, developing a great athlete means nurturing, nurturing the even greater person within. Truth is, you have even more influence than you know.

You have the ability to affect even deeper change, to take what’s in your hands and do something even more extraordinary. You can be both the coach who provides the skills needed to win the game and the coach who helps them learn and succeed beyond the sport, to become all stars wherever they land in the future, and to enjoy their lives more now, because the confidence and courage they find working with you will stay with them when they need it the most. There are games to be won, lives to change. Coaches have the power to do both.

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THE SIMPLE TRUTH: DECODING THE SUPPLEMENT INDUSTRY VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

At first glance, dietary supplements look the same. They seem safe and healthy, but just because the label says a product is a dietary supplement, that doesn’t mean it’s safe. Unfortunately, you can’t tell whether a product is safe or not just by looking at the label. Most vitamins, minerals, fish oil, and other supplements containing nutrients are probably just fine, but supplements are not evaluated or approved by FDA before they are sold. Although it is rare for vitamins or minerals to be contaminated with drugs, there has been at least one case of a vitamin containing an anabolic steroid.

At the other extreme are products that contain drugs, stimulants, anabolic steroids, or other hormones. Even though these are not technically dietary supplements, many of them are labeled as supplements. For example, body-building products sometimes contain anabolic steroids or Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators, known as SARMs, or other hormones. Some pre-workout or energy products contain illegal stimulants like DMAA, ephedra, or other amphetamine-like stimulants. Weight loss products might contain prescription drugs like sibutramine, or hormones, like human chorionic gonadotropin, also known as hCG. All natural or herbal sexual enhancement products might contain hormones or Viagra-like drugs. Products like these can harm your health and career, but they’re for sale online, in some nutrition stores, and they’re labeled as dietary supplements.

When you pick up a supplement, especially one that promises performance enhancement, you don’t know if it belongs in the “Mostly O.K.” pile or in the “Dangerous” pile. After all, two products might look the same, but one might contain just amino acids and other legitimate ingredients, while the other also contains anabolic steroids. Because of this, FDA has issued a warning about certain categories of supplements: body building products, weight loss products, and sexual enhancement products. Be extremely careful when considering a supplement in one of these categories. We strongly recommend that you avoid products in these categories.

Even when FDA tests supplements and finds dangerous ingredients, companies sometimes refuse to recall them. Sometimes, they simply repackage their product and continue selling it under a new name. Just because a product is on a store shelf doesn’t mean it is safe. You need to do your research and be an informed consumer. The dietary supplement industry is enormous. Supplements that appear to be safe could actually be dangerous products in disguise. If you use dietary supplements without doing your research, you may be taking serious risks with your health and your career. Please visit USADA’s Supplement 411 for more information about dietary supplements.