With the global freeze we have been experiencing in the sports world, it can be easy to become complacent with the thought: Nobody is doing any meaningful training, why should I? While we do not have all the answers regarding when we will return to the fields, pools, courts, and courses what we can be certain of is the best athletes in the world are certainly not just sitting on their couches waiting. They are doing anything and everything in their control to be prepared for when they are able to compete again. While these preparations may look far different than years past, we as athletes can still maintain our fighting form MENTALLY while we ride out this storm. Here are three suggestions of things any athlete can do from the comfort of their own couch while we wait to be given the green light to train and compete.
Imagery
Imagery can be one of the most powerful tools in our mental arsenal for training without physically training. Often times, imagery is taught as trying to view yourself executing a task, such as taking a penalty kick in soccer. While this form of mental, visual imagery can be useful, a much more vivid and meaningful form of imagery comes in the form of motor imagery. Hohlefeld, Nikulin, and Curio (2011) have proposed the term ‘kinaesthetic motor imagery’. This term designates “a mental/neuronal simulation of an overt movement without muscle contraction” (p. 186). In other words, you are able to experience the action without physically executing the action. Furthermore, the very same neurons that activate while you are physically completing a task fire when you are simply imagining said task, albeit to a lesser extent. The key to successful imagery is practice. As with anything worth doing in sport, you will not be a master the first time you try. You will get distracted or it will be difficult for you to create a clear image and feeling. THAT’S OK! Try to start small, imagine simply tossing a ball up and down in your hands. Create the mental feeling of the ball in your hands, maybe there is a certain scent associated with the ball, feel the weight as you toss it. The more senses you can incorporate in your image, the more vivid, lifelike, and ultimately successful your imagery will be. Once you feel you have mastered the simple image, start slowly making it more complex. Small steps are crucial here, do not get frustrated if you become distracted. Before you know it, you will be able to create a rich mental image of a practice or competition. This is also a wonderful way to learn a new skill, feel it in your mind’s eye first and it will come much more naturally when you try it out!
Breathing Control
To clarify, I am not referring to ‘breath control’ wherein you hold your breath for the sake of holding your breath longer. Rather, I want to shed light on how we can use our breath to help relax and even excite our bodies depending on the time and place. Breathing has often been used and discussed in the context of relaxation. There are several methods of breathing which can help in relaxation. The most common of which is called ‘Box-Breathing’ where we imagine our breath moving around the perimeter of a box. Breath in for four seconds, hold for four, exhale for four, hold for four, and repeat. This method is the preferred relaxation technique of many branches of the military including the special forces. Using our breath to help us relax is a skill that we can easily master while waiting for our quarantine to end. If this skill is practiced and maybe even mastered now, it can be a huge asset during future competitions. Being able to easily deactivate after a competition will not only save you wasted energy, but may also help control your nerves during an especially stressful competition.
On the other side of breathing control, we have Power Breathing. This is a simplified version of the Wim Hof method (link here for more information: https://www.wimhofmethod.com/). A Power Breath is a deliberate and forceful inhale and exhale where you completely fill your lungs with oxygen with great force, then exhale with equal force, not completely emptying your lungs but enough for another power inhale. While doing this exercise try to feel as though you are breathing exited air into your body, and exhaling any lethargy that you have in your body. With each inhale and exhale cycle you are replacing tiredness with energy and power. Take between 10-30 inhale and exhale cycles like this as necessary. As with breathing for relaxation, mastering this skill will put you at a competitive edge above your competition. Being able to fully energize yourself before a match, game, or race will give you complete control over your own game time energy.
Goal Setting
The importance of goal setting is no mystery to us athletes. Whether we consciously set our own goals, or they are naturally and unconsciously occurring in our sport journey they serve as road maps that help inform our training and approach to competition. Setting a great goal that will help aid you on your journey to success must have several components. Typically, the acronym SMART is used to determine a great goal. S – specific, M – measurable, A – attainable, R – relevant, T – time constrained. A specific goal is one that has can be clearly defined and achieved. A measurable goal allows you to know when you have actually achieved it, or at least know how far you have to go to achieve it. The attainability of a goal is paramount to its success. If a goal is not within you power to achieve, you may become discouraged when you are not making progress towards it. The relevance of your goal means that it has something to do with improvement in your given field. Setting a goal of eating ten cheeseburgers a week, is not likely a relevant goal unless you are a competitive eater. Lastly, a SMART goal must have a time constraint for when you wish to achieve the goal. Giving yourself a deadline to achieve your goals will only help fuel your fire to success.
To help illustrate SMART goal setting, we will work through an basketball player’s goal of becoming a better ball player. When asked what his goals were he responds ‘I want to be a better player’. How can this be more specific, is there an aspect of his game he wants to improve? Maybe more specific goal would be to make more free throws. Ok, how can this goal be measurable? His goal could be to have a 75% free throw average or better. This adds the ability to measure his progress to his goal. This goal is attainable because he had a 68% average last year and it is within his power to make more of the free throws he shoots. This goal is relevant to his sport as it is an important aspect of his game and will ultimately improve him as a player. Lastly, he wants to achieve a 75% free throw average this season giving him a deadline to achieve his goal. This players goal went from being a better ball player, to ‘I want to have a 75% free throw average or better by the end of the season”. His new goal gives him a clear path to success as well as being actionable and something that will motivate him. Taking time to think about the goals that you have for yourself and walking yourself through the SMART progression, will allow you to hit the ground running when sport returns. It will help you be more motivated and driven, giving you a competitive edge over the competition.
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