Sport is not only a test of physical ability but a battle of the mind. In modern sport, success is decided not only by physical conditioning but by an athlete's psychological state. Methods for training the mind are becoming an inseparable part of preparation: they let athletes reach optimal concentration, help them manage stress and, as a result, achieve high results in the competitive arena.
Let me give you a brief tour of the techniques and practices that help athletes reach the "high peaks" of their disciplines (tested on footballers (soccer), swimmers and triathletes).
Visualisation
Visualisation is, in my view, the most powerful tool there is for reaching sporting goals. Visualisation helps you picture yourself in situations of success, mentally work through race routes and technical moves, and rehearse the moments that can shape an athlete's progress. The method has been shown to improve athletes' positive psychological state, sharpen their competitive mindset and make training more effective. Plenty of successful athletes (and, let's be honest, me too) use visualisation as part of their training programme.
Being able to work with images, to build the trains of thought and meaning that take you to a peak state before you compete without burning out while you wait — that is the highest level of the craft, and every athlete should be aiming for it.
Positive thinking
Positive thinking is a fundamental part of an athlete's psychological preparation. Confidence in your own strength and belief in success play a major role in getting results. Let's look at the positive-thinking strategies and the methods for overcoming negative thoughts and doubts that we have for you.
Let me say up front: I do not want to and will not teach you affirmations and mental statements for building confidence and motivation. I will simply point out a couple of ways to develop positive thinking in yourself.
One good practice is physical reinforcement (regards from Ivan Petrovich Pavlov and his dog).
What do you need to do?
Set yourself the task of sorting your thoughts into positive and negative ones. Don't concentrate, don't strain — just watch what is going on in your thoughts. As soon as you manage to catch a negative thought, try to move away from it or turn it in a positive direction. If you succeed, praise yourself and back the praise up with a positive action — eat something tasty or buy yourself some little thing that makes you a bit happier (though smiling is better: a smile activates the brain centres that release endorphins, the happiness hormones, which lifts your mood and lowers your stress level). The main thing is not to overdo it and not to confuse this with positively reinforcing a bad mood. For example: "I've had a rough week, I'll go and have a drink and a smoke."
If you are curious, I can tell you how I adapted this technique for myself. I picture myself as running water in a stream, flowing along without noticing any obstacles. And even when a line of rocks or a dam turns up (with beavers on it, say), making it harder to move on, I try not to focus on the barrier but instead give maximum attention to slipping between the obstacles. And once I am past that barrier, I feel satisfaction at moving on almost automatically.
A bit convoluted?
In short:
> Be Water, my friend! Be Water!
Managing stress and concentration
Stress and pressure are an inseparable part of our lives. Being able to manage stress effectively and hold a high level of concentration is what separates real professionals from everyone else.
I will go further: athletes who can control their stress and emotions, who can turn those factors to their own advantage, get injured less often than others. Tested. Draw your own conclusions.
So what do I recommend for developing stress-management and concentration skills?
Jacobson's progressive relaxation
This method is built on the principle of working through a particular muscle group in cycles.
For example: in a relaxed state we mentally send an impulse to tense a particular muscle for a few seconds, and then, just as mentally, make that muscle relax as fully as it can. By tensing different muscle groups in turn you can bring the whole body to maximum relaxation.
This kind of muscle relaxation is the most accessible one; in a playful form it is used even with small children.
Autogenic training (AT)
Autogenic practice, or autogenic training (AT), is a relaxation technique built on repeating mental formulas (these are thoughts that fix your attention on a particular part of your body, an organ, a muscle; a focus on specific physical sensations or on how they work).
AT was developed by the German physician Johannes Heinrich Schultz, before a certain Adolf Aloisovich came on the scene (I can only assume that the latter's problems arose because he did not use Dr Schultz's knowledge and had no wish to practise autogenic training).
AT is used in a range of fields, such as clinical psychology, medicine and — of course, where would we be without it — sport psychology. The autogenic technique has been shown to be effective in reducing symptoms of anxiety and stress and in improving sporting results and sleep quality.
At first glance this technique may look like progressive relaxation, but it is not :)
An example: lie down and relax. Now try mentally raising a feeling of warmth from your fingertips up through your legs, and then, just as mentally, turning that warmth into cold, moving these zones around your whole body.
Managing it?
Well done — Johannes Schultz is smiling at you.
Mindfulness
Oh, how much of this fulness we are offered these days :) Every appliance in the house is telling us how to arrive at awareness.
Well, let me join in too, from my own angle.
So what sort of creature is it?
Mindfulness, or the awareness technique, is a meditation technique based on holding conscious, non-judgemental attention on the present moment. It is a focus on the current moment (you are here and now — there is no past and no future), an acceptance of every thought, feeling and sensation without trying to change them or avoid them.
> Here is an analogy with a fish that has been put into an aquarium: you are in the aquarium, so be so kind as to take it as it is.
Mindfulness practice is aimed at lowering stress and anxiety, lifting mood and developing the ability to concentrate and hold attention.
The physiological basis of the mindfulness technique lies in activating the parasympathetic nervous system (your built-in "brake") and lowering cortisol levels (I am sorely tempted to spend half a page on the physiological processes, but...).
My own take: great stuff. I use it myself and make others use it.
How do you do it?
You don't.
Things like this are unlikely to work without experienced practitioners and coaches — you will just fall asleep or keep checking the clock :)
I know people who spend three hours in that state, while for beginners even sitting through 10 minutes of becoming aware of yourself can be simply unbearable.
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# Conclusion
The methods set out here are not just tools for improving sporting performance and results — they are a key to knowing what real sporting mastery is. Athletes who actively develop their minds gain an advantage over their rivals and reach outstanding results in their disciplines.
Using the methods described, anyone can not only unlock their inner potential and come closer to "enlightenment", or awareness of themselves, but also find the thing we are all trying to reach (no, not money!) — calm.
My own take: "anyone can" is me getting carried away, of course. It would be more accurate to write that anyone can reach this under the guidance of knowledgeable, capable practitioners, coaches and specialists, through constant training and work on themselves.
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Om, Zen and peace to all)))
Eat well and respect one another!