8 Tips on Goal Setting from Weightlifter Abby Raymond

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

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.”