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A is for Anxiety
If you want to swim fast,
you’ve got to prepare yourself mentally. That’s not
always an easy process. Beginning this week, Sport psychologist
Aimee Kimball, PhD., introduces a series of articles on
usaswimming.org that makes mental training as easy as A-B-C.
The ABCs of mental training will run every two weeks. This
week’s topic is Anxiety
Why do I have anxiety?
Many athletes have anxiety before they compete, whether it’s
a pounding heart, difficulty breathing, tight muscles, or worried
thoughts. All animals have what’s called the fight-or-flight
response in which our bodies prepare to either fight a challenge or
to run away from it. These symptoms of anxiety aren’t always
bad, as they can signal a readiness to compete. Think of a race you
were involved in that wasn’t important to you or where you
knew you would win it easily. You probably didn’t have the
same signs of anxiety because you didn’t see this event as
being as threatening. The perception of a challenge/threat is what
makes athletes feel anxious.
Changing the Perceived Threat
If situational factors (event importance, your opponents) cause you
anxiety, focus on controllable factors that help you to swim well-
a smooth stroke, a strong kick, and a well-timed start. When you
start to add “uncontrollables” to your focus, you are
adding thoughts to your head that don’t need to be there and
are making it a lot harder to swim to your potential.
Physically Relaxing
To release anxiety, take some long, deep breaths and picture all
the physical and mental stress leaving your body. You can also take
a few minutes each day to go through your muscle groups, tightening
them and then relaxing them. By doing this progressive relaxation,
you can recognize when and where you are carrying physical tension
and learn to physically loosen your muscles so that you can perform
your b
Therefore
Anxiety as you know it doesn’t have to exist. You may have
some physical activation (faster heart rate, quicker breathing) but
you can control this. Simply think how you want to think and leave
some time for a pre-race routine that allows you to physically
relax. While it requires training, you can regain control of your
body by taking control of your mind.
Make it Great!
For more information contact: 412-432-3777;
kimballac@upmc.edu
B is for Building Your
Mindset
Mentally preparing yourself to swim fast can be as easy as A-B-C.
Sport psychologist Aimee Kimball brings usaswimming.org her second
installment of the ABCs of mental training — “B”
is for Building Your Mindset.
Check back in two weeks to find out what “C” stands
for.
How should I think to swim well?
Every individual has a unique mental state under which he or she
performs best. There is not one right way to think. The key is to
know what you are thinking and how you are feeling when you perform
your best.
How do I know my ideal mindset?
To identify your ideal mindset, think about the best performance
you ever had. Ask yourself:
· What did I
do to mentally and physically get ready (music,
routines…)?
· Was I
relaxed or pumped up?
· What did I
focus on throughout the event?
· What words
describe how I was feeling? What I was thinking?
How do I recreate this mindset?
First, you have to choose to create your ideal mindset and take
responsibility for your thoughts. Second, before each practice and
event you should develop a routine that allows you to recreate this
mindset. Imagery, music and positive self-talk are great ways to
build your ideal mental and physical state. Third, you can come up
with a trigger word, phrase or action that reminds you of the
characteristics of your best performance. This trigger needs to
have meaning to you so that it can focus your mind to help you
perform your best. Write the trigger on your hand, goggles or bag
so when you see it you will be reminded to think that way and to
approach each event with your ideal attitude.
Build your mindset
Instead of just hoping you will be mentally ready to compete, take
control and create the mentality you want before each event. Know
your ideal mindset and choose to create this mindset through
pre-event routines, trigger words and by simply telling yourself,
“This is how I’m going to think today.”
Make it Great!
C is for Confidence
Mentally preparing yourself to swim fast can be as easy as A-B-C.
Sport psychologist Aimee Kimball brings usaswimming.org her third
installment of the ABCs of mental training — “C”
is for Confidence.
Confidence is a Choice
Many people think the only way to be confident is to be successful.
While it is easier to believe in your abilities when you have had
proven success, it is not the only way to feel a sense of
confidence. Confidence is a choice. It comes from choosing to focus
on your strengths and knowing that you are good. It comes from
choosing to be positive with yourself. It comes from focusing on
what you need to do to swim well rather than uncontrollable,
situational factors. Most importantly, confidence comes when
you’re not worrying about being the best, but when you are
focusing on being your best.
How Can I Create Confidence?
The first step in creating confidence is preparation. If you fully
engage physically and mentally in practice, you will feel more
prepared when competing. Focused practices allow you to trust that
you did everything you could to enable yourself to perform your
best.
Second, it is important to act confidently. Our mind reacts to what
our body does. If your head is down, your muscles are tense or your
shoulders are hunched, your mind will sense your self-doubt. So
always make sure your body language and your communication with
yourself and others portrays confidence. Even when you don’t
feel confident, act and think confidently.
Finally, realize you don’t need other people to tell you that
you are good. Many athletes wait for coaches to tell them they are
swimming well in order to believe in themselves. You may want
others to tell you that you are good, but it’s not something
you need. You already know when you swim well, hearing it from
others is just icing on the cake.
Make it great
D is for Dedication
BY AIMEE C. KIMBALL,
PhD//Special Correspondent
For many swimmers, their sport is more than just a hobby.
It’s more than just something they do to get fresh air, meet
people and get some exercise. There is nothing wrong if you swim
just for fun, but if you treat sport as hobby, it’s hard for
you to expect to swim your best. Anyone looking to perform to their
potential needs to be dedicated to their sport. This article
is for team leaders and individuals who want to take their
performance and the performance of those around them to the next
level.
Get on the Same Page
Athletes participate in sport for many different reasons. While
individuals’ rationale for competing might differ, in order
to be successful the whole team needs to be working towards the
same goals. The first way to develop more committed athletes is to
make sure they are all on the same page with what the team is
trying to accomplish. Open and honest communication about team
goals and about each individual’s contribution to the
team’s mission is essential. At the start of each season, the
team should discuss the answers to the following questions:
1. What do we strive to accomplish? How do we
accomplish this?
2. What drives us to be better? How does our
motivation help us to reach our goals?
3. What do you enjoy about swimming? How can we
find balance between your enjoyment and what the team is trying to
accomplish?
From this discussion, you can create a team motto and before each
practice huddle as a team and say your motto to remind the team
what they are working towards and what everyone has committed to.
When members of a team have a shared goal, they will begin to
demonstrate a greater dedication to their sport and team.
Relationships Are Key
Once everyone is on the same page and knows what is expected of
them, it is important to interact with team members in a way that
enhances their commitment to these goals. Leaders need to do more
than just be role models, it is also essential that they
demonstrate their respect for, interest in, and care for their
teammates. Team leaders can use the following suggestions to help
build a strong sense of mutual trust and support amongst teammates,
which will ultimately improve dedication to each other:
1. Ask for input and constructive advice and be
willing to listen
2. Get to know individuals outside of sport
3. Remove hierarchies. All members are equally
important
4. Encourage support for everyone’s
success. Compete but cooperate
Dedication Starts with Motivation
Ultimately individual dedication hinges on individual motivation.
The athletes who often demonstrate the most dedication are those
who love the sport and work to see themselves improve. Getting
athletes to focus on becoming their best can be difficult, but when
leaders build a culture emphasizing pride in effort and daily
improvement, team members become more dedicated to what they do in
both practice and competition. By having athletes state goals for
each practice and by rewarding the process of achieving those
goals, athletes will take to heart the importance of individual
improvement. This increases their sense of intrinsic motivation
which will then enhance their dedication to the team.
Know Your Purpose
Another important aspect of dedication is sense of purpose.
Athletes want to know that they are contributing something to their
team. For athletes whose talent may not be as great as their
effort, it can be hard to feel like they are important to those
around them. Thus, team leaders need to be cognizant of each
swimmer’s strengths and make a point of consistently
acknowledging and thanking them for their contributions. Whether
it’s their physical ability or their support of teammates,
individuals want to know what they contribute is meaningful, and
when they discover their purpose they will further dedicate
themselves to bettering the team through their identified
strengths.
What if I Won’t Dedicate 100%?
Knowing how to be fully dedicated to something is a very important
life skill to have. If you don’t ever learn what it means to
give 100%, how will you know if you can be successful outside of
swimming? There are many reasons why athletes do not fully commit
to their sport, some are completely understandable (involvement in
other activities) while others need to be overcome (laziness,
don’t want to make the sacrifices). Some athletes are at a
stage where they just swim for fun rather than the competition, so
giving 100% to swimming isn’t important to them. Whatever
your current reason for not being fully dedicated, make sure you
are still maximizing your commitment level given varying
priorities. What I mean is, if you sign up for a swim team, know
what is required and maintain that commitment. If you are not
willing to put forth the effort that the team requires, there might
be a better team for you because you are likely to end up unhappy
if you are on a highly-competitive team but you aren’t a
highly competitive person. If you find a team that matches your
motivation, you will most likely enjoy the sport more and be able
to match your dedication level to that of your teammates. I caution
you not to sell yourself short though. Some people don’t want
to be on a competitive team because they don’t believe the
“extreme” swimmers can have any fun. However, the
majority of people who give 100% love the sport and find most of it
enjoyable. They find the fun in knowing they are getting better,
pride in the hard work they put in and excitement in beating
someone new or in getting a PR in a race.
Levels of Dedication
§ No Dedication: Showing up at practice when I feel like
it.
§ Minimum Dedication: Showing up to mandatory
practices.
§ Moderate Dedication: Working hard at mandatory
practices and some optional practices.
§ High Dedication: Working hard at all available
practices and doing a little bit extra outside of the pool
§ Total Dedication: Working hard at all available
practices and doing everything you can outside of the pool (mental
training, nutrition, strength/flexibility training…)
If right now you are moderately dedicated to your sport but really
want to become a better swimmer, you do not have to totally
dedicate yourself to swimming and make your life revolve around it.
In order to see some improvement, you just have to do a little bit
more than you are now. Maybe you don’t have time for extra
training, but you may be able to read the latest articles in Splash
magazine or watch an instructional video on YouTube . To become the
best swimmer you can be and to truly reach your potential, you do
need higher levels of dedication, which include out-of-pool
activities. Ultimately, you have to choose your own dedication
level, which should be based on your ultimate goals and willingness
to make sacrifices. Olympic dreams require more than moderate
dedication, while participating on a high school team may not.
It’s up to you whether you want to see how good you can be,
but your potential in the pool can only be met through consistent
dedication. Dedicating yourself to a sport is about working to
accomplish something and putting in the effort necessary to meet
the challenge. It is much more disappointing to finish a race with
a less-than-ideal time and think to yourself, “If only I did
a little more” than to finish and say “I gave it all I
had.”
Dedication Decoded
Someone once told me that “Dedication is when you are bent
over, drenched in sweat, just about to pass out, and then you
smile.” I think there’s some truth in the idea that
dedication is about pushing your limits and still enjoying the
process. If you can get yourself and your team to do that, you know
they have the dedication necessary to
succeed.
Make it Great!
E is for Emotional
Control
BY AIMEE KIMBALL, PhD//Special
Correspondent
Whether it’s yelling at a parent, kicking a bleacher, or
letting an expletive fly, most people have lost their
“cool” at some point. Emotions are a part of every
sporting event, and if we don’t recognize how they are
influencing us, emotions can impact our performances. This article
will focus on how to control your emotions by recognizing them,
addressing them, and using them to your benefit.
Are Emotions Bad?
Most athletes perform their best when they keep their emotions to
themselves. It is often the case that becoming too emotional
creates an improper focus on the initial cause of the emotions
(e.g., a bad start, an important event, a competitor from the other
team). Emotions become most detrimental when they cause athletes to
lose focus on what they need to do to swim well and instead create
a focus on a past event, a negative occurrence, or a future
unwanted action.
Even positive emotions can elicit poor performance. When a football
player becomes elated because he just ran back a kick-off only to
start celebrating two yards short of the end zone, you can say his
emotions got the best of him. You’ve seen swimmers, a few
strokes away from winning the race, let the opponent make a
comeback. Often this happens because the swimmer in the lead was so
caught up in the positive emotions of winning that their thoughts
were no longer on the event. Thus, overconfidence is an emotion
that can negatively impact individuals because it can make their
focus less than ideal. Therefore, it’s not just negative
emotions that we need to be aware of.
That said, emotions are not necessarily bad. Some people perform
their best when they are emotional and claim their emotions help
them to “get into” the event. I have worked with many
athletes who tell me they play better angry, but I find the reason
for this is because they consequently become more intensely focused
on what they need to do in the competition. Essentially, certain
emotions help them to create the focus that allows them to compete
at their best.
While emotions can help people to focus better, the problem with
swimming “emotionally” is that emotions can be
physically manifested. Emotions often tighten athletes’
muscles, which changes their mechanics and decreases reactions,
ultimately hindering their performance.
Having emotions isn’t bad. The key is in controlling the
emotions you do have and not letting them cross the line from
beneficial to detrimental.
Controlling Your Emotions
To make sure your emotions don’t hurt your performance, you
need to know how to control them.
First, take deep breaths as often as possible. A deep breath will
slow down your heart rate and slow down your thoughts, both of
which give you better control over your emotions.
Have a pre-planned way to stop your emotions and refocus your
energy more positively. If you are really excited, turn this
excitement into a desire to swim well and focus on what you need to
do. If you’re often angry after a race, have a post-race
routine that you do after all races (good or bad). This may include
listening to three songs before talking to anyone and then
logically assessing your swim by thinking about what you did well
and what you will work on for next time.
Be creative and come up with other ways to physically and/or
mentally release the emotion. Pull on your cap and say “Pull
it together” or as you get out of the water after a poor race
think about leaving it behind.
Watch Your Body Language
Your mind will react to what your body does. If you put your head
down, throw a water bottle or slump your shoulders, you are
essentially telling your mind that you’re mentally checking
out. If you keep your head up, your eyes focused ahead, and your
comments positive, your mind will know you have already let go of
the bad race and are ready to keep going. This helps to control
your emotions by treating bad races (or other negative occurrences)
as nonevents—just part of the sport—and showing your
mind that you are in control of your body and your emotions.
Practice Emotional Control
Outside of sport, there are many situations that test our emotional
fortitude. By practicing staying calm when you are sitting in
traffic, in the slowest line in the grocery store, or fighting with
a sibling, you are training yourself to be in control of your
emotions. Just like practicing your physical skills is essential
for peak performance, so is practicing your emotional skills. So
start taking control of your mind, your body, and emotions in every
situation.
Make it Great!
F is for Fear
BY AIMEE KIMBALL, PhD//Special
Correspondent
One of the worst four-letter words in an athletes’ everyday
vocabulary is “fear.” It is an emotion that most
athletes don’t admit to, yet when experienced, is constantly
influencing their behaviors. This article will focus on rational
and irrational fears, how to accept them and keep them from
influencing your performance.
Slaying the Big Bad Wolf
I have yet to meet an athlete who isn’t afraid of something.
While a fear of spiders isn’t going to keep most athletes
from performing their best, a fear of failure may. If you have a
fear that is hindering you from performing your best, you have to
examine the source of this fear.
Common sport-related fears are:
Letting down/disappointing others
Making a mistake
Having a bad race
Getting yelled at
Not living up to your potential
Getting hurt
Not being as good as you/others thought
Pain
If you can relate to any of these, take a deep breath, because
it’s OK. It’s not all bad when you are afraid of
something. It’s how you deal with it that counts.
First, write down the fears that you have and determine whether or
not they are realistic. If you have an unrealistic fear, it’s
important to remind yourself that it’s not likely to happen.
Be logical with yourself, “Come on. I’m being silly. My
parents will not be disappointed in me if I have a bad
race.”
Second, if there is a level of honest concern (i.e., your coach
will never put you in the event again if you mess up) then you have
to accept this reality. Nine times out of 10, the more you focus on
NOT messing up to avoid the reality, the more likely you are to
mess up. If there is a realistic reason you are afraid to swim
poorly, then focus on what you need to do to swim well, rather than
what you are trying to avoid.
For example, the conversation you’d have with yourself would
go something like this:
Negative You: The relay is counting on me. I can’t have a bad
race or we’ll lose.
Positive You: Yes, the team does count on me, but I’m pretty
good, so I’m more likely to swim well than to have a bad
race. I just need to get a good start, have smooth turns, and
really kick strong. I’ve done it in practice. I can do it
now.
Third, have a routine. When athletes don’t have
something they do consistently, there is a greater chance that
something is going to feel off or that uncertainty will creep in.
By having a routine that you do before every competition — a
routine that does not change depending on how your last meet went
— you provide yourself with a level of comfort. That is, when
you always put your goggles on first or you listen to “Eye of
the Tiger” right before you take the block, you feel more in
control of your mind and body, the experience feels more familiar,
and you will be calmer—all things necessary in keeping those
worries at bay.
Swim Your Best Race
When favored to win, athletes who are not mentally tough fear
losing and compete that way. They are tentative and don’t do
their best. When expected to lose, athletes often do better because
they are focusing on causing an upset or because they are more
relaxed since they have nothing to lose. If you find you fit into
either category, remember who you swim should not determine how you
swim. When you swim well against good opponents, you can swim well
against lesser opponents. The mindset you have when you swim your
best should be the mindset you have against every opponent.
Swim to Win
Fear of the unknown comes because we’re thinking ahead. Stay
in the moment and don’t worry so much about negative
outcomes. You are out there to do your best, so swim like it. If
you swim to win, your focus is on swimming your best and making the
most of each stroke. If you’re swimming not to lose,
you’re thinking of swimming poorly and the
“what-ifs” often get the better of you. Thoughts of
losing lead to anxiety, thoughts of swimming well lead to
confidence. Which mindset would you rather have?
Choose to be a warrior, not a worrier.
Make it Great!
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