When an elite athlete is shown preparing an important event – an Olympic Games, a World Cup, a national championship … – the images focus on how they train at a sporting level. However, mental training, more hidden, has been shown to be as important as physical exercise to improve athletic performance.
Rafael Nadal, Marc and Pau Gasol, Carolina Marín, Fernando Alonso… they all have something in common: they have worked to achieve a strong mind, capable of facing success with their feet on the ground and failure with the same coin.
Why is mental training important for the athlete?
The preparation of an athlete is not only on the physical level. When we witness the failure of great sports stars in moments that, in other circumstances, would not happen like this, the forced question appeals to “what could have happened.”
Only the great ones are able to recognize that they were not in the appointment. Or what is the same, his mind was not focused on this goal but on some other. Hence the importance of mental training for all types of athletes (amateur or professional).
In the same way that we are fortunate to see in tennis the greatest exponent of the success of sports psychology , we also have the example of how, without that mental strength, the best athlete can ruin the work of a lifetime.
Such is the case of Garbiñe Muguruza, who, since Roland Garrós won, has not managed to maintain that level that made her lift her first great Slam. In recent years, he has changed coaches several times, confirming that he still has areas in which to improve.
Djokovic was on the same path during a few early years in which he focused more on the extra-sports spectacle than on his game. With a change of mentality, and a suitable training routine, he currently holds the number one in the world.
What does mental training contribute?
So, what benefits does applying psychology to sport bring to have a trained mind? Even though many athletes are suspicious of the effectiveness of doing mind training to improve their athletic performance , various studies and real experiences have shown that exercising the brain as psychological training brings great benefits to athletes.
On the one hand, the sports and personal capacities of the athlete are enhanced. In this way, if you internalize what your strengths are, you can enhance them to intensify your sports performance and use that effort wisely.
As a consequence, the athlete gains confidence in their qualities. This self-esteem acts as an engine to seek new limits, which, in turn, help to improve in those areas in which one is good.
At the same time, he gains the armor of reality to face failures and doubts. This ability to resist when the game or competition is not conducted as expected -which happens frequently-, mobilizes the natural resources of the athlete to improvise or support that this is not going to be your day.
In short, mental training manages to provide the athlete with a greater capacity for concentration and high doses of motivation.
Mental training exercises to exercise the brain
Now that you know why it is important to train the mind , and its value to face any sport and challenge in the daytime, we get into the action, on how to exercise the brain and strengthen the mind in the purest Rafa Nadal style.
To do this, psychologists specialized in sports performance recommend working on four specific areas: how one is perceived in the place one occupies; how to define and see the objective; learn to face failure, and gain self-confidence.
Facing a training or a sports competition without adequate mental preparation can lead to failure for which the athlete is not prepared. Next, we compile the exercises recommended by specialists in psychology applied to sport to exercise the mind as a training.
How to improve your spatial perception of yourself
The first stage that the athlete has to complete is to learn to know where he is. When it speaks of location, it refers to an immediate physical location and the projected one of the person at the time of preparation in which he is.
For this, trainers are advised to be frank at all times with their athletes. The current point is always a new starting point, an extra motivation for them.
From the athlete’s point of view, in addition to obtaining an instant X-ray of where they are physically and mentally, it helps them to focus on actions and margins for improvement.
Learn to visualize the goal
Greater concentration means that the athlete is able to see where they want to go and how to get there . The first step to success is to imagine it. The reverse is an internal boycott.
If this final goal and the different flying goals are available, we increase the motivation of the person to achieve what has been set. And he does it with his feet on the head, knowing that, sooner or later, obstacles will appear.
For this, the specialists recommend planning between the coach or physical trainer, support and the athlete himself each of the milestones that sow final success.
How to deal with adversity
The involvement of all the actors is vital for an adequate mental training of the athlete. It is also useful to prepare you for obstacles.
No path is straight or free from adversity. Rather, it is a gymkhana in which the necessary strategies and actions must be found to overcome them.
The role of the coach is the key: at all times, he has to make sure that the athlete is aware of the stones that are going to be found on the road, and address them in their proper measure and effect on the initial plans.
This way you will gain confidence in yourself
With all this cocktail, the athlete who is aware of his possibilities , always avoiding overestimation, will overcome any rival (in competition or in goal form). Your brain is programmed to focus, analyze and react according to its own available tools, in the best possible way.
On this basis, the constant work and the focus on going ever to higher goals are sustained.
Remember that the body does what the mind tells it to do. If your mind is weak or allows itself to be overcome by the situation, your sports performance will fall, and with it your mood and motivation.
Many of those who have abandoned the practice of a sport admit that this mental weakness outweighed more than the lack of qualities and aptitudes to go far in their respective sports.
