Do you have mental toughness ?

Being mentally tough: it’s within all of us!

Mental toughness is something most athletes want to have in abundance. Andy Lane argues that all people can show mental toughness if the situation is life threatening, or the goal is sufficiently important it activates a psychological state characterised by positive beliefs on coping with the pain from intense exercise. This article provides guidance on how athletes and everyday people can access their mental toughness.

 

At a glance

•     Mental toughness is a highly popular concept mainly because its name is so appealing. Almost all aspiring athletes will want to be seen by others and see themselves as mentally tough.

•     Athletes from a wide range of sports can display mental toughness, but this article focuses on coping with sensations of fatigue that stem from intense training. This type of training is common for most sport and physical activity.

•     Mental toughness is widely debated in the academic literature, and although there is a great deal of debate on its nature, a common element is that it describes the capability to relentlessly pursue personal goals and be able to cope with adversity including sensations of fatigue and pain.

•     When the goal is important enough, and where the athlete is highly motivated to pursue that goal, then an athlete will accept experiencing intense pain. A function of intense pain is to question whether the goal is worth pursuing. I propose that it’s not a lack of mental toughness that limits performance, but that the goal is not worth the suffering it brings.

 

What is mental toughness?

Interest in mental toughness by the academic, coaching and lay community is hardly surprising. Mental toughness is a set of interrelated concepts that describe athletes that are highly competitive, committed, self- motivated, cope effectively, and maintain concentration in pressurized situations, persist when the going gets tough, and retain high levels of self-belief even after setbacks(1).

Research in mental toughness began gathering momentum following Graham Jones’(2)  article “What is this thing called mental toughness? An investigation of elite sport performers”. Subsequent research has clarified and expanded knowledge in this area and further studies have demonstrated that interventions such as imagery, goal-setting and self-talk can help athletes build mental toughness(3). As a crude summary of developments in this area, researchers have made theoretical leaps and bounds to define and clarify the concepts, and, importantly, kept an ongoing focus on how to transfer theory to practice. Research into mental toughness is flourishing and this can only be helpful as the concepts it covers have a huge interests to athletes and coaches.

However, the popularity of the topic and focus on elite athletes has led to questions on the extent to which non-elite athletes are mentally tough(3, 4). In this article, I argue that the ability to display mental toughness is within all people and, conscious of that fact, they should learn when they can activate it.

 

What evidence is there that we are all mentally tough?

People who might seem normal or average frequently display mental toughness in potentially life-threatening situations. Possibly the most powerful literature on the area of pain management is the study of pregnant women going through childbirth(5). An industry has developed to help women manage pain during childbirth; however, it is worth noting that most pain-management interventions are relatively modern (within the last 100 years). Qualitative accounts of women going through childbirth without pain management provide detailed descriptions of mental toughness characterized by dealing with thoughts of death and coping with intense pain(6).

Evolutionary psychologists have argued that humans have evolved to cope with pain and this coping response is hard wired and that we only access this response when situation demands call for it(6). In situations such as childbirth or other potentially life-threatening situations such as military endeavours(7), intense emotions are activated. Emotions have been found to mask sensations of pain(6). If an individual is aware that

this is the process, and effective coping systems are with them, albeit dormant most of the time, then they have the potential to show an abundant amount of mental toughness. If an athlete perceives that sensations of pain are something that has to be endured in order to achieve goals, then they have opened the door to activating their inner mental toughness.

 

Activating beliefs of mental toughness: “if he/she can do it, so can I”

People have a great deal more resources than they believe they possess and it is the ability to access these resources that is important. However, prior to being able to access them, the first step is to recognise that they exist; that is, say to yourself you can cope with a lot more than you think. One way of changing your view of how much you can cope with is to watch seemingly normal people do extra ordinary challenges. One example is Prof Greg Whyte’s work on Comic Relief challenges, which include some extra-ordinary performance such as swimming the English Channel (David Walliams), running repeated marathons (Eddie Izzard), and swimming in very cold water (Davina McCall). It’s worth remembering the qualities needed to be a comedian/actor bear little resemblance with those needed to be an athlete. Research shows that people learn by watching others and if someone of a similar age, gender, and experience of the task at hand succeeds, then this can develop the thought that “if he/she can do it, so can I”(8).

 

Is the goal worth it?

A key aspect that can help decide if someone activates her/his mental toughness is whether the goal is sufficiently important. When we ask athletes whether the goal is important, they tend to report positively. On a 1-10 scale (1 is not important and 10 is highly important), few athletes report a goal is lower than 5, and the variation in terms of importance often starts at 8(9). Therefore, using a rating scale does not reliably provide useful information.

The task below can help you identify which goal is the most important. Rather than rate the importance, it helps the individual work out which goal is more important, and whether trying to achieve one goal might influence attempts to attain another.

 

Task: Rate and rank your goals
Example
What is your goal?	Reflection on the challenge the goal presents
1. To run a sub 3-hour marathon	“This has been a goal for a while and whilst I have come close (within seconds), I have not achieved it”
2. To run 5km in sub-17 mins	“I have come close to this, but not achieved it. I find the marathon training leaves me a bit tired at times”
Reflection and evaluation The aim is to compare and contrast the two goals and examine if they could conflict. Having time to go for 2 goals can be an issue and so prioritising one over the other in terms of when they will be attempted can help. In this case, the athlete needs to focus on one of these goals almost exclusively of the other. Placing the emphasis onto speed required for the 5km and intense pain from lactic acid associated with speed work is a different type of coping than that needed for a marathon. Running pace in the marathon would feel slow in comparison to running 5km, but mental toughness is likely to stem from being able to manage the supposedly slower pace over the final stages. The suggestion is that the athlete decides which goal to focus on and commits to achieving that. The two goals are arguably in conflict both physiologically and psychologically.
Your go
What is your goal?	Reflection on the challenge the goal presents
1.
2.
3.
Reflection and evaluation

Using psychological skills to build mental toughness

Having identified the goal and worked out that you are committed to achieving that goal; the next step is to develop resources ready to meet the challenges that you could face; that is, getting the qualities that might be described as mental toughness ready for when they are needed. Research has found that use of psychological skills such as imagery and self-talk associate with mental toughness (2,3,10). Both imagery and self-talk are strategies where an individual changes her/his internal dialogue to be able to do a task successfully. Imagery can help achieve this via use of images and self-talk via language.

 

In conclusion, mental toughness is something humans have in abundance and can access this when priorities demand. Where these goals are voluntary where the decision to abandon the goal is an option rather than involuntary, such as life-threatening situations or childbirth, then reflecting on whether the pursuit of the goal is worth the pain that will be experienced can help clarify whether managing the pain will be worth it. Where goals are appraised as highly important, then psychological skills such as self-talk and imagery can help an individual re-programme how they will respond when unwanted thoughts occur during performance.

 

 

References

1. J of Sp Psych in Action, Vol 2(1), Apr,. pp. 21-32. 2011 2. J of Applied Sp Psych, 14(3), 205-218, 2002.

3. J of Sps Sci, 26(1), 83-95, 2008.

4. Personality and Individual Differences 60, 30-35. 2014

5. Ame J of Obstetrics & Gynecology, 186 , Issue 5 ,S160-S172, 2002.

6. Evolutionary and proximate explanations. In: Scherer K, Sander D, editors. The Oxford Companion to Emotion and the Affective Sci. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 158-159.

7. Military Psych, 24:331–345, 2012.

8. Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York, W.H. Freeman. 1997. 9. J of Sps Sci, 14, 94, 1996.

10. Case Studies in Sp Science and Medicine. CreateSpace ISBN 420-426, 2014

Are You Making These Healthy Food Mistakes?

Food Fads Kale! Seaweed! Goji berries! When you hear aboout a food that curbs this disease or that condition, you might want to dive right in. If some is good, more must be better, right? Not so fast. The right amount of the right types of foods is great for you. But if you overdo it or choose the wrong kinds, it can backfire. Since every good-for-you-food has its limits, focus on the big picture.

 Too Many Brazil Nuts

Selenium is a nutrient that you need -- but only about 55 micrograms (mcg) of selenium a day. Just one Brazil nut has 68-91 mcg. That's more than a day’s worth! Too much selenium can cause problems including diarrhea, nausea, skin rashes, hair loss, and even serious effects like trouble breathing, heart and kidney failure, and heart attacks. Adults shouldn’t get more than 400 mcg per day.  That’s no more than four or five Brazil nuts, if you don't get selenium from anything else.

 Picking Your Own Mushrooms

These wild and wooly fungi are tasty, loaded with nutrients, low in calories, and may even lower your risk of cancer.  But before you forage in your local forest, keep in mind that eating the wrong kind of mushroom can lead to anything from an upset stomach to death. So only hunt for them if you’re an expert or are with one. Otherwise, get them from your grocery store to be safe.

 Grapefruit Plus Certain Meds

This splashy citrus could cause problems if you have some prescriptions, like statins for your cholesterol. Grapefruit can make your body absorb more of the medicine than normal, which could lead to side effects. It may be more likely with some statins than others. And the same thing could happen with some drugs that treat other conditions. So if you’re gaga for grapefruit, ask your doctor if it will affect your prescriptions.

 Greens and Kidney Stones?

Just about everyone needs to eat more veggies. Dark, leafy greens like spinach are some of the best. But if you tend to get kidney stones, you’ll want to watch how much you eat. These greens have a lot of oxalate, which can cause kidney stones. If you’re at risk, your doctor may recommend no more than 40-50 milligrams (mg) of oxalate a day. And half a cup of greens can have close to 10 mg of it. So you can have a couple of servings, but don’t pack huge amounts into your green smoothies.

 Too Much of the Wrong Fish

Fish are rich in protein, low in saturated fats, and high in good fats your body needs. The catch? They absorb mercury. That’s a problem for anyone, but especially pregnant women because it can harm the baby’s nervous system. Each week, you can eat 12 ounces -- about two meals -- of low-mercury fish like shrimp, canned light tuna, or salmon. Avoid high-mercury fish like:
King mackerel
Orange roughy
Shark
Swordfish
Tilefish

Can You Get Too Much Water?

Most days, you likely don’t drink enough of it. It's not easy to get too much. There are two main exceptions. One is a mental health condition where you compulsively drink water. The other is when you do a lot of hard exercise, like marathons, and you down too much water instead of a sports drink.

Coconut Oil Overload
More and more people have started to cook with coconut oil. But many nutritionists are still skeptical. Why? While coconut oil does have fats that boost your good cholesterol, it’s also bursting with saturated fat. Your best bet? Limit yourself. The American Heart Association recommends no more than 13 grams of saturated fat a day. Just 1 tablespoon of coconut oil gives you 11 of those.

 Olive Oil: Drip, Don’t Drown

Olive oil may actually be good for your heart. But even the best fats are loaded with calories. So limit yourself to 2 tablespoons a day or less, including what's in your food.  If you overdo it, you could gain weight, and that could offset the good you thought you were doing.

 Potatoes: Don’t Go Green

Potatoes naturally have solanine, a substance that can make you sick if you eat too much. It’s highest in the eyes, sprouts, skin, and any green parts of the potato. Still, you’d have to eat a lot of potatoes before you had a problem. A person who weighs 100 pounds would need to eat 1 pound of completely green potatoes before getting sick. But don’t forget to remove the eyes, sprouts, and green parts, just to be on the safe side.

 Nightshades and Joint Pain

Potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers are all nightshades. They’ve gotten a bad rap because of solanine.  Some say it causes joint pain, but there’s no research to back that up. In fact, yellow and purple potatoes may help with swelling, which could ease pain. Still, you know your body best. You may be sensitive to some vegetables, so if they bother you, avoid them.

 Maxed Out on Chocolate

It tastes great and has antioxidants and flavonoids, which can help lower your blood pressure and protect your arteries. But there are limits: Go gourmet. Lower-quality chocolate usually won’t have the flavonoids. Limit yourself to 1 ounce each day. Check the label of your bar to see how big it is.Stick to dark chocolate that’s at least 70% cacao to avoid too much sugar and fat.

 A Better Way

Make it simple. Instead of obsessing over a single food:
Fill half your plate with fruits and veggies. Split the other half between proteins and whole grains.
Limit how much sugar, salt, and saturated fat you eat.
Mix it up. When you eat a variety of good-for-you foods, you meet your needs and avoid overdoing it on any one thing.

Your Best Ways to Beat Belly Fat

 

Get More Fiber You don’t have to eat a bag of Grandma’s prunes. Leafy greens, whole grains, nuts, and beans are all good for keeping away the fat that stays deep in your belly. That’s called visceral fat, and it’s the most dangerous kind because it can wrap around major organs, including your liver, pancreas, and kidneys.

 Forget These Two Things

There are no “super foods” that burn off visceral fat. And you can’t tone it away with specific moves like crunches. Instead, look for ways to upgrade your eating habits and add activity every day. Think about your average week. Where might you be able to make some changes?

 The Best Thing You Can Do

While anyone can have too much visceral fat ( the deadly fat), it’s more likely if you’ve got a lot of weight to lose. As you start to take those pounds off, it will help your whole body, including belly fat that’s hidden out of your sight.

 Be Choosy About Fat

You can still have some! But limit the “saturated” kind that’s in animal foods, coconut and palm oils, and full-fat dairy. Keep the portions of those foods smaller than you might normally do, for instance. And check nutrition labels to  see how many calories and how much fat is in a serving. Look for fats that are better for you, too, like those from plant foods or fish such as salmon, tuna, and mackerel that are rich in omega-3s.

 Stop Trying to Outrun It

Still trying to “burn off” that belly fat by pounding the pavement for hour upon hour? You cannot out train a bad diet. Research shows that a few quick bursts of high-intensity exercise -- such as a 30-second sprint or intense pullup set -- may be more effective, and easier to fit into your schedule. You can add bursts of higher intensity to any workout. Just speed up or work harder for a brief time, then drop back to a more mellow pace, and repeat.

 Sleep: the Goldilocks Formula

When it comes to weight gain, shut-eye is a bit like porridge: Too little -- less than 5 hours -- may mean more belly fat. But too much -- more than 8 hours -- can do that, too. “Just right” seems to be around 6-8 hours. If you don’t sleep that much now, or if you tend to toss and turn, try to go to bed a little earlier, relax before bedtime, keep your bedroom cool, and try not to text and email right before you turn in.

 Forget a ‘Quick Fix’

Sorry, but cosmetic surgery isn’t the solution here. Liposuction doesn’t reach inside the abdominal wall. So it can’t get rid of visceral belly fat( the deadly fat). Likewise, crash diets aren’t the solution, either. You’re too likely to go off them. The slower, steadier option -- lifestyle changes that you can commit to for a long time -- really is the best bet.

Keep Calm

Are you stressed out? That can make you eat more fat and sugar, and unleash the “stress hormone” cortisol, which can boost belly fat. Stress also can make you sleep less, exercise less, and drink more alcohol -- which can add belly fat, too. It’s a great reason to take up meditation, work out, listen to music you love, or find other healthy ways to unwind and relax.

 Rethink Your Drink
Whether it’s a latte, a regular soda, a mug of beer, or a glass of wine, it’s got calories. And when you’re trying to unwind the numbers on the scale, water (or a smaller glass of your favorite beverage) might be a better choice. If you drink alcohol, remember that it just might make you throw your willpower out the window when you order your meal, too. Try to drink a litre of water daily.

 Don’t Smoke

As if you need another reason to quit. Smoking makes you more likely to store fat in your belly, rather than your hips and thighs. And that’s bad. Oh, and it’s also a cause of diabetes. And cancer. And heart disease. And lung disease. And … you get the idea. If you’ve tried before, try again. Tell your doctor, so you can get pointers on what might help you quit for good.

 Don’t Rely on Clothing Sizes

One company’s size 14 could be another’s size 12. A better method is to measure your waist. If you’re a woman, you want that number to be 35 inches or less. Men get up to 40 inches. The reason? You may lower your chance of having a heart attack, a stroke, or possibly certain types of cancer. A tape measure can’t check on visceral fat. But along with the scale, it can help you track your weight loss.

 Lift Weights

Think about hitting the gym instead of the trail. In one study, healthy middle-aged men who did 20 minutes of daily weight training gained less abdominal fat than men who spent the same time doing aerobic exercises, such as biking. Strength training is also good for women -- and it won’t make you bulky.  You still need to do some cardio, but make sure strength training is in the mix.

 

 

 

 

 

Habits

H A B I T S

“Habits are like cobwebs at first, cables at last” — Proverb
With the New Year come and gone, I thought I’d explore the relationship between our habits and the outcomes we experience in training and in life. The concept of “New Year’s resolutions” has always been interesting to me, primarily because so few people manage to keep them. Since the conventional route rarely works, let’s explore a less conventional approach...

What Are Habits?

Habits are consistent patterns that reveal our character and determine our effectiveness in life. Steven Covey describes habits as “the intersection of knowledge, skill, and desire.” In Covey’s representation, knowledge represents the paradigm we apply to a situation, or the “how to do. “Skill is the “how to do,” and desire is the motivation or the “want to do.”

Benefits & Costs

Anthony Robbins has suggested that we do not change “bad” habits until the negative consequences of those habits begin to outweigh the perceived benefits. For example, you might find yourself in the habit of eating a pint of ice cream every night before going to bed. You enjoy the experience of eating that ice cream, and, at least for the short term, that enjoyment greatly outweighs the negative outcomes of your habit, since it takes time for those extra calories to cause weight gain. After several weeks however, it becomes evident that your ice cream habit has caused you to gain15 pounds. At this point, the negative outcome of the habit is quite tangible, and because you have been eating that ice cream every day for weeks, you don’t get the same enjoyment from it that you used to. Because the negatives are now outweighing the positives, you’re now much more likely to change your ice cream habit.

Changing Unproductive Habits

Knowledge .In some cases, we are unaware of the negative consequences of our habits. For example, excessive intake of processed carbohydrates can promote inflammatory responses in the joints. You may assume that your painful joints are simply part of life, or the outcome of old athletic injuries. It isn’t until you reduce your intake of processed carbs that you realize the negative consequences of your former habit. On a similar note, we often do not realize the benefits of our good habits until we discontinue them for a period of time. We commonly assume that it takes discipline to change bad habits. It’s interesting to note that the word “discipline” evolved from the root word “disciple” which means “one who learns.” And in fact, when you encounter a highly disciplined person, you’re not looking at someone who gets his/her kicks from self-denial, but instead, someone who has learned that the negative outcomes of certain behaviours is not worth the benefits associated with them. It really comes down to self-awareness.

Skill

The skills required to change undesirable habits can be learned by anyone and are widely available to those who seek it. The primary skill involved is the simply decision to take action. I recently saw a great sketch on a television show, where Bob Newhart played a psychologist who billed himself as being able to cure anyone’s problems in 5 minutes. A female patient comes in whereupon he asks “How may I help you?” She proceeds to explain that she has a terrible eating disorder where sheets copious amounts of food, only to purge the meal shortly thereafter. “Is that all?” Newhart asks? “No” she replies, and begins to describe her terrible drug and alcohol problems. “Anything else? “Newhart inquires. “Yes,” the patient continued, explaining that she also has Obsessive-compulsive tendencies, and can’t manage to leave her house without making sure that the stove if off dozens of times.

Finally, the patient had fully detailed her numerous psychological problems. Newhart reflects for a

Moment, and then simply says “OK, here’s what you need to do: STOP IT!”
“Huh?”
“STOP IT!”
“But...”
“Just STOP IT!”
“I also pull my eyelashes out”
“Stop that too”

Substitution

Unfortunately, simply stopping your bad habits, in and of itself, is an insufficient strategy. A much more effective plan is to substitute a new, more productive habit in place of the one you’ve decided to end. For example: Sitting in front of the television at night is the enemy of good eating habits. You’re being bombarded with tremendously effective food commercials, and you’re in close proximity to the fridge. If you find that you’re most vulnerable to making poor eating choices at night, this could be the reason why. If you can terminate the night-time TV habit and substitute it with (for example), a bike ride, a lot of good things start to happen:

1. You’re away from the pervasive food commercials and the access to the fridge

2. You’re burning calories while you exercise

3. Exercise tends to blunt your appetite

4. When you exercise, you’re more likely to eat right, as a way of further leveraging the good effects of the exercise

Motivation

The motivation required to change bad habits comes from the realization that the benefits you experience from your habits are not worth the negative outcomes of those habits. The following is an exercise to help you become more aware of the benefit/cost ratio of your habits.
Spend a few minutes on this exercise right now:
My 3 most effective/empowering training/nutritional habits are:

1.

2.

3.

My 3 most destructive training/nutritional habits are:

1.

2.

3.

Now take a moment to identify the benefits or rewards you experience from each habit, and also the negative outcomes (if any) of each habit.
Example: Under the effective habit list, you may have listed that you eat 5 times a day (as opposed to 2 or 3). The benefits of this habit are that your energy levels are more stable, your cravings for sugary foods has diminished, you can eat more without gaining weight, and that your body composition has improved. The negative aspects of this habit are that itis occasionally inconvenient to eat so often, and that you need to give more thought to meal preparation than you used to. Are the benefits worth the cost?

Momentum

The nice thing about establishing new habits is that most of the hard work takes place in the first3-4 weeks...after that initial period of time, the amount of effort required to sustain the new habit diminishes considerably. The bottom line is that whatever strategy you choose to change undesirable habits, at some point, you simply need to take action; you need to interrupt the pattern. You might find it helpful to recall a positive experience from your past as you managed to stop a bad habit. How did you do it?

Was it worth the effort? Was it really as hard as you had anticipated?

 

It's Time for a Change

                            The great physicist and one of my personal heroes Albert Einstein once remarked "The measure of intelligence is the ability to change".

     What he meant was that being able to adapt to your situation and changing surroundings is a key part of intelligence. Resisting change is futile because life is always changing and this ability to adapt largely explains why the human race has made it this far as we have.   The ability to constantly change and improve how you train and compete is also a key requirement in sport, and with 2018 dawning, Einstein's quote got me thinking about the changes I made last year to my training, lifestyle and nutrition  Did I simply plough on regardless or did I - on the basis of new scientific evidence - change my approach for the better?

   As a Professional Personal Trainer and founder of LA Success Fitness Training, I am very fortunate. I get to read about the very latest scientific findings from the world of nutrition and performance and how to practically apply this knowledge to boost performance and help my clients reach their goals efficiently and safely.  And yes, thanks to this knowledge, I was able to make positive changees. 

In 2017 alone, some of the key findings that we reported on and which helped me personally included:

        

        What still doesn't work and what still does.

 

       Specific resistance exercises that can cause you serious harm

 

         Improved swimming performance thanks to new findings on hand positioning during freestyle and optimum breathing patterns to develop a smooth stroke and increase endurance.

        
    Better pacing strategies during run events and the role of the mind in executing them.

        
     A new approach to strength training that enhance endurance while being quick to perform and easy to integrate into an endurance programme.

        
    How to use hot-weather training as a substitute for altitude training in order to boost endurance.

        
      Why the traditional approach to carbohydrate nutrition (i.e. plenty at all times) might not work for endurance athletes seeking the fastest race times rather than just good training times!

       
      How to use new theories on muscle and tendon function to maximise running efficiency while minimising effort.

         The hazards of high volume endurance training to long-term bone health, and how athletes can make dietary changes to keep themselves in tip-top condition

·
         How to utilise resistance training more effectively to enhance fat loss and increase muscle tone

 

 These findings are just a few from dozens and dozens of published  articles and papers I researched during 2017. Importantly, all articles and paers are based on peer-reviewed scientific evidence. Not "my mate reckons this" or  "I read somewhere that" but based on recent science and our best understanding of the truth at current time.

Looking Forward !

     Applying these findings doesn't make me especially intelligent - the credit lies with the scientists who diligently carry out this research so that we can all benefit. But I am a firm believer in the old adage: "If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always had".

The good news is that if you're someone who strives to be the best you can be, you too can reach new heights in 2018.

     Here at LA Success Fitness Training my goal is to continue to provide my clients  with the latest thinking and best practice to get ahead of the pack. And in the year ahead, I will be there for you every step of the way. You don't have to be Einstein to see what the potential benefits could be! Let me help you separate the training myths from the science based facts

 

Training prepares you, Education sustains you !

 

 Eric Hartzell

LA Success Fitness Training

MNSCA    CIIS     MACSM