improving
How to handle a stitch
I work a lot with ultra runners and with new runners and something both groups can experience is getting a stitch. It is really annoying and painful so here are some ways to reduce the risk of one appearing, and suggestions on how to handle it if it does. What is a...
Finding purpose
One of the hardest areas I find to work on with athletes is purpose. Why should they care about that when they just want to run fast / score more goals / jump better? But those who do want to figure out there find so many benefits. A powerful purpose gives you a...
Performance Postcards
For every race or challenge we need to enter into it being clear what we want to achieve and remembering all the efforts we have put into achieving that goal. It can really help our confidence. With my clients (and for my own races) we complete these postcards. On the...
Endurance athletes – 13 ways to reduce perception of effort
If you want to be a great athlete then it is essential to train. There are a few short cuts (great coaching to help you be really intentional with what you work on or skills like visualisation to speed up skill acquisition) but mostly it is hard work and a positive,...
New research: Psychological resilience in multi-day challenges…
Lots of sport psychological research takes place in a fairly clinical environments – away from the cut and thrust of sport. It might take place in a lab (on treadmills, turbo trainers or basketball hoops) or by asking people to complete questionnaires or interviews....
New research: How to be a brilliant race supporter
I can still remember running my 10k PB. It was May 2006 and I ran 43:19. I don’t remember it for the speed though. I remember it because I just got through 5k, glanced at my watch and was blown away by how fast (for me) I was. As I looked up I ran past a mum with a...
Mentally rest – perform better
Mental rest is important because it facilitates mental recovery. When we don’t mentally recover our cognitive functioning can become impaired so we make rubbish decisions when performing and long term we risk burnout. It is also important because rest helps in our acquisition of new technical and tactical skills, allowing for the memories of our newly learnt skills to be consolidated in our brain.
Keeping a Training Diary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xWfjIKKknY
Circadian Rhythm for Athletes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XohAqfbpGxc
Free courses in sport, exercise & psychology
When I was a trainee I was also a new mum. I needed to do as much of my learning and development as I could online while my daughter slept. I found some really valuable courses which were completely free. With the lockdown meaning work is quieter than normal I've been...
6 weeks to go…Training diary
The Brighton Half marathon was fun. But it took a lot of mental energy to make it that way. A few days before with Storm Dennis on his way they decided there would be no finish barrier or infrastructure that could be blown over but other than that all was going ahead....
8 weeks to race day…Weaknesses
Last week’s training went ok - I’m not great on sticking to paces outside so when one of my sessions called for different paces throughout I thought I should do it on the treadmill. We have a treadmill in the garage so at least I didn’t need to fight to be allowed to...
10 weeks to race day…Goal setting
I knew on Monday this week would not be a ‘green’ week as coughing and sneezing flew around everyone in our house. I have asthma and every cold turns into a chest infection (if I’m lucky) or sinusitis (if I’m unlucky) so I try to be really gentle with myself when a...
11 weeks to race day…Performance Profiling
I missed a blog post. I’ll go back to the ACT stuff when I get some time but in the hope of catching up and getting back on track here is where I am at 11 weeks to go. Running wise I’m on track. Three full weeks of complete Green in training peaks. I have a very...
13 weeks till race day… motivational philosophy
So the first proper week of training for Paris Marathon. It went well. I really love having a goal, especially one I’m genuinely excited by. I know why I am excited. My favourite psychological theory (yes – I realise how sad that makes me) is Self-Determination...
The super humans – what is the recipe?
The nursery rhyme says little boys are made of snips and snails and puppy dogs tails and little girls are made of sugar and spice and all things nice. When those little boys and girls grow up and become athletes are they still made of such niceties or has their...
Eight marathon strategies…
A month before…. Confidence Jar To counter our negativity bias - where we give our negative traits greater weight in our evaluations than our positive ones we need regular reminders of our efforts and achievements. One way to do this is to record all our achievements...
Analyse your year – get set for next
Most athletes in individual sports have now finished their seasons and many have had a training break too. Now comes winter training, which can feel a bit daunting when you don't have anything in the near future to focus on. A great activity to do during this period...
Seven steps to give you a mindset for success in any sport
It is competition season. Working mainly with athletes in individual summer sports means everyone is currently slap bang in the middle of their seasons. While the sports call for very different physical skills many of the issues the athletes are dealing with come down...
7 weeks till Marathon – Understand your motivation
Over the eight weeks’ final build up to the London Marathon I am blogging some ideas you can use to stay on track and ensure your mind is as prepared for the race as your body is. This blog, with seven weeks to go, suggests you should spend some time...