Well coached Vikings
Dead in the water weeks ago at 3-6, the Vikings have ridden a 5-game winning streak to 8-6 and have their sights on the NFC Playoffs. Of all sports, coaching is arguably the most important in football; what about the Vikings coaches makes them stand out?
No need to go further down the line than head coach Brad Childress. He understands the importance of positive self-talk on athletes, and how beneficial positive thinking can be. In terms of leadership, the coach understands that he's "dealing with 53 completely different personalities that you're trying to shape all into one." And the degree Childress graduated with from Eastern Ilinois? Psychology.
Read the whole AP story on ESPN here.
Friday, December 21, 2007
What is pseudo-maximum performance?
Pseudo-maximum performance, put briefly, is the idea that there is no maximum performance; we are always capable of performing better. It may be that mental toughness is the key to driving ourselves even farther. Some research suggests that a technique called 'dissociation' can be the tool for athletes to push themselves even farther.
The technique, as tested in runners, involved three components:
Saying "down" to themselves at each step
Focusing attention on an object in the distance
Breathing in sync with footfalls
Runners dissociating while running showed significant increases in endurance over a control group of runners, who ran in their normal way. There's also the story, as reported by anthropologists, about Tibetan monks who ran 300 miles in 30 hours. They focused on distant landmarks, like mountains, and repeated a mantra to themselves with each step - a remarkable similiarity to principles of dissociation. Of course, the tale is probably untrue, but the similarities cannot be denied.
The question remains - how far can we push ourselves? What is the true limit? According to University of Texas professor Dr. Benjamin Levine, we don't know: “How does the brain interact with the skeletal muscles and the circulation? How much of this is voluntary and how much is involuntary? We just don’t know.”
While dissociation research has primarily been done with runners and cyclers, the same principles of focus and self-regulation could work with other sports.
Check out the whole New York Times article here.
Pseudo-maximum performance, put briefly, is the idea that there is no maximum performance; we are always capable of performing better. It may be that mental toughness is the key to driving ourselves even farther. Some research suggests that a technique called 'dissociation' can be the tool for athletes to push themselves even farther.
The technique, as tested in runners, involved three components:
Saying "down" to themselves at each step
Focusing attention on an object in the distance
Breathing in sync with footfalls
Runners dissociating while running showed significant increases in endurance over a control group of runners, who ran in their normal way. There's also the story, as reported by anthropologists, about Tibetan monks who ran 300 miles in 30 hours. They focused on distant landmarks, like mountains, and repeated a mantra to themselves with each step - a remarkable similiarity to principles of dissociation. Of course, the tale is probably untrue, but the similarities cannot be denied.
The question remains - how far can we push ourselves? What is the true limit? According to University of Texas professor Dr. Benjamin Levine, we don't know: “How does the brain interact with the skeletal muscles and the circulation? How much of this is voluntary and how much is involuntary? We just don’t know.”
While dissociation research has primarily been done with runners and cyclers, the same principles of focus and self-regulation could work with other sports.
Check out the whole New York Times article here.
Positive Thinking
With parity in the NHL at an all-time high, teams are beginning to take that extra step to gain an advantage on the competition. Take a look at the Florida Panthers, who are beginning to see the performance edge gained from working with a sport psychologist. Said team captain Olli Jokinen, "You've got to be positive. If you have a negative mind-set, you're usually going to fail. You're going to be too nervous to try anything. A positive mind-set helps a lot."
It seems just about every professional sport these days is beginning to appreciate the importance of a well-honed mental game.
Check out the whole article from the Palm Beach Post here.
With parity in the NHL at an all-time high, teams are beginning to take that extra step to gain an advantage on the competition. Take a look at the Florida Panthers, who are beginning to see the performance edge gained from working with a sport psychologist. Said team captain Olli Jokinen, "You've got to be positive. If you have a negative mind-set, you're usually going to fail. You're going to be too nervous to try anything. A positive mind-set helps a lot."
It seems just about every professional sport these days is beginning to appreciate the importance of a well-honed mental game.
Check out the whole article from the Palm Beach Post here.
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