Your data, your goal: racing only yourself

A personal best (PB) is the best you have ever done at something. The great thing about a PB is that it belongs only to you. Someone else being faster doesn't make your PB any less of an achievement.

Why compare only with yourself?

People your age grow and change at very different times. Someone who is taller now might be overtaken in a year or two. Comparing yourself with others can make you give up, or stop you noticing your own progress. Comparing with your past self shows you what your training is really doing.

Start with a baseline

A baseline is your starting result. To make it fair to compare later, do each test exactly the same way every time: same warm-up, same place, same distance and, if you can, the same time of day.

Set a SMART goal

For example: 'I will improve my standing long jump from 1.40 m to 1.50 m in four weeks by doing jump training twice a week.'

Reading your graph

Plot your results over time and look at the shape. Progress is rarely a straight line. Bad sleep, cold weather, being sick or a growth spurt can make results dip for a while. Look for the overall trend, not one bad day.

When results don't improve

A flat line is called a plateau. It might mean you need more overload, a different method, better technique or more rest. Change one thing at a time so you can tell what made the difference.