Personal Best: Training and Goal Setting

You need: a stopwatch or clock with a second hand · a recording sheet · an effort scale poster (1–10)

1. Sit quietly for a minute. Count your pulse for 15 seconds and multiply by four.
2. Do each activity for one minute: slow walk, brisk walk, jog, star jumps, fast shuttle runs.
3. Straight after each one, take your pulse, rate your effort from 1 to 10, and try the talk test: can you chat, say a few words, or nothing?
4. Rest until your pulse is close to resting before the next activity.
5. Look for the pattern: which activities are aerobic (you can keep going) and which are anaerobic (short and very hard)?

How you'll know: You can explain how heart rate, breathing and effort change with intensity, using your own results.

Safety: Stop if you feel dizzy, have chest pain or can't catch your breath. Keep your inhaler with you if you use one.

Go further: Time how long your pulse takes to return to resting after the hardest activity. This is your recovery time.

You need: cones and a 20 m tape · stopwatches · a measuring tape · skipping ropes · beanbags or soft balls · a private log book

1. Choose three tests that match your goal, such as 20 m sprint (speed), standing long jump (power), plank or wall sit (muscular endurance), sit-and-reach (flexibility), skipping for 60 seconds (coordination and fitness), or a timed lap (aerobic fitness).
2. Warm up first.
3. Do each test twice with full rest between, and record your better result.
4. Your partner times or measures; only you write the result in your own log.
5. Write down exactly how you did each test so you can repeat it the same way in week 5.

How you'll know: You have three accurate, repeatable results, and you know exactly how each test was done.

Safety: Warm up fully before sprinting or jumping. Land jumps on grass or mats.

Go further: Explain why doing the test the same way each time matters for fair comparison.

You need: card · pens · pictures of everyday foods and drinks · a day planner

1. Design a warm-up card with three parts: pulse raiser, mobility, dynamic stretches, plus one drill for your goal.
2. Design a cool-down: easy movement to bring your heart rate down, then gentle static stretches.
3. Plan a training day: a meal 2–3 hours before (with carbohydrate for energy), a small snack if needed, water before, during and after.
4. Plan a recovery snack with some protein and carbohydrate, such as a sandwich, yoghurt and fruit, or milk and a banana.
5. Compare drinks: water, milk, sports drinks, energy drinks, fizzy drinks. Which do young people actually need?

How you'll know: You can explain what each part of your warm-up and cool-down does and plan sensible fuel and water for a training day.

Safety: If tasting foods, follow the school's allergy plan and check ingredients.

Go further: Find out why energy drinks are not recommended for children and teenagers.

You need: technique checklist cards (sprint start, standing throw or standing long jump) · cones · beanbags or soft shots · a clear throwing line

1. Pick one skill. Read its checklist in three phases: preparation (stance, position), execution (the action), recovery (follow-through, landing).
2. Your partner does the skill three times while you watch just one phase at a time.
3. Give 'two stars and a step' feedback.
4. Your partner tries again focusing on the step. Did it change?
5. Swap roles.

How you'll know: You can name the phases of a skill and give feedback that helps your partner change one thing.

Safety: Throwers throw only on a signal; everyone else stands behind the thrower. Collect equipment only when everyone has thrown.

Go further: Write a checklist for a skill from your own sport and test it with a partner.

You need: cones · stopwatches · circuit station cards (step-ups, wall push-ups, skipping, squats, plank, shuttle runs)

1. Intervals: 6 × 15-second fast runs with 45 seconds walking between. Good for speed.
2. Fartlek ('speed play'): 6 minutes of continuous running, speeding up between some cones and slowing down between others. Good for stamina and changes of pace.
3. Circuit: 6 stations, 30 seconds of work and 30 seconds to move. Good for all-round fitness and strength.
4. After each method, record your pulse, effort (1–10) and how your legs and lungs felt.
5. Decide which method best matches your goal.

How you'll know: You can describe each method and choose one that suits your goal, giving a reason.

Safety: Use a surface without holes. Drink water between methods. Choose the easier version of any station if you need to.

Go further: Design a circuit specifically for your sport or event.

You need: your baseline results · a SMART goal sheet · a three-week FITT plan template

1. Look at your baseline. Choose one result to improve.
2. Write a SMART goal: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound.
3. Plan three weeks of training with FITT: Frequency (how often), Intensity (how hard), Time (how long), Type (which method).
4. Check against SPORT: is it specific? Does it progress each week? Does it overload a little? Does it avoid gaps (reversibility)? Is there variety (tedium)?
5. Add rest days and at least one activity just for fun.

How you'll know: Your goal is based on your own data, and your plan shows how you'll get there step by step.

Go further: Write a 'plan B' for a week when you're sick or busy, so you don't lose all your progress.

You need: graph paper or a spreadsheet · your training log

1. Put session number on the horizontal axis and your result on the vertical axis.
2. Plot each result as a point and join them with a line. This is a time-series graph.
3. Describe the trend: going up, down, flat, or up and down?
4. Think about why: tiredness, weather, a bad night's sleep, better technique?
5. Decide what the graph tells you to change in your plan.

How you'll know: You can describe the trend in your own graph and suggest reasons for it.

Go further: Add your effort ratings on a second line and look for connections.