Goal setting in your contortion training
Coaching tipsMany beginner contortionists start flexibility training with the intention of a final pose, or trick in mind. This is good as it provides your training with purpose and keeps you motivated. It’s easy to get demoralised when you don’t see any progress and you’re falling short of the expectations you have set yourself. This is why realistic goal setting is important. Let’s have a look at the different types of goals.
Immediate goals (days)
The types of things that fall under this category aren’t necessarily to do with your flexibility progress itself, but about getting organised. Plan for tomorrow, use a few days to consider what it is you want to get out of your training, how often you’re going to train, and when you’re going to do it. Working out a schedule is very useful, especially if you’re particularly busy and have to work around work/school/socialising etc. I use Google Sheets in order to organise my weekly training schedule. I’m not massively precise about the timings either, I just break it down into morning, afternoon and evening and then fill the block with the activity I intend to do. This is also quite useful as it gives you a record of what you’ve done previously and keeps your habits in check.
It’s not pretty but it gets the job done!
Short term goals (weeks)
I would count short-term as 4-6 weeks for flexibility training. The process is slow, and steady if you train regularly, but it takes time to be able to document progress. I’d expect to see slight changes, but you probably won’t see any massive sweeping changes in this time. Using short term goals can allow you to build up to longer term goals. This is best done through the breakdown of skills and areas of flexibility.
Long term goals (months and years)
These are the goals that we’re all working towards. They’re the bigger skills that the smaller elements build towards. Goals should be set with the long haul ahead in mind. You should assess every few months if you’re making progress towards your long term goals throughout your regular skills training.