Mindset and the 5 pillars of performance
I’m sure you know that to sustain high performance over time, you need to consider movement, recovery, nutrition, sleep and mindset.
Sports Psychology
Sports psychology is a discipline within psychology that studies how mental processes influence athletic performance. Mental game coaching is the practical application of Sports Psychology helping athletes improve their performance.
How to recover faster to run stronger and longer
Let’s rethink the power of doing nothing. If you are like me then you’re tracking your training metrics… It is difficult to see doing nothing as an important part of becoming a better runner.
Is stress killing your next run?
Have you found that you often spend more time thinking about training and competing than we do about recovery?
How I went from competing to experiencing
I have always been highly competitive, especially in individual sports. Perhaps it is because I just love going fast, and nothing makes you feel as fast as when you come flying past your fellow competitors (the only thing that is comparable is racing downhill on my mountain bike). I was… Read More »How I went from competing to experiencing
Your mental game plan for the Argus Cycle Tour
As the time grows closer to the Argus Cycle Tour I see more and more cyclists on the road “miles in the legs” in preparation for the big day. As much as getting time in the saddle is important, consider spending some time preparing mentally for the race. Here are… Read More »Your mental game plan for the Argus Cycle Tour
Why you should Be mental about sports
You devote of hours and hours to training your body but how much to you spend training your mind? More and more, athletes and sports teams are turning to sports psychology and mental game coaching to give them the edge in training and competition. Sports psychology is a discipline within… Read More »Why you should Be mental about sports
How to perform better and have fun doing it
Whether in business or in sports, we all want to perform at our best and have fun doing it. For many of us however, optimal or peak experiences do not happen frequently enough. There are three things that impact on peak performance: our thoughts about the past, our thoughts about the future, and what we think about in the moment.
How to train your brain for peak sports performance
Sport psychologist Dr. Dana Blackmer of The Extra Gear (The Extra Gear YouTube Channel) talks about what a peak mental state is and how you can determine yours. This video will help you find the “zone” that will help you perform your best in your sport.
Chasing that state called “flow”
For a long time I have searched for a reason for our goal-driven nature that went beyond a simple evolutionary psychology explanation: our hard wired drive to perpetuate our gene pool, our need to satisfy basic needs (food, shelter, sex). Goal oriented humans would have had a better chance of survival. Without a goal oriented nature we would not hunt or gather. But in the developed world at least, those basic human needs are generally taken care of (at least basically). A simple evolutionary explanation does not suffice.
In his book “Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience” Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi suggests that our prime goal has moved from basic survival to the desire for happiness. Yet we are no happier than our ancestors despite the trappings of the modern world. Happiness cannot be found in materialism. Happiness, according to Mihaly (and I tend to agree) is found in the state he calls flow. Much like Eckhard Tolie, flow is living in the “now” but is different in that Eckhard focuses on egolessness and Mihaly focuses on matching talent and challenge.
Much has been written on flow since Mihaly introduced the concept (although the fundamental idea is not new).Read More »Chasing that state called “flow”
Being “in the zone” – on the field and in the boardroom
In an interview with the American Psychological Association, sports psychologist Dr. Shane Murphy talks about what it takes to be an Olympic athlete. The last question asked by the APA was “What does it take to do your very best when the pressure is on? You talk about being in ‘the zone’. Is that how athletes master the psychological skills that allow them to deliver their best in competition?” Dr Murphy’s response is quoted below…Read More »Being “in the zone” – on the field and in the boardroom