Athletes can learn mental techniques for performance enhancement in a few hours

Athletes who want to learn mental techniques that enable them to perform better do not have to travel to a remote monastery in the Himalayas to study with mystical Buddhist monks. They only need four instruction sessions of one hour each. This is apparent from a small qualitative study that British scientists published in 2003 in the Sport Psychologist.

Study

The researchers experimented with 4 male students aged 19-21, who spent a lot of time in the gym at the University of Portsmouth. The researchers invited the students to do a simulated triathlon consisting of 2 kilometers of rowing, 5 kilometers of cycling and 3 kilometers of running. After the students had done this a few times, for 4 days the students were given an hour lesson on mental performance enhancing techniques. Each lesson took less than an hour.

And then, armed with the new knowledge, the students did the simulated triathlon a few more times.

Results

The figures below show that the students were able to complete their course in a shorter time after they had learned their mental techniques [intervention phase].





Conclusion



More information about the techniques that the British have taught their test subjects can be found in the researchers' publication. A link to the full article is below.

Source:

The Sport Psychologist, 2003, 17, 318-17.

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Muscle groups work harder during a set if you focus on them 26.11.2009



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