BE SPECIFIC
According to a survey from allabouthealth.org.uk, three-quarters of Brits will give up on their New Year resolutions before the end of January. Make sure you’re not one of them by making your goals specific. Don’t say ‘I want to lose weight’, or ‘I want to cycle faster’, say ‘I want to lose 5 kilos by May’, or ‘I want to shave 5 minutes off my PB for a 20-mile TT by June’. This gives you something measurable to aim towards.
THINK BIG
Pick a goal that is slightly outside of your comfort zone. Choosing something that you know you can achieve is pretty much cheating and means that you won’t be making any measurable changes, but aiming towards a goal that is just out of your reach means you will really have to work towards it – and you’ll be chuffed when you do it.
DON’T BE SHY
Make your goals public. This could be by signing up to a charity ride, something like London to Paris, where you need to go to friends and family to raise money for the charity. Failing to train and failing to complete this goal would be public and embarrassing, and you’d be letting down the people who sponsored you. If your goal is to complete the Dragon Ride in a gold standard time then tell all your cycling club about it, so that they will be on at you if your motivation drops. And remember, if you miss your goal by a few minutes this doesn’t mean you failed. You’ll still reap the rewards of your increased training, finding group rides easier, possibly having lost weight and feeling healthier.
REWARD YOURSELF
Give yourself some incentive to reach your goal. Start a ‘bike’ savings account and put aside a small amount each week when you successfully meet your training targets. If you fall off the wagon one week, don’t put any money in and start again the following week. When you achieve your goal, reward yourself by spending whatever you’ve saved on that new tech or set of wheels you’ve been drooling over since Christmas.
We also have an entire 28-page supplement dedicated to helping you take your cycling forward in 2020 with the February issue of Cycling Plus, on sale now!
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