How to train to improve your mental strength
One need only examine the travails of young sports stars for proof of the debilitating effect mental pressure can have on performance.
We will all encounter mental pressure at some point in our sporting lives, whether it is finding it hard to complete one of those long training runs ahead of a marathon, dealing with nerves during an amateur competition or just finding it hard to get up off the couch and go to the gym in the first place.
The stakes may be different, but the need to train specifically to build up mental strength applies to all of us. Getting it right will help you develop rock-hard resilience and give you an edge over your competitors. But how do you do it?
Recognise your demons
In order to conquer your mental demons, you first need to understand where they come from. That way, when the pressure is on, you'll be ready and waiting for them.
Mental pressure can manifest itself in a number of ways. "It could be many things, including performance anxiety or nerves before a big race, low levels of self-belief, over-confidence, being unable to deal with loss or failure or being unable to control your emotions," fitness coach Rob Griffiths from website Training Bible says.
For the average Joe, it is likely that your biggest problem is just finding the motivation to get out there and exercise. "Every sportsperson experiences mental challenges, whether they compete or not," sports psychologist Dr Victor Thompson says. "The most common is motivation. Will I go out today and do the session I planned? Or, after a session, did I push myself as much as I should have?"
Lack of focus and concentration are also common problems. "It's not unusual for people to focus on things that one has little or no control over, instead of focusing on those things that one has complete control over," says sports psychologist Dr Katie Sinnott.
Finally, as surprising as it sounds, it could be that what is holding you back is a fear of achieving something. "Some of the youngsters I work with have a fear of success and need help accepting that winning is okay," UK triathlon coach Dan Bullock says. "If a young athlete comes along who hates to lose, then we have a great starting point to be very successful."
Recognising which of these apply to you is the first step to overcoming your mental barriers. Once you've done that, it's time to move on.
The consequences
Never underestimate the impact these mental blocks can have on your performance, as well as your general health and wellbeing. You can do all the physical training required of you to, for example, run a marathon, but if the mental flexibility isn't there, you may as well stay at home.
"Your mental strength — or lack of it — can help you get the best out of yourself, or it can contribute to you having a very bad day," Dr Thompson says. "On competition day, when it is very important to you that you perform well, your level of mental strength will arguably have the biggest effect on how you perform."
At the top level of sport, there is no doubt that mental strength is the difference between winning and losing. "There are many talented sportsmen out there who have the physical skills to succeed," boot camp trainer Gavin Walsh says. "But their performance is inhibited to greater or lesser degrees by their lack of mental strength."
Dr Sinnott is in no doubt about the consequences of poor mental strength. "All it takes is one brief lapse in concentration for an athlete to underperform, which causes an athlete to lose instead of win. Nowadays, most coaches agree that sport is at least 50 percent psychological, with some sports, such as golf, being as much as 90 percent psychological."
Training your brain
First of all, keep in mind that mental training is not something that is done separately from your physical work-outs — you won't be sitting at home doing sudoku and chanting to yourself. Training your mind goes hand in hand with training your body, and therefore needs to be embedded into your fitness program.
There are two approaches to doing this, "The first is the DIY approach with the athlete using various methods and reflecting on their own performance. This is like being self-coached," Dr Thompson says.
"The second approach is to contact a coach or sports psychologist to ask for an assessment of their psychological abilities as they relate to their training and competition. Then, if the athlete has confidence in the psychologist, they can try making changes wherever it seems most likely to help."
Developing mind tools
A good coach or sports psychologist will be able to help you develop a set of mind tools to improve your fitness and performance.
"I get the athlete to focus on the elements they can control and push any other thoughts out of the way — to focus on only controlling what is controllable," Griffiths says. "It's also about helping the athlete to develop a 'growth mindset', making them feel open to new directions and ideas, and to recognise that failure is an integral part of development and a way to make you deal better with future scenarios."
Replicating race-day conditions during training will also help you cope with the pressure of competition.
"It helps to put people in a physically demanding environment that mimics the intensity of a race or sporting event so that they know how to deal with the demands both physically and mentally," Walsh says.
Self-help through self-awareness
Griffiths has this advice: "Work on your own self-awareness, learning to understand what is really important to you. When things are going well, or not so well, take note of the circumstances for future reference.
"You also need to find out your 'Why?'. When you get out of bed in the morning, you need to know what your goal is, and keep reminding yourself of it. It's all about determining your goal; otherwise you can't commit your mind to achieving it."
Pushing yourself
"Visualisation techniques are excellent for training the mind to perform under pressure," Walsh says. "This involves the athlete imagining themselves excelling in their sporting environment."
"Also, by pushing yourself to breaking point during a training session (though obviously not every work-out), will help you to establish your limits and train you to overcome mental battles.
"If you find it hard to find the motivation to exercise, make an arrangement to train with a friend so that you will feel obligated not to let them down. Prepare a training plan, monitor your own progress and when you improve or lose weight, you will receive a massive motivational and mental boost."
Variety will also help prevent boredom developing into mental anguish, which will stop you from training Bullock says. "Mix up your training, change venues, and have a clear structure of each session before you do it," he says.
Finally, don't take things too seriously. "Unless you're a professional athlete, the mortgage does not depend on the results of your training," Bullock says.
Article by Tom Fontaine