Are you all watching Dancing with the Stars? Last night's results show briefly featured sports psychology at the end. These stars are having to quickly learn how to handle the emotional, mental, and physical demands of learning one or two dances in a week and then performing in front of a huge local and national audience. It always looks like so much fun, and I am sure it is, but it is not easy. For the feature, they interviewed a sport psychologist, Misty May-Treanor's volleyball coach, and a military commander (I'll have to watch again to get the details on these people). They each covered focus, emotion-control, positive self-talk, and pressure. As you watch the stars, see what you can learn in each of these areas.
As I have been watching the season, I have seen a lot of principles played out. Of course, some of them are dramatized, as is Hannah Montana star, Cody Linley, who has been highlighted for his difficulty focusing in practices. Maurice Greene is notable for his ability to focus. Susan Lucci shows great sportsmanship, always gracious in interviews. Lance Bass has a cocky attitude about him, but shows some vulnerability when he admits his self-doubts. On the floor he usually seems to pull off the confidence he was able to show when he was part of N'Sync. If you compare the dances on Monday to the one chosen to perform again on Tuesday, the second time through is usually better. I believe this is due to less pressure so that the stars can relax and enjoy themselves a little more. Still, under the heat of being judged, many of them are able to get into the fun of the dance and, therefore, lighten the pressure on themselves. I think Toni Braxton struggled with this the most, and Warren Sapp does it the best.
Sometimes I wish I were a star so I could experience all of this rather than watch and write about it, but it is still exciting from my couch.
10.29.2008
10.28.2008
Brazilian soccer coach fines players above ideal weight
What do you think about fining athletes for being overweight?
This sounds like a ridiculous question to me, but the coach of a Brazilian soccer team actually put the policy in place for his team.
"RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Vasco da Gama's fifth coach of the year Renato Portaluppi has announced a crackdown on overweight players, who will be fined if they do not shed excess kilos by the end of the week.
"A footballer only learns in two ways: when he loses his place in the team or when he is fined," said Renato, who cultivated a playboy image during his own playing career which was plagued by disciplinary problems.
"Players eat a lot of junk," he said.
"Everyone needs to be down to their ideal weight by Friday," said Renato, adding that players who remained overweight would be fined 300 reais ($164) per excess kilo.
The daily newspaper O Globo said six players were overweight."
There are many bad habits - mental and physical - that adversely affect performance. Should weight be targeted?
This sounds like a ridiculous question to me, but the coach of a Brazilian soccer team actually put the policy in place for his team.
"RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Vasco da Gama's fifth coach of the year Renato Portaluppi has announced a crackdown on overweight players, who will be fined if they do not shed excess kilos by the end of the week.
"A footballer only learns in two ways: when he loses his place in the team or when he is fined," said Renato, who cultivated a playboy image during his own playing career which was plagued by disciplinary problems.
"Players eat a lot of junk," he said.
"Everyone needs to be down to their ideal weight by Friday," said Renato, adding that players who remained overweight would be fined 300 reais ($164) per excess kilo.
The daily newspaper O Globo said six players were overweight."
There are many bad habits - mental and physical - that adversely affect performance. Should weight be targeted?
marathon psyching teams
Psyching teams are a regular part of the New York City Marathon and Toronto Marathon. A team of 40-50 sports psychologists disseminate among the crowd of marathon runners at the starting line, offering last minute encouragement and advice. It might be just the crucial last bit the runner needed to complete the 26.2 mile run successfully. After the start, some of the psyching team will bike alongside the runners. All of the team members will be at the finish.
At the Toronto marathon, the psyching team members give runners they help at the start bits of orange plastic to symbolize the finish line. At the finish, the team members seek out these runners to follow-up.
This is not a new thing. The Toronto marathon psyching team has been active since 1999. The New York City marathon team has been in existance longer. I think since 1986. I would like to be a part of the psyching team someday, maybe even next year.
Read the latest article in Runner's World about the psyching team and some marathon running mental tips.
Read practical information about the psyching team at the Toronto Marathon.
Good luck to those competing in the New York City Marathon! The days are counting down.
If you are participating in either of these marathons, seek out the psyching team. They are there for you. If you are participating in a different marathon that doesn't offer a psyching team, consider suggesting it to the race director. It seems to me that anyone willing to suffer a 26.2 mile run could use some psychological help!
At the Toronto marathon, the psyching team members give runners they help at the start bits of orange plastic to symbolize the finish line. At the finish, the team members seek out these runners to follow-up.
This is not a new thing. The Toronto marathon psyching team has been active since 1999. The New York City marathon team has been in existance longer. I think since 1986. I would like to be a part of the psyching team someday, maybe even next year.
Read the latest article in Runner's World about the psyching team and some marathon running mental tips.
Read practical information about the psyching team at the Toronto Marathon.
Good luck to those competing in the New York City Marathon! The days are counting down.
If you are participating in either of these marathons, seek out the psyching team. They are there for you. If you are participating in a different marathon that doesn't offer a psyching team, consider suggesting it to the race director. It seems to me that anyone willing to suffer a 26.2 mile run could use some psychological help!
10.25.2008
Does cheering help?
During a VO2 max test (an all-out exercise to find out how much exercise you can do before your cardiovascular level drops as measured by oxygen consumption), a non-athlete pushes himself much farther if yelled encouragement. An athlete does just as well whether or not people cheer.
Why?
Exercise physiology yields no conclusive answers. Perhaps psychological research could discover the reason. But until then, we can only conjecture.
Some hypotheses:
Why?
Exercise physiology yields no conclusive answers. Perhaps psychological research could discover the reason. But until then, we can only conjecture.
Some hypotheses:
- athlete's are more used to pushing themselves to their limits, so encouragement matters less
- athlete's are more instrinsically motivated
- athlete's care about their performance outcome more
- non-athlete's need more help with suppressing thoughts of quitting
Do you have any other ideas?
Because others cheering for me has made a difference in my performance, I went to thinking about the validity of these results. Assuming they are accurate, I wonder if perhaps cheering does not neccessarily make a difference because:
- this is a test where the participants are prepared to work to their limits and only when confronted with pain, which athlete's are more practiced at handling, are the differences made. Athlete's are not always prepared to perform to their limits in competition.
- cheering might not make a difference for athletes in a test for your cardiovascular limits, but it may still help an athlete perform better - faster, stronger, more focused...
- Social facilitation theory says that others simply watching makes people perform better. Perhaps knowing people were watching or would judge the outcome was enough of a reason to propel the athlete without cheering. Perhaps in competition, cheering reminds an athlete, now one of many instead of singular doing a test, that he is being watched.
Does cheering help you perform better? I think we athletes like to be cheered on, but does it really help?
I can think of a specific races where I am sure the person cheering was just the impetus I needed to excel. Can you?
How would you explain the VO2 max test results?
10.08.2008
10.02.2008
relax to perform your best
in the zone, relaxation while exercising, flow state...
If you are an athlete, you know when you get there, but achieving it can seem random. There are many tips for how to get there more consistently, and some good ones are mentioned in this article: NY Times - Before hustling to finish, relaxed is a good way to start.
As a swimmer with Vocal Cord Dysfunction (abnormal partial closing off of the vocal cords on inhalation), I learned early through personal experimentation to pay attention to muscle tension. Keeping my neck relaxed was paramount to my health before I realized how much it could improve my performance.
How do you relax muscles? Most people will advise breathing in and out slowly. This works great to control nerves or simply relax before competition. But in swimming, and most types of exercise, you cannot take slow, deep breaths while at work.
There has to be an understanding of what muscles are in use and what muscles can be completely relaxed. Practicing muscle control and relaxation while lying down can help transfer the skill to the sport. Adding visualization (imagery) to this helps in transfer. Although breathing cannot be slow and deep, it can be controlled and easy.
In swimming, the entire body is used, but the neck and shoulders can be completely relaxed at all times. The head shouldn't move at all - or only slightly - apart from the torso rotation (in freestyle) and shoulders lifting it (in butterfly and breaststroke), so the neck can stay in a neutral, comfortable (relaxed!) position. The shoulders, particularly the trapezius, need to be loose to allow full rotation of the arms. Sculling while focusing in on relaxing the trapezius can help you gain a feel for it.
Notice in the article the reference to "staying tall." The coach is talking about good posture here. Good posture means the shoulders are rolled back, the head in line, and the chest lifted, which creates a taller stature.
Staying tall, breathing correctly, and relaxing the appropriate muscles can go a long way in improving your performance.
tip #4: Relax. Learning to relax while exercising will help you achieve the enviable flow state to perform your best and make it look easy. Now think about other areas of your life. Is it easier to concentrate on an exam while anxious or relaxed? Is it easier to confront someone when you are all worked up or relaxed? Is it easier to enjoy the day and go to sleep at night when you are on edge or relaxed? Relax. Try taking a few deep breaths several times a day...because you can do that when you are not in the midst of exercising!
If you are an athlete, you know when you get there, but achieving it can seem random. There are many tips for how to get there more consistently, and some good ones are mentioned in this article: NY Times - Before hustling to finish, relaxed is a good way to start.
As a swimmer with Vocal Cord Dysfunction (abnormal partial closing off of the vocal cords on inhalation), I learned early through personal experimentation to pay attention to muscle tension. Keeping my neck relaxed was paramount to my health before I realized how much it could improve my performance.
How do you relax muscles? Most people will advise breathing in and out slowly. This works great to control nerves or simply relax before competition. But in swimming, and most types of exercise, you cannot take slow, deep breaths while at work.
There has to be an understanding of what muscles are in use and what muscles can be completely relaxed. Practicing muscle control and relaxation while lying down can help transfer the skill to the sport. Adding visualization (imagery) to this helps in transfer. Although breathing cannot be slow and deep, it can be controlled and easy.
In swimming, the entire body is used, but the neck and shoulders can be completely relaxed at all times. The head shouldn't move at all - or only slightly - apart from the torso rotation (in freestyle) and shoulders lifting it (in butterfly and breaststroke), so the neck can stay in a neutral, comfortable (relaxed!) position. The shoulders, particularly the trapezius, need to be loose to allow full rotation of the arms. Sculling while focusing in on relaxing the trapezius can help you gain a feel for it.
Notice in the article the reference to "staying tall." The coach is talking about good posture here. Good posture means the shoulders are rolled back, the head in line, and the chest lifted, which creates a taller stature.
Staying tall, breathing correctly, and relaxing the appropriate muscles can go a long way in improving your performance.
tip #4: Relax. Learning to relax while exercising will help you achieve the enviable flow state to perform your best and make it look easy. Now think about other areas of your life. Is it easier to concentrate on an exam while anxious or relaxed? Is it easier to confront someone when you are all worked up or relaxed? Is it easier to enjoy the day and go to sleep at night when you are on edge or relaxed? Relax. Try taking a few deep breaths several times a day...because you can do that when you are not in the midst of exercising!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
