What I’m reading…
A study was done between age group and professional cyclists where they performed multiple twenty-minute time trials to exhaustion. One of the time trials was done immediately after performing a phycological test aimed to deplete their response inhibition. The idea behind this protocol was to exhaust their decision-making skills. We all know what it’s like to start a workout mentally exhausted from a hard work day or stressful situation.
What they found was the professional cyclists performed better on the phycological test overall and they also saw no reduction in their power after the mentally draining test while the age group cyclists produced over 4% less power on their test. The professional cyclists were able to resist the effects of mental fatigue and cycle as fast as when they performed the test fresh.
Two more tests were performed to see if phycology played apart in physical performance and perceived effort. Both tests were done to exhaustion, basically, go until you quit. During the test, they would flash images on a screen to the riders. One group of cyclists were shown sad images while the other group was shown positive images. The group that was shown positive images rode an average of three minutes longer than the “sad” group.
The second test was to determine the effects of self-talk. They had the cyclists perform baseline tests to exhaustion, then took half of the group and taught them how to use positive reinforcement and certain phrases at certain times during the test. When they retested both groups two weeks later the self-talk group lasted eighteen percent longer and their perceived effort climbed more slowly throughout the test than the control group.
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All of the studies above are from the book, Endure, by Alex Hutchinson. A long time athlete of mine recommended that I read it and I have not put it down. Commonly the books I read help put me to sleep, but this book has created many late nights.
I have been coaching for a long time and I graduated from college with a degree in English. You don’t hear of that too often in the coaching world. In fact, I almost didn’t get my first big coaching job because my degree wasn’t in Exercise Science. When I was in college I was already coaching high school track and field and knew I wanted to be a life long coach. Because of these career intentions, my initial major was Exercise Physiology before switching to English. While I was going through my general education classes I discovered that I was actually applying more to my athletes from my English classes than I was from my Exercise Physiology courses.
I learned quickly from the athlete’s I’m privileged to coach that they are robots. There is not a perfect training plan and no one develops exactly as the workout plan is built. There is this powerful piece of equipment that sits between your ears and it controls everything. Don’t get me wrong, training matters a lot and a good training plan can increase one’s confidence tremendously. However, when working with World and National Champions to first-time triathletes, the ones who succeed the most have the most productive and healthiest internal dialogue.
When you are faced with a challenging situation, you are forced to make a decision. That decision will then translate to your performance. How you think, what you say, and how you react will set off a chain reaction for as long as the situation continues. This could be a race, hard workout, easy workout, or even following the training plan that is built for you. The athletes who consistently come up short are the ones who do the opposite of what’s mentioned above.
Can you train the qualities mentioned above? Can you improve your mental state? Absolutely! You have to believe that you can in order to improve. That is what separated the professionals versus the age group cyclists. The professional cyclists were so well trained and experienced at performing under high levels of fatigue that the test didn’t affect them at all. You don’t have to be a professional athlete to perform this way. It’s a mindset, not a physical ability. High performers are oftentimes the most consistent trainers and performers. Consistency is key.
I remember when Brett Favre’s father passed away and the very next game Brett played was one of his best. You have to believe the stress and fatigue Brett was enduring was insurmountable, but he was able to adapt and overcome to perform at a high level. You oftentimes see the flip side of this situation when an athlete cannot cope with the stress and fatigue and unfortunately give up. I’ve seen these same athletes work on the required mental skills in training to become high performers. They are trainable!
Every workout is an opportunity to improve your mental and physical state. In reality, there is no such thing as failure, only opportunities to grow. The ones who understand this concept have the potential to be high performers in whatever they are pursuing.