Olympic mindsets

The Olympic games are just around the corner, and to be working first hand with some of Team GB’s strongest hopes for Olympic medals is a fantastic experience. The games surmise what the human being is capable of, and is most definitely the pinnacle of physical performance. The athletes that compete at these games will have dedicated and sacrificed more than most would consider reasonable. And the one thing that separates the good from the great is the fact that excuses aren’t made and the required job is done.

Olympic athletes train 6-8 hours a day. This may or may not be a surprise. They have the best support available to treat their injuries, enhance their sport skill and tune their physical performance. But without the mental mindset to use and apply all the advice and help they get, they would not be able to compete at the highest level.

Tom Daley & Pete Waterfield

They often go through ups and downs, lack of confidence and negative thoughts as we all do. What drives them through these barriers is the focus on the end result and the ability to summon huge amounts of self-belief. This is their key to getting to where they are so determined to get too. When you see the extraordinary abilities of the top athletes in the world such as Usain Bolt, spare a thought for the person that came in last. As in their own right, they are in the same pool of elite individuals that have applied the same mental focus. Without that, they wouldn’t be on that starting line or dive board.

 

Why is this relevant?

Applying a positive mind set in everyday life is I would say just as, if not more important. Whether you are training for fun, because you have an injury or you have a sport you play, you need to have some kind of motivation to get the most out of the effort you put in. Otherwise what’s the point!

This ties into getting treatment for injuries you sustain from all activities. It’s one thing to go and seek help from a professional with regards to curing pain. That is the start of taking the situation into your own hands…But whilst so many do this, very few go on and take the onus upon themselves to continue to maintain and work at improving their ailments.

Most enter into a viscous circle that involves feeling pain, getting treatment, pain goes, pain comes back, getting treatment etc.

How can we help?

1. If you have pain then seek a quality practitioner based on reputation
2. Follow advice from them, after all you’ve paid for it
3. Agree between yourself and the practitioner on a plan to move forward that is realistic for you, that will work towards improving your condition…not just hide it on a temporary basis.

You determine your daily time constraints, there is always time to dedicate to yourself to improve symptoms and to reduce the chances of injury to occur.

Richard is strength and conditioning coach to the Team GB Olympic Diving team aiming at podium success at the London Olympic Games. For more information on him please see here.

Written by Richard Husseiny