Of course, this will be subjective to your own tastes, but as a rule of thumb the brain responds positively to songs that have motivating lyrics, a strong beat, and connect to memories associated with success which explains why the Rocky theme is such a good fit for the film.

Nature has a calming effect. as these act as a constant visual reminder. If you want to feel energised to train, one strategy you can use is associated imagery. Sit down, relax and identify a previous athletic performance of yours that you consider to be excellent.

Create a mental image of it and try to enhance the clarity of your images, sharpen the intensity of the colour, and tune into the sounds around you, your emotions, and how you physically felt.

Replay this mental image and re-experience the passion, purpose, efficiency, and confidence you felt at the time. Andy Lane is a Professor of Sport Psychology and Director of Research Excellence at the University of Wolverhampton.

A Fellow of the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences BASES , Andy is Health Professional Council registered and a British Psychological Society Chartered Psychologist.

Andy achieved a sub-3hr time in the London Marathon. About Us Unity Lab Science of Supplements. About Us. Unity Lab. Science of Supplements. My cart. No products in your cart.

Total £0. Change your perspective If you can identify the cause of a mood that leaves you lacking focus and motivation, try to think differently about the situation that caused that poor mood. Create a positive association Music can have amazing effects on the human brain.

Visualise past successes If you want to feel energised to train, one strategy you can use is associated imagery. You may also like. Daniela Ryf: The Ironwoman Read More.

This strengthens the connections between neurons and helps to improve motor skills. To use visualization, find a quiet place where you won't be disturbed. Close your eyes and imagine yourself performing the skill or activity in as much detail as possible.

Visualize every aspect of the movement, including the sounds, smells, and sensations associated with it. The more vivid your visualization, the more effective it will be.

Goal setting is a technique where you set specific, measurable, and realistic goals for yourself. Research has shown that athletes who set goals perform better than those who don't.

Goals can help you stay focused, motivated, and track your progress. When setting goals, make sure they are SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound.

Specific goals are clear and well-defined, measurable goals are quantifiable and allow you to track progress, attainable goals are challenging but achievable, relevant goals are aligned with your overall performance objectives, and time-bound goals have a deadline. Self-talk is the inner dialogue that takes place in your mind.

It can be positive or negative, and it can affect your emotions, behavior, and performance. Positive self-talk can help athletes manage stress, increase confidence, and stay focused during competition.

Research has shown that positive self-talk can improve performance in various sports, including soccer, basketball, and golf. Positive self-talk involves replacing negative thoughts and phrases with positive ones. This can include positive affirmations, such as "I am strong and capable" or "I can do this.

Negative self-talk, on the other hand, can be detrimental to performance. Negative self-talk includes thoughts like "I can't do this" or "I always mess up.

To use self-talk, identify any negative self-talk patterns you may have and replace them with positive ones. For example, instead of saying "I can't do this," say "I can do this, and I will do it.

Breathing and relaxation techniques can help athletes manage anxiety, regulate their emotions, and improve their focus. Research has shown that deep breathing and progressive muscle relaxation can reduce anxiety and improve performance in various sports. Deep breathing involves taking slow, deep breaths through your nose and exhaling slowly through your mouth.

This technique can help to calm the mind and reduce anxiety. To use deep breathing, find a quiet place where you won't be disturbed. Close your eyes and take a deep breath in through your nose, hold for a few seconds, and then exhale slowly through your mouth.

Progressive muscle relaxation involves tensing and relaxing different muscle groups in the body. This technique can help to release tension and reduce stress. To use progressive muscle relaxation, start by tensing the muscles in your feet, then your legs, and work your way up your body, tensing and relaxing each muscle group.

Focus and concentration are essential for athletes to perform at their best. Distractions can lead to mistakes, missed opportunities, and poor performance. Research has shown that techniques such as mindfulness meditation and focusing on a specific cue can improve focus and concentration in athletes.

Mindfulness meditation involves paying attention to the present moment without judgment. This technique can help to calm the mind, reduce stress, and improve focus. To use mindfulness meditation, find a quiet place where you won't be disturbed. Close your eyes and focus on your breath.

When your mind wanders, gently bring your attention back to your breath. Focusing on a specific cue involves identifying a specific cue, such as a sound or a visual stimulus, and using it to maintain focus during competition.

For example, a basketball player might focus on the sound of the ball hitting the rim to maintain focus during free throws.

There are many ways to have a career in sports without playing on the field, and becoming a sports psychologist is one of them.

A Bachelor of Science degree in sports psychology can open the door for you to assist players both on and off the field. You can do this by helping athletes overcome mental problems they may not be willing to share with others. Located in Montgomery, Alabama, Faulkner University offers both online and on-campus opportunities to earn this degree.

Sports psychology is essentially the study of how sports and exercise can affect mental health, as well as improve health and well-being. The first research lab devoted to the study of sports psychology was opened in Sports psychologists can find careers on sports teams and in schools and even work with non-athletes who want to improve their lives by becoming more involved in exercising.

There are many distractions for athletes. From fans cheering in the crowds to rival teams heckling them, some athletes may find it difficult to concentrate on the game. This can result in poor performance, and it may even cost them a win.

Sports can be rather stressful, especially for athletes who are trying to impress scouts, playing for college teams, or joining the major leagues. This can result in athletes failing to live up to their potential or lead to burnout, both of which can cause them to quit.

By helping athletes learn how to set realistic goals and visualize how they will accomplish those goals, you can help them improve their performance. Setting goals is an important step in being an athlete. This can be both short-term, as in the next major event, and long-term, such as considering where they want to be four years from now.

Visualizing how they will get there can help motivate athletes, as well as assist them on how they will go about fulfilling their goals. Focusing on goals can also help alleviate stress and anxiety in the moment.

Playing sports can be both exhilarating and rewarding, but it can also be stressful. By developing mental toughness, athletes can learn how to handle these problems without being knocked down, which in turn can help them reach optimal performance.

This is done by learning to have faith in their own skills and abilities, a desire to succeed, and the ability to thrive despite setbacks. Most sports involve teams and require athletes to work with others to be able to succeed.

Suite Beachwood, Ohio Phone: Home Our Services Staff Nine Mental Skills Workshops Products Location Resources Contact Us. The Nine Mental Skills of Successful Athletes Jack J. Lesyk, Ph. A Brief List of the Nine Mental Skills Successful Athletes: Choose and maintain a positive attitude.

Maintain a high level of self-motivation. Set high, realistic goals. Deal effectively with people. Use positive self-talk. Use positive mental imagery. Manage anxiety effectively. Manage their emotions effectively. Maintain concentration. Mental Skills Training These nine mental skills are necessary for performing well in sport as well as in non-sport performance situations.

At the Ohio Center for Sport Psychology: We believe that these skills are learned and can be improved through instruction and practice. We begin our work with each individual by assessing his current proficiency in each of the skills. We develop a plan for teaching and enhancing the specific skills that need improvement for the individual.

The Performance Pyramid Although each of the nine skills is important, its primary importance will occur during one of three phases: long-term development, immediate preparation for performance, and during performance itself.

Level III - These skills are used during actual performance behavior. All Rights Reserved , Ohio Center for Sport Psychology Web Site Developed by Alt Media Studios.

Van Raalte and Andrew Vincent sounds quite clear: Self-talk is the expression of a syntactically recognizable internal position in which the sender of the message is also the intended receiver. It can be expressed either internally or out loud and has expressive, interpretive and self-regulatory functions.

You have to differ between 3 categories of self-talk. The last kind of self-talk is neutral, also called instructional self-talk. Additional research is needed to make clear which kind of self-talk is most beneficial for an individual.

One of the most important things regarding self-talk is the connection between your words and your belief. The definitive aim of this technique is to use words and beliefs, which are reachable and believable.

The positive self-talk habit development is done in 3 steps:. Bear in mind: All psych-down techniques should be practiced during your practices or in less important competitions.

The goal is to automatize them and then implement them within your major events. Techniques of Sports Psychology Apr 17, by Dominique Plattner, ITTF High Performance Manager Sports psychology and mental training are topics that enjoy widespread prominence and are currently widely discussed.

It can be done in 5 steps: Physical training is a solid base of self-confidence. To know and believe that you have trained better, harder and even longer than your opponents, can make you feel stronger.

The focus has to be on yourself; strictly speaking on the things you can influence and control. Try to avoid comparisons with other people. Stay inside yourself. Increase positive thinking within your life. Keep reminding yourself of them, especially in difficult times. Mistakes are part of a successful learning process.

You have to accept that mistakes are part of the process, try to get better with them and afterwards refocus and let them disappear out of your sight! Concentrate yourself on the upcoming things. Which leads us to our next topic!

Concentration — the key to athletic excellence Concentration is the ability to completely focus the attention on something for an extended period. PETTLEP stands for: P hysical: Imagine the relevant physical characteristics E nvironment: Imagine the environment where the performance takes place.

T ask: Imagine details of the relevant task. P erspective: Use the first-person perspective focus on timing, open skills or the third-person one form, positioning For the more advanced ones among yourselves, maybe even professional players, imagery practice can be combined with your breathing exercises , which makes it more effective, but I would recommend it just in the case of having enough experience with abdominal breathing and imagery practice.

Find a quiet place. Prepare your electronic device, so that you can act it out promptly. Take a seat or lay down. Do abdominal breathing for 3 to 5 minutes. Open your eyes and let the electronic device act out your highlight video 10 times in a row.

Close your eyes and do abdominal breathing for 3 to 5 minutes again. Forget about it maintain positivity, learn from mistakes and go on Focus get back on track, re-focus your mind on the task in hand You have to follow some rules to gain the highest benefit from imagery.

Self-talk — a key component of applied sport psychology practice The following definition by Judy L. The choice of the words should help you to immediately recall a visual picture, showing yourself how you want to perform. The combination of the right words and the visualized image sends the body a very strong and positive message.

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Li, Zhi-Jin Lima, F. Limoto, Y. Liu, T. Liu, W. Lokhov, Y Luis Carrasco Madhosingh, C. Even more than that, you want to remember what is helpful or important.

That's where this question comes into play. If you notice that you've become distracted, simply ask yourself, What's important now? What this will do is remind you that whatever distraction you're focused on is unhelpful, and it will redirect your focus onto the present.

Since the present, and the task at hand, is what is important in that moment. The other sports psychology focus technique for refocusing in the moment is a thought-stopping phrase.

This is something you repeat to yourself to stop unhelpful thoughts. A thought-stopping phrase works very well when the distractions you're experiencing are internal.

For example, if you are thinking about a mistake you just made, you need to stop those thoughts, and refocus yourself on the present moment. Or if you are worried about the future, maybe doing some outcome-oriented thinking , you need to stop those thoughts and focus on the present.

That's what a thought-stopping phrase does: it stops unhelpful thoughts and refocuses you on the present.

Because you are going to have to apply the phrase during times when your thoughts are running out of control. Not exactly the easiest time to recite a long paragraph to yourself. But something short and simple will be easier to apply.

A great example of a thought-stopping phrase I've used with athletes is, Let it go, take a breath, focus on the next play. It reminds you to let go of whatever is distracting you, helps you recenter by taking a deep breath, and then gets your mind refocused on the next play.

The next two sports psychology focus techniques will help you strengthen and improve your focus moving forward. Once you have techniques in place to refocus in the moment, then you want to begin improving your focus moving forward. That way, distractions have less of an impact on you and it becomes easier for you to stay focused.

Both of the techniques I am about to go over require consistency. Think of them like weightlifting or performing drills to improve your mechanics.

Change won't happen overnight. But improvement will come over time if you remain consistent. Mindfulness meditation is a great sports psychology focus technique because it trains your ability to keep your attention centered on the present moment.

And that's what you want to have happen during games. You want to be completely focused on the task at hand. But what mindfulness also helps strengthen is your ability to recognize when you have become distracted, and return your attention back onto what you want to be focused on. To train focus using mindfulness, you want to decide on a certain amount of time each day to practice.

A great amount to start with is minutes. Set yourself a timer for the amount of time chosen, close your eyes, and focus on your breathing. Take nice deep breaths. Now, your mind is going to wander. You will start thinking about other things. That's okay and part of the training.

What you do is notice that you're thinking about something else, and then bring your attention back onto your breath. It is that act that is training your ability to notice when you've become distracted and refocus yourself. But the act of focusing on your breath also trains and improves your ability to hold your attention in the present moment.

Here's an article that goes into more detail on mindfulness meditation for athletes. Another long-term tool you can use is setting performance objectives.

Performance objectives are cues or targets you set for yourself during games that are part of the process and in your control.

The point of performance objectives is that you give yourself something concrete to focus on that's not the outcome. Because we know that one of the main internal distractions you face is outcome-oriented thinking. Performance objectives help in the short-term by giving you something to focus on.

But they also help over the long-term by training a more process-focused mindset. Your level of focus is directly tied to your success on the field or court. But with all the internal and external distractions you face, staying focused is often difficult.

That's where sports psychology focus techniques come into play. And there are two approaches you want to take: techniques for refocusing in the moment and techniques to strengthen your focus long-term. To refocus in the moment, you can use a refocusing question and a thought-stopping phrase.

And for long-term training, you want to be using mindfulness meditation and make sure you are setting performance objectives for games. By using these sports psychology focus techniques, you will become a more focused player, leading to greater success on the field or court.

Thank you for reading and I wish you the best of success in all that you do. Please contact us to learn more about mental coaching and to see how it can improve your mental game and increase your performance.

Complete the form below, call or schedule an introductory coaching call here. Eli is a sport psychology consultant and mental game coach who works with athletes to help them improve their mental skills and overcome any mental barriers keeping them from performing their best.

He has an M. Learn more about our two main mental training courses for athletes: Mental Training Advantage and The Mentally Tough Kid. It's time to take control of your mindset and unlock your full athletic potential!

Get one-on-one mental performance coaching to help break through mental barriers and become the athlete you're meant to be! Mental Coaching From Anywhere in the World Click Here. Top Distractions Sports Psychology Helps With What would you say are the top distractions you face during a game?