Psychological Aspects of Peak Athletic Performance

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PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF PEAK PERFORMANCE
Part II
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 VOLUNTARY RELAXATION

• The ability to voluntarily calm the mind and
  relax the muscles of the body

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 RELAXATION RESPONSE

• An Innate, Involuntary Protective Response that
  Allow the Body to Normalize

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RATIONALE

• The mind and body perform best when they are not
  too relaxed and not too tight
• Relaxed Yet Highly Energized

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 PEAK PERFORMANCE CURVE
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 AROUSAL NEEDS VARY

• Performance peaks at lower levels of arousal for
  difficult tasks, and at higher levels for easy or
  well-learned tasks

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"My tapes helped me to concentrate better and
maintain my aggressiveness when climbing and
sprinting. Marion Clignet, French National
Cycling TeamWorld Champion Silver Medal 96
00 Olympic Games
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MENTAL REHEARSAL
The use of mental images to rehearse a
performance or behavior
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IDEOSENSORY CAPACITY

• The ability of the individual to develop sensory
  images that are kinesthetic, olfactory, visual,
  auditory, tactile or gustatory

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RATIONALE

• Virtual Practice recruits the same
  neuromuscular pathways as actual practice
• Multiply Quality Practice Time with Mental
  Rehearsal

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"Dr. Beale's methods and tapes have been a
consistent part of my mental preparation for the
last eight years of my athletic career. They have
worked great for me! Henry Rolling,
Linebacker Los Angeles Rams
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COGNITIVE RESTRUCTURING

• A systematic approach to the influencing of
  thoughts, attitude and emotions in very positive
  and powerful ways

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IDEOMOTOR CAPACITY

• The capacity of human muscles to respond
  instantaneously to thoughts, emotions and ideas

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RATIONALE

• Thoughts and emotions have an instantaneous and
  involuntary effect on the muscles of the body and
  therefore our ability to perform
• Train the brain to consistently achieve the
  ideal attitude

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Brock Marion, Defensive BackDallas, Miami
Detroit3 Time Pro Bowl Player
"....my tapes helped me to greatly increase my
ability to perform and make the team in my rookie
year."
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MENTAL REHEARSAL

• Does
• Practice
• Make Perfect?

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Most of us are familiar with the concept of
Mental Rehearsal but did you know that there are
three major aspects of Mental Rehearsal?
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VISUALIZATION
The ability to produce and creatively
manipulate mental images
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VISUAL REHEARSAL

• The use of visualization to rehearse a
  performance or behavior

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IMAGERY CONDITIONING

• Repeated mental rehearsal to condition automatic
  responses to cues in the performance environment

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"....thank you for the valuable skills you taught
us. If you find that skiing doesn't satisfy your
summer time needs come take a big bit of fresh
air with your friends. "Plane Crazy", US
Parachute Team1994 Sequential CRW
ChampionsWorld Record Holders
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One of the earliest studies of the power of
mental rehearsal was done with basketball
players. The players were divided into four
groups. Each group practiced free throw shooting
in one of four ways.
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THE POWER OF MENTAL REHEARSAL

1. Physical practice only
2. Physical practice and mental rehearsal
3. Mental rehearsal only
4. No physical practice and no mental rehearsal

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The group that mentally rehearsed and physically
practiced had the highest free throw shooting
average followed by the group that only practiced
physically.
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Research and experience tend to support the axiom
that athletic skills tend to improve more rapidly
when physical practice and mental rehearsal are
paired.
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• The group that only mentally rehearsed had a
  free throw shooting average that was higher than
  the group that did nothing at all.

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These result suggests that mental rehearsal alone
does improve skills and is better than no
practice at all.
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End of Part II of III
Click here for Part III