Maintenance of premium focus tracking an athletes performance might shed light on psychological conditions that are difficult to qualify

Athletes like everyone else suffer from mental health issues. Unlike everyone else athletes perform in a controlled measured performance environment. A person who isn’t training doesn’t often have the understanding of how a disorder can impact their life. Advanced neuroscience shows us how mental heath really effects everyone.  Daniel Eisenberg who is a professor at the University of Michigan School of Public Health heads up a team of researchers called Athletes Connected.  This is a multidimensional initiative that enables athletes to deal with mental health problems.  One of the most overused cliches is that 9 percent of sport is mental. The problem is that athletes and their coaches spend 100 percent of their time working on the physical and fundamentally physical skills related to sport. They often neglect, ignore or put down the one area that separates successful athletes from those who do not reach their full potential. In reality sport is 100 percent mental.

Our thoughts influence our actions and our actions influence our thoughts this never ending cycle often leads athletes and coaches to attributing poor performance to over thinking.  In truth thinking is very little of what happens in a well trained mind performance. A negative focus can often form, but during an event the secret to quality performance is to not be thinking at all.  Preparation for performance should include audio visual rehearsal and habit formation of predetermined confident play for every physical act in sport.   There is an equally important mental health component that needs to be addressed.

Co-operation between preparation and actions in play maximises fundamental physical and mental performance. In the Rio Olympics there was widely covered acknowledgement of what sports psychologists did for athletes that coaches can’t.  The most critical addition to sporting staff has been the Sports Psychologist as there is an intense mental role in reaching and maintaining the pinch role at the head of sport.

What and why Winter Tonic?

My passion is people; I have a knack of working with the complex and making it simple to get the best benefit for you. I hope to inspire and prepare you to add the quality of your focus, performance and your life in the winter months and not just cope with them. When daylight lessens we naturally become a little less bright, we spend more time at work or so it seems – we go to work in the dark come home in the dark, and most often the gym and our exercise commitments can grind to a halt.  Just like any tension and change its up to you to prepare for it, you’re the best source of staying up.

With this in mind what I call “Winter Tonic” is designed to give Athletes some preparation tactics for winter. These tactics are useful for any change so they may prove useful preparation tools for any change

Winter Tonic for the Athlete

In winter; drive and general motivation take a bit more effort – it’s just how we are built as human beings. If your health and fitness are the central focus of your performance existence is important this can become and even harder time to remain in good routines.  This is usually the result of increasing amounts of pressure in an over-stimulated world. An essential part of maintaining declined routines during season change or extremes for athletes requires higher levels of performance is understanding this pressure and utilising strong methodology to overcome. 

We see first hand that for high performance athletes the human body is amazing but it needs a new programme as winter comes along – or it will go into autopilot and slow down – we are after all mammals. Winter can be a season of long, grey days; colds, flu, and a general longing for the indoors, sleep, more sunshine and warmth!

Mind tonic is the tonic for I bring over 19 years of experience working with people and in Cognitive, Behavioural and Performance Psychology.

Intuition is the greatest guide of our vocation. In the work arena many publications write of the differences between people who manage their roles and those who lead their roles well. Preparation involves rehearsal.  Again and again one of the most vastly recognised and sought after leadership traits is an intuitive leader.

Sports Psychology is solution-focused standards and practices, and positive psychology.

Habit change – Winter  Performance Charge.

The perfect transition from summer to winter for the high performance athlete is  technique called  is  Performance Chemistry’- a rewiring system for habits and behaviours that can assist you to give off a different source of energy and enjoy better responses from yourself to many different or changeable situations.

Preparation is the key to reducing anxiety and negative stressors that can heighten in winter months.  Create realistic aims and keep these in line with breaks in daylight hours to enjoy daylight. Try not to work or train late into the night. Your state of mind is hugely affected by the body state and vice versa.  Winter will mean altering some of the training peaks that you may be used to as the body adults to temperature change keeping retina routines in focus will assist you and sticking with routines will also assist you however allowance for moving straining up to a mid after non to allow you to have a longer wind down period at the end of the day will have a largely more positive affect on your anxiety and send of freedom .

The first step to recharging your vitality and energy in winter is to access the resources that you specifically need, food, water and the outdoors. Think about foods and exercise routines and the changing hours of daylight and plan according. Winter just simply requires more thinking ahead. Plan time outdoors and check weather schedules ahead. Try to also keep outdoor routines in place if you can.

Perception Power and Performance 

Taking the time to plan for expected and unexpected change. Walk around in your body for a moment and check in exactly with how you feel. Take note of anything that needs attention without dwelling on it rather cater for this by allowing yourself what you need.

The athlete can integrate high performance rituals in Winter.  The key is to focus on self messaging, creating confidence rituals and resilience building techniques.  Through self awareness and care you can turn the winter season into a refresher for your mind and body.  Your own personal every is important to any task in life; whether you are a business person, team member, elite athlete or family member.  Examine your nutrition including supplements and vitamins and notice if you feel more tired or irritated during the change of season.  Check in with me for winter balancing and the ability you have to change these balance.  If you watch for the signs and also prepare for seasons strains and pains you can prepare for the possible burnout that can come post season.

Remember winter can be more stressful.  Stress slows down the bodies on rejuvenation.  Shorter days mean that everything compresses, even your attention and your capacity manage many things outside of your sport or athletic schedule.  I often plan and prepare a high performance suite using Sports Psychology frameworks to benefit performance.

The Physical Body and Performance over Winter

Plan your daily routine to maximise your time out in daylight hours according to your lifestyle. It’s natural to need light, so supply that need consciously. Be mindful of your body’s continued need for water, and warm your body with alternatives to caffeine. There are 4 causal networks including lack of goals and other lack of preparation techniques that can enhance the use of stimulants that can be naturally generated in the body.  You’ll find it has a more lasting effect on both your body state and your mind state!

If you need help making the change, I can quickly assess your particular body and nutrition needs and help you plan accordingly working with you  utilising the principals of chemistry creation from Sports Psychology and effective nutrition to balance chemistry to help you sustain the changes and feel the difference

Outside the Sports Environment

During the winter months, our human need for safe, secure and appealing environment is heightened. We need to be physically, visually and emotionally stimulated by our environment and our activities. Consider your environment and examine ways to make it more comfortable, more colourful place for the winter months. Our physical state and indeed what we put into our body and gut can largely determine how good we feel. How we eat also has a psychological outcome, combine by a greater need in winter to be safe and comfortable as we brave the winter cold and natures elements.

To feel bright choose to add bright, stimulating colours to your environment. create these types of changes in their environments to keep them in a “comfortable change zone”. Seasonal change and marinating energy can simple and effective.

Athletes & Social Needs

Keep social. People need people! Organise your goals for each day/week/month according to your needs and wants. Time for ourselves is important, so too is our social time. Human beings are social creatures – not butterflies. We require the social stimulation of others. Our winter hibernation tendencies can mean that we stay inside and turn on television, email or video as a way of sourcing people. Keep yourself physically, psychologically and emotionally energised by connecting with other people. A simple act of going for a walk, or going to a café, can be an uplift to a routine winter’s day, so rug up and step out to see and meet people outside the confines of working routines. Create a balanced schedule of outings and activities with friends and family, business networks, and teams.

Put your attention on enjoying and being present in all the interactions as are important for you and your mind. Brain chemistry and decision making capacity is decidedly positively enhanced when we practice being present to enjoy things.

These skills are developed with time. If you need a hand to quickly create a winter sports peak performance trend I can work with you also for a session or two or just a 30-minute activation session in life tools that you can easily master and reinforce for yourself. Don’t wait for the pre summer glum hurdle to get back on track! If you need help with any of the things suggested in this article take the time book in and fell in the self-assessment tool. It’s a quick step to energies you so you are back in power and enable you to get what you want from your health and fitness this winter!