Gym Tip: Mental Conditioning
Saturday March 1, 2008
As a gymnast, you probably spend a lot of time training your body: doing strength and conditioning, flexibility and of course, working on new skills and routines. But don't forget your mind too.
Often the athletes who become the most successful are the ones who are mentally tough -- they can overcome the fear of trying new skills, perform confidently in meets, and have the ability to set goals for themselves.
Not sure your mind is as strong as your body? Check out this article on mental training from USA Gymnastics' Technique magazine. They've also written another helpful one on visualization in gymnastics.
Do you do any type of mental training? What is it?
Often the athletes who become the most successful are the ones who are mentally tough -- they can overcome the fear of trying new skills, perform confidently in meets, and have the ability to set goals for themselves.
Not sure your mind is as strong as your body? Check out this article on mental training from USA Gymnastics' Technique magazine. They've also written another helpful one on visualization in gymnastics.
Do you do any type of mental training? What is it?
Comments
i use visualization sometimes with some of my skills. i try to pretend i am actually in the skill, and what key words i want to think about for each move. (like, rest here, or tight here)
Sometimes at the end of our long saturday practices we used to do “psych”. I liked it because I thought it was a little bit like nap time. However, I have found that I actually applied (and still apply) many of the techhniques we learned during psych throughout my competitive career as well as in other life-related situations. Gymnastics is a very mental sport and having the abilty to relax and visualize certainly helps to ‘put mind over matter’ (sorry for the cliche).