Why is mental training so important for athletes? Developing tactics, technique and physical fitness are important. However, without structured thoughts they are nothing
Contrary to popular belief, a sports psychologist is not needed only when an athlete is not coping with stress or crisis. In fact, a visit to a specialist is to mentally prepare the athlete for what awaits him in the development of his career, or even before it begins. It’s a focus on getting better and better while maintaining mental and physical health
Not only active athletes can benefit from the services of a sports psychologist. Parents, coaches, or retired athletes and amateurs should also seek out what sports psychology offers
In daily work with a sports psychologist, the athlete learns how to deal with stress. He learns techniques that he can use in stressful situations. With these, he will achieve success. Another point is to work on self-confidence. This is a very important point, which allows you to build and strengthen self-esteem, it is part of the road to self-improvement. In addition, work on inner beliefs, the ability to dialogue with other athletes, developing goals or motivation is also practiced
The athlete has the opportunity to learn the secrets of mental training. Regular practice shapes and consolidates mental qualities and skills. The techniques learned focus on development, not on correcting imperfections. Their aim is to regulate emotions and attention, improve the so-called automaticity of performance, reduce anxiety and stress, etc.
The imaginal technique is used by 99% of Olympic athletes, but not only. In fact, it is practiced by many people who were previously unaware of it. Its purpose is to improve and consolidate new skills. It is indispensable when preparing for competitions. It involves imagining movements or ways of performing a task. Many athletes who see a particular court, implement, or stadium for the first time, analyze their placement and imagine how they will overcome the next obstacles
People outside of sports also use this technique; for example, a pizzerman thinks about how he will form a dough. He makes movements with his hands, and with his eyes he sees the restaurant where he works. This method applies not only to new activities but also to those already learned. It should be remembered, however, that with its help it is impossible to learn new activities, with which you have never had to deal
The mental sphere is the most neglected side of human nature. It is alarming that, despite the advances in technology and digitization, as well as many achievements that people a few years ago did not even dream of, we still can not take care of our mentality. Why is it so? Probably because of a false myth that only mentally ill people benefit from the help of psychologists
It is time to take care not only of the body, but also of the psyche. These are two inseparable and interconnected systems where if one fails, the other is also affected. Visiting a psychologist is a privilege, not a stain on your honor and reputation. Let us take a step towards a better future and educate ourselves about it
In the field of sports, we meet many athletes who base their success not only on tedious and long hours training of the body, but also of the mind. In our home backyard we have the example of Adam Malysz and his famous tapes, which allowed him to relax and motivate himself. Many athletes feel pressure to perform or exhaustion and other blockages that do not affect positively the achievement of success. A sports psychologist is a person who will sort out the emotions, thoughts, feelings of an athlete. That is why it is worth to see him as soon as possible!
(photo: pixabay.com)
