Mind training during sport
Introduction
Training the mind during training may seem complicated for more than one. Nothing is further from reality, when the custom is taken to train the mind, it is equally simple as training the body. To achieve optimal sports performance, it is equally important to work the physical and mental aspect. Both aspects are not separable, but they complement and contribute each other. That is, in a complete training a physical training is not understood without the mental part and vice versa.
Developing
The brain, like any other organ, adapts and grows depending on the demands that are put. Therefore, the more they work during training, the greater the potential that can offer us. Here are advice so you can train your mind during training.
- Start with adequate warming
It is a mistake to believe that training begins with technical exercises or routines. Previously, there must be a warming to prepare both muscles and mind. To make adequate warming you have to choose movements or tasks that involve thinking. Make joint mobilization is very good, but it is necessary to complement it with other exercises that activate cognitive processes such as attention or memory. In this way, when the most technical part of the training begins, the athlete will be awake and will take advantage of the session much more.
- Add progressive difficulty to exercises
As to increase muscle mass, it is necessary to increase the workload, to challenge the mind you have to increase the difficulty of the exercises. When one gets used to a certain exercise, the capacity for growth is reduced. Therefore, introducing an added point of difficulty will increase the possibilities of progress that this exercise offers. For example: try to do leg exercises by adding an instability component by making them in a Bosu apparatus.
It is important to emphasize that any variation of an exercise must be supervised by a health professional to ensure that it does not cause damage to any articulation.
- Put the technique of visualization into practice
Visualization is a psychological technique that can help work the mind during training. In fact, many times athletes put it into practice without being aware. Visualizing consists of imagining with the greatest possible realism different situations or actions. For example: mentally review a routine, or imagine being successful in a competition.
Incorporating this technique into training has many advantages: it allows faster and more durable learning; You can work on the emotions that are generated by imagining various situations; and allows to test actions that is difficult to put into practice in a real context.
- Be aware of your strengths and weaknesses
All athletes have strengths and weaknesses. Know them will provide immense value information to plan training and objectives. The best way to know the weak and strong points is to do an introspection exercise and write them down on paper. Once this has been done, the next step is to elaborate specific action plans aimed at enhancing the deficiencies and reinforcing the strengths.
We must emphasize that when we talk about strengths and weaknesses we are not only talking about the physical aspect, but also of the rest of facets that make up the sports performance: psychological, technical and tactical.
- Acquires the habit of training the mind during training
Any training that does not contemplate working the mental aspect is an incomplete training. In fact, processes such as attention or decision making without one are aware of it. Even so, include the mental burden in the exercises consciously will add an advantage that will result in higher performance.
conclusion
Finally, mental training is also effective for injury prevention. This is stated by a review by the University of Zaragoza. It affirms that there is a negative relationship between psychological training and overload injuries. With all these data, there are no excuses for not working the mind during training.
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