I know it's been awhile.  Busy semester.  I thought I'd share a popular motivational speech that’s been made into a few videos (Nike Ad).  I’ve attached a link to the video I like best (you can skip past the commercial in three seconds).  The ‘lyrics’ to the speech are below.

I can almost quote this from memory now. With this past winter, I’ve lost motivation to put the bike on the trainer and ride.  To get past the lack of motivation, I’ll just open the video and let it play.  By the end, I’m motivated to paint every house in my neighborhood.  I take it a step further as well.   I’ve ‘ripped’ the voice from the video and have it stored on my iPhone.  Thus when the alarm goes off at 4am and I find myself hitting snooze, I’ll play the speech and I’ll be up in out of bed before the next snooze alarm goes off.    I hope this motivational material helps you.

Link to video

Lyrics:

Rise and shine!

6 am and your hand can’t make it to the alarm clock before the voices in your head start telling you that it’s too early, too dark and too cold to get out of bed. Aching muscles lie still in rebellion pretending not to hear your brain commanding them to move. A legion of voices are shouting their unanimous permission for you to hit the snooze button. Go back to dreamland!

But you didn’t ask their opinion. The voice you’ve chosen to listen to is one of defiance! The voice that said there was a reason that you set that alarm in the first place. So sit up. Put your feet on the floor and don’t look back because we’ve got work to do.

Welcome to the grind!

For what is each day but a series of conflicts between the right way and the easy way. 10,000 streams span out like a River Delta before you, each one promising the path of least resistance. The thing is you’re  headed upstream and when you make that choice, when you decide to turn your back on what’s comfortable, what’s safe and what some would call common sense.

Well that’s Day 1. 

From there is only gets tougher! So just make sure this is something that you want. Because the easy way out will always be there. Ready to wash you away!  All you have to do is pick up your feet. But you aren’t going to are you? With each step comes the decision to take another. You’re on your way now, but this is no time to dwell on how far you have come. You’re in a fight against an opponent you can’t see, but oh you can feel him on your heels can’t ya. Feel him breathing down your neck. You know what that is? That’s you. Your fears, your doubts, your insecurities all lined up like a firing squad ready to shoot you out of the sky. But don’t lose heart. While they are not easily defeated, they are far from invincible.

Remember, this is the grind, the Battle Royale between you and your mind. Your body and the devil on your shoulders who is telling you that “ This is just a game. This is just a waste of time. Your opponents are stronger than you”. Drown out the voice of uncertainty with the sound of your own heartbeat! Burn away your self doubt with the fire beneath you. Remember what we are fighting for and never forget that momentum is a cruel mistress. She can turn on a dime with the smallest mistake. She is ever searching for the weak place in your armor. That one tiny feeling that you forgot to prepare for. So as long as the devil is hiding the details, the question remains: “Is that all you got? Are you sure?”

When the answer is yes, you’ve done all you can to prepare yourself for battle, then it’s time to go forth and boldly face your enemy. The enemy within! Only now you must take that fight into the open. Into hostile territory.

You are a lion in a field of lions, all hunting the same elusive prey with a desperate starvation that says victory is the only thing that can keep you alive. So believe that voice that says you can run a little faster and you can throw a little harder, and that for you the laws of physics are merely a suggestion.  Luck is the last dying wish of those who want to believe that winning can happen by accident. Sweat on the other hand is for those who know it’s a choice. So decide now because destiny waits for no man.

And when your time comes and a thousand different voices are trying to tell you that you’re not ready for it, listen instead to that lone voice of descent, that one voice that says:  “you are ready” “you are prepared”. It’s all up to you now!

So Rise and shine! 

 

How To Avoid The "Endurance 15"

Read a good article on why so many people gain weight despite training so hard.  This is known as the "Endurance 15", which is very similar to the Freshman 15.

I'll summarize the article the best I can:

Nutrition

As training increases to 10+ hours a week, the athletes mentality is to decrease weight and body fat.  Thus athletes have a tendency to cut back on calories despite the increase in workout volume.

"...because the body is not being fueled right, these athletes find themselves having uncontrollable food cravings. This can result in significant overeating or binge eating, and many times this will occur later in the day and late at night. This will lead to significant weight gain even during bouts of high-volume training."

I know I defintely feel this binges, especially when I swim.  One of the things I've finally cut out of my diet is poptarts.  That was my go-to breakfast on the way to the gym.  It's now a 150 calories granola bar, which I like too, just doesn't have the sugar bite the poptart did.  However, the poptart was also 400 calores.  For lunches I've been eating Cliff Energy Bars (2 of them).  I'm going to be moving away from this since it does lead to starvation by the time dinner time comes around.

"Be sure to fuel the body properly starting immediately upon awakening and every 2.5-3.5 hours throughout the day. This will help to keep the body fueled and “keep the fire stoked”. Also, be sure to fuel the body during training and avoid the “diet on the bike” mentality. As your training volume increases, be sure that your eating frequency and caloric intake adequately support your training."

Heart Rates

This part of the article focuses on training at too high of a heart rate level, thus the body is not 'learning' to use fat as the primary energy source.

"During endurance training, it is critical to train in the proper heart rate zones in order to facilitate burning fat as your primary fuel source. As endurance athletes, we want to teach the body to spare glycogen (fuel stored in your muscles and some stored in your liver) and to burn body fat instead. Too often, athletes have not improved their efficiency and they train at too high a heart rate, too often. When we train at too high a heart rate too often, we are not maximizing the body's ability to facilitate fat as our primary fuel source.

But here is the reality: when an athlete is moving at a very slow pace/speed in their lower heart rate zones, this simply means that the athlete needs to significantly improve their fitness and efficiency, and they are just not as fit as they thought they were. (And this is ok--we can work on improving one’s efficiency so that in time, the athlete will be training longer, harder, and faster, at the same or lower heart rate). This is where we as athletes have to check our ego at the door. Ignore pace/speed, and focus on training at the right heart rates."

Weight Training

The taboo subject of weight training.  A topic of fierce debate in the triathlete world.

"If you desire a lean physique, weight training is a must. Keep the weight training intense and vigorous. It does not have to be for a long duration; you can knock out a great weight training circuit easily in 30 minutes. Attack the weight training with the same ferocity and intensity that you would your hard swim, bike or run workouts."

I do weight training almost everyday and keep the intensity high by using slightly lighter weights and cranking out around 20 reps.  I have very little rest between sets, thus my HR does increase during these workouts.  I am not looking to bulk up, I'm looking to get lean.

"Perform weight training, upper and lower body, at least two days per week. Be sure to give your weight training on your schedule the same priority you would your swim, bike and/or run. Scheduling weight training does not mean “more training.” The key is to adjust your endurance training so that the weight training fits in seamlessly."

Sleep

This is an activity I'll embrace with open arms.

"As athletes, we focus so much on "getting our workouts in" that the focus on good, quality sleep can fall by the wayside. Endurance athletes trying to fit in all of their workouts tend to become sleep-deprived. Sleep deprivation can easily lead to weight gain; again, no matter how much working out and how many calories we are burning.

When we become sleep-deprived, hormones and neurotransmitters within our body become adversely affected; namely, hormones such as Ghrelin & Leptin and the neurotransmitter, serotonin. When these hormones and neurotransmitters are disrupted due to sleep deprivation, it affects our mood, appetite, food cravings, etc. This hormone imbalance can also greatly increase our food cravings which can then lead to binge eating, which of course leads to weight gain. You can see how easy it is for a vicious cycle to start when we become sleep-deprived."

Four Steps To Mental Toughness

From Dr. Tamsin Lewis’ article in 2012 TriathlonPlus.

“Learn the mind methods that will guide you through triathlon’s toughest tests” Dr. Lewis

Self-Belief
Think of a mantra that builds your confidence and repeat it to yourself daily.  “Whether you believe it or not initially is irrelevant.  With repetition you can trick your mind.”  Repeat this mantra and distract your mind.  Personally I use: Pain is temporary, quitting is forever.  We’ve all been to the breaking point during training or a race.  I use to think mantra’s were a little cheesy, however you’d be amazed at how well it works. 

Motivation
Remind yourself why you do this sport.  Why you entered this race.  Remind yourself about the feeling you get when you cross the finish line.  Remind yourself of a time you felt strong, positive and motivated either during a race or a training session.  I heard this quote a few years ago: “motivation doesn’t lead to action, action leads to motivation.”   Think about it. 

Focus
Prepare for things to go wrong.  Concentrate on your own performance since you can’t control the other racers. “When negative mind chatter comes in, silence it by focusing on your mantra and form.”

Handling Pressure
Anxiety is a part of every race.  From the pro’s to the beginners, there is no escape from pre-race anxiety.  Learn how to let go of mistakes quickly.  “A key part of mental training is about compensating, adjusting and trusting if plan A does not work, go to plan B or C.”  Establish a systematic pre-race routine that helps switch on a desired mental state. 

Mental Training: Mental Training Secrets

This will be a new series of posts as I read the book Mental Training for Peak Performance (click on picture for link to Amazon).  These posts will focus on key points from each chapter.

Chapter 2:

Topic:  Mental Training Secrets of Competitive Athletes

This chapter really just focused on strengthening the argument for mental practice.  The author of the book surveyed 1200 Olympic track and field athletes,  producing the following results:

1.  83% reported practicing some form of imagery, visualization or mental practice.

2.  33% used mental practice once a week or less

3.  20% used mental practice twice a week

4.  33% used mental practice three to six times a week

5.  10% more than seven times a week.

6.  Those who trained the longest hours reported more mental training

7.  Those that visited a sports medicine specialist were more likely to use mental training than those who did not.

"Grigori Raiport, MD, past president of the Russian Success Method Training Center...noted in an issue of the Sport Psychologist journal: The strategic goal of Soviet sport psychology...is to elicit peak performance from athletes.  To this end, Russians analyzed the nature of athletic inspiration and discovered that it consists of three components: physical, emotional and mental thoughts.  The Russian method is designed to train athletes to reproduce those thoughts and feelings at will, using autoconditioning.  This technique helps athletes choose their optimal mood for competition, be it joy, happiness or anger." - Source

 

Mental Training: Why Mental Practice Works

This will be a new series of posts as I read the book Mental Training for Peak Performance (click on picture for link to Amazon).  These posts will focus on key points from each chapter.

Chapter 1

Topic:  Why Mental Practice Works

The author highlights four reasons (theories) why mental practice works.

Symbolic Learning Theory

This theory is based on the idea that every move we make in life is based on some code (similar to blueprint) in our minds and nervous system.  Thus, if we mentally rehearse an athletic event, we are training our body to make the movements automatic and easy to recall.

Psychoneuromuscular Theory (No that is not a spelling error)

This theory states that mental practice works even when we are sitting still.  The reason being is that our body (mental aspect) is producing small muscular contractions similar to those involved in our sport, all while sitting on the couch.


The author points to an example on a downhill skier:

"In one experiment, a psychologist in Colorado measured the electrical activity of a downhill ski racer while the skier sat quietly imaging the race course.  The printout of the racer's leg muscle contractions and firings corresponded exactly to the terrain of the hilly and challenging ski course.  If  we mentally rehearse our sports often and with great intensity, we strengthen and condition the muscle firings and neuromuscular "phone lines" so that the messages get there more efficiently and with greater clarity"

Bio-Informational Theory

This theory states that if we imagine how we might respond to a certain situation, we can better prepare for it.  The example used in the book was Tigers Woods putting while nervous and anxious.  Much like I am when I tee off in front of people.  If Tiger practices putting while imagining being nervous and anxious, he will feel more comfortable and confident when the nervousness and anxiety hit.  This is exactly what Tiger did.

Dual Coding Theory

The final theory states that athletes receive information through two independent channels (coding systems):  The verbal channel and the motor channel.  Thus, the athlete will perform better if the event or activity is explained to them and then actualized in physical practice.  Reminds me of drivers training.  Classroom study before actual driving.

Let me end this post with the following quote:

"Competitive athletes use imagery to help control anxiety, anger, or pain.  Athletes who learn these skills recreate emotions in their minds to enhance the quality of their performances.  When imagery is used effectively, the learning process becomes exciting and opens up a whole realm of human potential."

Next, Chapter 2: Mental Training Secrets of Competitive Athletes.




 

 

Five Ways To Get Ahead

Taken from Triathlon Plus May 2009 Magazine

 

1. DON’T OVER FOCUS. It can sometimes be detrimental to over-focus on one specific race.  Putting you ‘eggs in one basket’ can result in you beating yourself up over one bad race.  Instead, if you have a bad race, look ahead to the next one and focus on ways to improve.

 

1. STAY POSITIVE. Never give up until the race is over.  This applied to me during Millennium Triathlon this past weekend.  The first mile of the run was just brutal.  I was also getting passed by just about the entire field.  Despite how much I’ve trained for the bike-run transition, I just felt miserable.  Instead, I did everything possible to stay positive, and in the end I had a great run.

 

1. PREPARE LIKE A SOLDIER. It’s essential to be organized to have a good race.   Knowing your pre-race routine, and practicing it, will allow you to relax more the day before the race.

 

1. LEARN TO CHILL OUT. A little bit of nervousness is good, too much is destructive.  One reason athletes get nervous is that they worry to much about what other people think.

 

1. PUSH YOUR LIMITS. Don’t expect to improve if you don’t give 100% during your training.  This is very hard for me because I have nobody to train with.  My structured workouts, coupled with a powertap and Garmin virtual training partner, keep me pushing and pushing.

 

Six Misconceptions Of Mental Training

By Chris Carmichael's The Ultimate Ride

1. Mental skills training can make up for physical weakness.  If the rider next to you is in better shape than you are, and if he used some mental skills training too, he will beat you.  Being mentally prepared for competition is beneficial, but there are no short-cuts to winning bike races.


2. Mental skills training is only for elite athletes.  The same skills that allow an elite athlete to excel at high levels can help beginners learn skills more efficiently, and thus help them reach their full potential more quickly and effectively.


3. Mental skills training can provide a quick fix needed for success at an important competition.    Mental skills are precisely that: skills.  As with physical or technical skills, individuals are naturally talked in some areas and need practice in others.


4. Mental skills training is not useful.  Many people believe that mental skills training is not useful for athletes because it seems too 'touchy-feely' or New Age.


5. Mentally tough athletes are born, not made.  Mental skills training cannot make you a Tour de France champion if you don't have the physical capacity, but it can help you achieve your full potential.


6. Good mental skills mean never feeling nervous.  All athletes get nervous at some point.  It may be at the start line, the base of a huge climb, five kilometers from finish, or lying in bed the middle of the week.  Nervousness and anxiety are normal human emotions, and eliminating them entirely is not the goal of mental skills training.  Rather, you are trying to get a handle on your mental state so that you can control your anxiety, maybe even redirect your nervous energy to fuel your performance.

Your Mental Preparation For Achievement

By Chris Carmichael's The Ultimate Ride

What separates talented athletes from champions?  Oftentimes, the answer lies in the way they approach training and competition.  Those who approach cycling as a solely athletic challenge often fall short of their true potential.  True champions, on the other hand, understand that realizing their potential requires a holistic approach to success.  Athletic success results from training the mind and body to work as one.  Mental training is as critical to achievement as physical training, and an athlete's mental approach to training and competition often makes the difference between standing on the top step of the podium and watching the awards ceremony from a distance.

Sports psychology is important, because you have to be mentally prepared for the demands of training and competition.  There are some aspects of cycling that are predictable:  you will have to put in many hours of hard training, you will have to deal with he lonely nature of training, you will have to deal with high levels of sustained intensity, and you will have to remain focused and motivated through the duration of a long season.

Mental training helps you deal with both he predictable and the unpredictable challenges you will inevitably face.  The best athletes I have had the honor to work with are well-rounded individuals.  They are committed to their athletic goals, they train hard, and they keep a healthy perspective of the role of cycling in their lives.

Training is a matter of balance.  You have to balance the physical and psychological loads with adequate rest and time away from the regimen of training.