Quote for the Week: The greatest revolution of our generation is the discovery that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives. — William James
Last April as you sat and watched the London marathon you may have felt compelled to sign up to the race? And then a few months later you are training and following a physical plan, helping you to feel fitter and stronger and ready for your competition and race, challenge or team event.
But what can you do to train your brain for optimal performance? How can you overcome the ‘Wall’, complete that marathon and enjoy it? How can you compete at your best, be part of a team and make your performance count? How can you believe that you can actually do it!
I work with many International athletes to beginners into sport from rugby to running, triathlon to synchro swimming – all with the aim of enhancing their performance, unlocking their full potential and increasing their enjoyment.
Training your brain is like training any muscle in your body – the more you do it, the more effective and powerful it becomes. Races can be won or lost, completed or unfinished, on the mental state of the athlete, often disregarding the amount of physical training they have done.
Here are a few common questions I always get asked…… if you would like to know more just post a comment!
Q. Can nerves actually help performance if channelled properly?
Yes – nerves can definitely help improve your performance as long as you manage them correctly. Everyone is different – so what works for one person, may not work for another. So whilst listening to others for advice is good, it is about following a plan that works for you, and not being swayed by other peoples thoughts.
The easiest thing to begin with is identifying what causes the nerves: people, environment, self belief, technical, food, weather etc…! Then create a step by step clear plan that will reduce any areas of worry, and allow you to be in a calm state. List the worries on the left hand side of the page, and the solution, including the shift in internal feelings on the right hand side.
Then decide on the top four internal qualities you would need to produce your best performance – i.e. Confidence, calmness, strength and power. Think of the times when you have had these qualities, in and out of sport – and then focus on these positive qualities, breathing them in and breathing out the nerves and qualities you no longer need. If you like, when you think of them squeeze your thumb and index finger together to enhance the physiological response.
By focusing on what you do want to have, and how you can race to the best of your ability you will allow yourself to race at your best.
Q. In what way do nerves affect professional elite athletes & how do they cope?
Nerves can affect anyone; from the beginner in sport to the Olympic athlete – I think it is good to remember we are all human! Positively they can affect athletes in many ways, increasing energy levels, focus, commitment, self-belief and passion. On the flip side, in a limiting way they can affect energy levels, increase self doubt, reduce enjoyment causing mistakes, poor performance and results.
On an international level this can affect payment, sponsorship, increased pressure, media stories and much more! So as the amateur we can be grateful we do not have this added external pressure.
Sports psychologists work by helping athletes to remove any limiting behaviour, language and beliefs they may have about themselves, or towards the sport/competitors they are competing with. They will then work with them to enhance their mental strength by visualisation and mental rehearsal techniques (how it will look, feel, what things they will hear, smell, taste etc…) anchoring of positive qualities and modelling performance on excellence. The more you do the techniques, the more effective they become.
Hypnotherapy, NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) and something called Time Line Therapy (TLT) also offer a wide range of techniques for all levels of athletes to enhance performance by visiting events in the future through trance, and removing limiting beliefs from events in the past.
The mind does not know the difference between real and visualised, so if you learn good mental rehearsal it can seriously enhance your performance. Many injured athletes will rely on this to maintain competition focus, fire neurological pathways, and be in the ‘competitive zone.’
Q. How can I overcome the negative voices in my head when I'm racing?
This is such a common problem with nearly every athlete that comes to see me and it’s all about doubting their own ability and what people will think if they don’t perform how they expect, as well as setting expectations very high. We often talk in a way to ourselves that we would never talk to a friend so firstly I work with athletes to help them understand how limiting negative self talk is – and then begin to reframe their language into positive self-talk and self-awareness. So if you say, “I should have done better and I am upset with my performance…..” Then Stop yourself, and start to reframe with “I did the best I could on the day, and for the next time I need to work on this….. I am pleased with these parts of my race…” If you cannot get to the positive reframe this is fine, just quieten the negative voices and say you did ok. Then aim to focus on what you did well, and what you can improve … remember you get what you focus on.
I hope this is a useful insight into Mental Strength for Sports Performance – I have lots of proven plans which enhance your positive focus and I look forward to sharing you with them, any questions just ask away! Especially as we head towards the London Marathon.
Until next week…. Happy Running!
Ps. Apologies this is a day late, Team Energised were presenting at B-Fit Expo in London all weekend which was a wonderful event! If you came along, thank you for taking part.
Have you got anything you'd like to ask Kim? Do you get nervous before a race? How do you overcome your nerves? Let us know in the comments below.
Great post. I tend to develop a nervous cough in the days leading up to events even though I am not aware of being nervous. It usually goes as soon as the event starts. I am usually not too bothered by it and am used to it now. However there have been occasions when the cough worsens to the point that I am sick. Is this normal and do you have any suggestions to remedy it? Like I said, I generally don't think I am nervous about the event so it's all quite strange. Thanks :o)
Hi Jon,
Thanks for your feedback and I hope you are well. Physical symptoms are quite common when related to nerves. Two things.... one if you are tapering, then are you having enough quality food and sleep the week before (ie.two weeks when training is higher) so your immunity is strong? If so, when you start to get the cough, write down, what does this represent and what is the benefit of me having a cough etc.... then write down what would you need to do to begin to have less of a cough. It will be a habit changing pattern, and you should aim to have some positive mantras and a wellbeing image written down, cut out of photos and in your mind to change the 'state' before a race. depending on how long you have had this pattern, and how easily you believe it could be to change will depend on how quickly it can change. If that all makes sense let me know how you get on... if not feel free to email kim@energisedperformance.com or messge on FB Energised Performance page. Happy running and thanks for posting, Kim
Hi. Apologies for the delay in getting back to you. Thanks for the feedback. I will definitely give that a go. With regard to diet, I have a balanced, healthy diet and I generally do sleep 8 hours per night so I think that aspect is sorted. I do taper and I do carb load, though I don't do either as much as is recommended as I find that I don't arrive at the start line in my best shape if I do (have felt quite lethargic and bloated when following the general rules).
I am prone to picking up bugs along the way, possibly through over training or pushing myself too hard. Fortunately, however, any illness has not coincided with events (lets hope it stays that way!)
I will try your approach of writing things down when I experience the cough. The funny thing is, I know why I am doing things, and that I am generally capable of completing the distances etc. I want to do the events that I do... and yet I still get the cough and self doubt in the short term so I think it is a case of reminding myself in the short term what I think I know in the long term... if that makes sense. I think the idea of writing things down is a good one... should reinforce my long term feelings and hopefully overcome the annoying cough.
Thanks again, much appreciated
J :o)