Confidence is the second mental “muscle” that I explore in my upcoming Prime Sport 101: Train Your Mind like a Champion online mental training course. I define confidence as how strongly you believe in your ability to perform your best and achieve your athletic goals. Confidence is the most important mental muscle because you may have [...]
You have certain muscles in your body that are absolutely essential for sports including your quads, glutes, abs, and hamstrings. The simple reality is that if you don’t actively strengthen these muscles, you will not be capable of performing your best. You should think about your mind as made up of ‘mental muscles’, the same [...]
You have certain muscles in your body that are absolutely essential for ski racing including your quads, glutes, and hamstrings. The simple reality is that if you don’t actively strengthen these muscles, you will not be capable of skiing your best. You should think about your mind as made up of ‘mental muscles’, the same [...]
Please be prepared. I'm going to go on a bit of rant now. I just can't hold it in any longer. I see parents doing this constantly and it's killing me because they know not what they do and they are actually hurting their children's personal and athletic development. What am I referring to? It's [...]
In one of my final post this past season, I exhorted you to buy into the notion that Next Season Starts…NOW! With the start of June having just arrived, the summer is now officially upon us. The summer is an immensely important time to pursue your ski racing goals. You can get stronger, improve your [...]
Here's a great article about Rafael Nadal in which he describes struggling mentally this year on the pro tennis tour. Roger Federer also discusses his mental difficulties. For most people, it's hard to imagine that such such gifted and experienced athletes who have had so much success in their careers could, for example, lose confidence and get [...]
I was recently interviewed by Glenn Whitney of SportsCoachRadio.com about the many different aspects of the psychology of sport. A good listen (scroll to bottom) if you want to learn more about how the mind impacts athletic performance.
An interesting New York Times article debunks the power of positive thinking, to a point. The article describes research which found that people who simply think positively feel less energy, have less motivation, and accomplish less than those who don't think positively (or negatively). The research indicates that a combination of positive thinking and thinking [...]
An interesting article discussing research that demonstrates the benefits of self-talk and the difference between using second person ("You can do it") and first person ("I can do it"). Hint: second person is better.
Here's an encore representation of one of my favorite ski racing posts. You can begin to develop your mental skills in the gym.