Overview of mental techniques used to help endurance athletes stay focused, motivated, and relaxed during training and competition.
Goal Setting: Setting SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely) goals to focus on and achieve in training and competition.
Visualization: Using mental imagery to rehearse successful performance and reinforce positive self-beliefs.
Positive Self-Talk: Using words and phrases to boost confidence, focus, and motivation during training and competition.
Breathing Techniques: Learning how to control breathing to manage physical and emotional stress, increase relaxation, and improve concentration.
Mental Toughness: Developing resilience, persistence, and the ability to cope with adversity and setbacks.
Focus and Concentration: Learning strategies to stay in the moment, filter out distractions, and maintain optimal attentional control during training and competition.
Routine Development: Establishing pre-performance routines to increase consistency and predictability in performance.
Imagery Enhancement: Using sensory-based imagery to enhance performance quality, technique and execution.
Emotion Regulation: Learning strategies to manage intense emotions (e.g. anxiety, anger) and stay calm, confident and focused in challenging situations.
Sleep and Recovery: Understanding the importance of restorative sleep and other recovery strategies (e.g. meditation, relaxation) to enhance physical and mental recovery from training and competition.
Visualization: Visualization is the process of mentally rehearsing a performance, allowing an athlete to mentally simulate an event in their mind, helping to prepare for specific scenarios or outcomes.
Goal setting: Goal setting involves setting clear, specific, and measurable targets for an athlete, helping to motivate, focus and strengthen the athlete's mental and emotional resilience.
Relaxation: Relaxation exercises involve techniques to lower an athlete's stress and anxiety levels so they can remain calm and focused, even in high-pressure situations.
Positive self-talk: Positive self-talk involves an athlete consciously replacing negative thoughts and feelings with more positive and constructive ones, helping to build up confidence and self-esteem.
Cognitive restructuring: Cognitive restructuring involves challenging and correcting unsupportive thoughts, beliefs, or attitudes that may be holding an athlete back or causing negative emotions.
Mindfulness: Mindfulness involves training an athlete to stay present, aware, and focused on what is happening in the moment, helping to prevent distractions and reducing stress.
Mental rehearsal: Mental rehearsal is the process of repeating or practicing mentally, their physical sport activity, allowing an athlete to lay down a blueprint in their mind of what they want to execute during an event.
Motivation and Energy Management: Motivation and energy management involve techniques to boost motivation, sustain focus and concentration, and manage physical and mental energy over extended periods of time.
Breath control: Breath control exercises help athletes to regulate their breathing, helping them to relax, and to perform at their best.
Mental toughness: Mental toughness training involves developing a mindset of resilience, tenacity, and determination, to overcome setbacks and achieve long-term goals.