Success in sports has been regarded as 50 per cent mental preparation when competing against other athletes of similar abilities.
There are various studies which suggest and support the importance of mental preparation and even coaches and athletes regards mental preparation as a big contributing factor to sports success.
However, many coaches and athletes don’t know how to incorporate mental preparation in their training programs such as , such as concentrating, relaxing and letting go of thoughts and feelings, which can aid performance.
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A researcher from The Catholic University of America outlined a multi- step program which is based on mindfulness which can be used by all levels of athletes and coaches to increase mental readiness.
Mindfulness involves being present in the moment and accepting things as they are without judgement and not getting distracted by negative thoughts.
The researcher feels that if athletes can identify with what they feel in the “now”, then they need not overthink or latch onto it, but can just accept it for what it is and can intentionally move their focus to their performance.
The program consists of six group-based sessions with educational, discussion and experiential components. It also consists of recommendation for Home practice.
The practice begins with sedentary mindfulness practice – participants are instructed to focus on breathing and eating.
But gradually the session becomes more physical with more and more movement added to it culminating in sports-specific meditation where coaches and athletes come to apply more mindful attention to sports performance.
In addition to formal practice the program also encourages informal practice of mindfulness such as engaging in daily activities with mindful intention and enabling participants to integrate mindfulness in their workouts, practices and competitions and in everything that they do in daily life.
In two studies involving 81 university athletes found that those who completed this program had significant increases in various dimensions of mindfulness which is the same as being in the zone for athletes.
The athletes also rated their own performance as better and they experience less sport-related anxiety.
At a follow up a few months later, these gains were maintained.
In another study which involved two teams that had a record of losing in the previous year, found that they had winning seasons after participating in the mindfulness program.
Mindfulness can go a long way in helping athletes get into the zone by developing their mental edge and improving their performance. But mindfulness is also beneficial to them when they are off the field, in their daily life in so many other ways.
So try mindfulness even if you’re not an athlete.
Source: American Psychological Association
