GOST Goal Setting for climbing

GOST Goal Setting for climbing

Setting, monitoring, maintaining and of course reaching goals is a vital part of improving. Having an end point or outcome goal is one way to have a light at the end of the tunnel. It does not lay the pathway by which you can reach it. There are several stages to this GOST Goal setting process and the first starts with setting an overall goal. The G of out GOST Goal setting. If you have never heard of SMART goals, then where have you been for the last 30 years? Having that overall goal be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timed is just the starting block in out GOST goal setting.

Wgilst we need a final dream or outcome goal, the OST part comers from setting objectives, strategies and tactic that form the process by which we will reach rthe final goal through training and development.

What Are GOST Goals Then?

In essence to achieve those SMART goals we are going to use the process of GOST goals. After all a goal without a plan is just a wish.

  • G – Set a GOAL. What do you want the climbing outcome to be? Goals should be measurable.
  • O – Establish some OBJECTIVES. Think about what measurable achievements must be attained in order to meet the larger goal.
  • S – Plot STRATEGIES for each objective. Strategies tell you how to obtain your objectives by outlining the general path you will take to get there.
  • T – Develop TACTICS. The series of specific, smaller tasks that will make up your training are called tactics and they’re the building blocks of a strategy.

You need to be quite specific about what you want to achieve? The program we designed to go along with this is specifically aimed at anyone wants to climb harder routes. So take your time to think about what it is you are going to do with this new found fitness.

Examples would be:

  • I want to to climb a 7a onsight on my trip to Costa Blanca in March 2018
  • I want to redpoint x grade in 2018
  • I want to trad climb E3 this summer
  • I want to climb the Cassin ridge on Piz Badile in July
  • I want to climb Right Wall by the end of the climbing season in 2018

Setting the Objectives and Outcomes

In doing this we first need the goal, from that we then look for measurable and objective attainments you will need to reach that goal. 

When carrying this out think about the Nine Components of Fitness, then there is also the concept of that when coaching we look for the TTPP (Technical, Tactic, Physical and Psychology). aspects of performance. Try ansering these questions:

  • Do you have a SWOT analysis or have you done a performance profiling  for climbing? 
  • What are the aspects of fitness you need to work on?
  • How can you improve your technique?
  • What tactics can you develop to help reach your goal?
  • How can you help yourself reach the physical needs for your goal?
  • What psychology skills will help you
  • Where do you strengths and weakness lie and are their any opportunities or threats to you potential training?

Setting Strategies

Having set the Objective above you need to work on the strategies these tell you how to obtain your objectives by outlining the general path you will take to get there. In this case what we want to do is break these strategies down and start to fit them into the the most appropriate phase of our training program which breaks down as follows

  1. Rest – Absolute Rest
  2. Recovery climbing – Very Easy climbing
  3. Local Muscle Endurance – (Aerobic, Respiration, and Capillarity – Climbing a grade for 45 minutes)
  4. Strength & Power – Bouldering near limit
  5. Power Endurance – anaerobic work – 4×4, 3×3, 2×2
  6. Final rest – a brief respite to recover.
  7. Peak Performance – Climbign your dream routes

What do we mean by matching the objectives and strategies to this?

Well strength gains should all be focused in phase 4, whilst efficiency of movement technique might start in phase 2 & 3. Whereas mental skills might need to be introduce in Phase 3 so that you can then work on applying them under the higher stresses in Phases 5 & 7. Flexibility might be worked on in phases 1 and 2. Whilst your overall cardiovascular fitness needs to come in phase 3.

Setting Tactics

These really are the nuts and bolts of the training plan. They will give you the actual activities you will use to bring those strategies together. There are a million things you can do and so many ways to do it. What you need to do is make each session as full as possible with activity that are specific to your training needs.

So give each session a focus and some actovoties aimed at address the specifc Ojectiove and Strategies. It is easiest to do this in a table and we have provided a GOST Goal Setting Example PDF and a GOST Goal Setting Example XCel spreadsheet to achieve this.

These tactics will then be embedded into your training program.