Train your mind to train your body

  Sometimes we reach a stage in our lives where despite all the hard work- results still elude us. An athlete faces such a situation at least once in his career. At such times, we start running out of patience. Our motivation during training dries up and we enter into a vicious space of negativity. Efforts begin to look futile and you begin to wonder whether you are making any headway at all. How do we handle such a situation? This blog talks about possible reasons why this could be happening and what we can do to come out of such the situation. The situation described above can be very difficult and frustrating for any athlete. I myself have been through this phase where I was just stuck with a weakness. No amount of hard work was helping the cause. In fact it was just getting worse. I then started running from pillar to post for guidance and advice. But all my efforts seem to push me further away from my goal. The thought of quitting had crossed my mind a thousand of times. Watch...

  In every field, we often come across people who have made winning into a habit. In sports, we often see such athletes. They seem to do well in any competitive scenario they face. How do these athletes manage to not only enjoy, but thrive in such difficult, challenging situations? It is the mind-set which separates them from the rest. In this blog, we will try and understand how athletes develop that attitude towards their sport and make winning into a regular affair. A winner’s mind-set- There is a very interesting incident which comes to my mind when I dwell on the winner’s mind-set. Once I took my daughter to a swimming competition as suggested by her coach. There was a 4 year old girl who had filled the entry for the free style race but she was the only girl to enter in that age category. As per the rules, she had to swim from the start to the finish to officially ‘win’ the race. It was the child’s first ever race, and probably did not even realize that she was the winner ev...

Many athletes prefer training with training partners rather than getting trained by a coach. Training partners are like each other’s coaches and help each other get better during their practice sessions. Also in many cases, amateur athletes or club players may not have access to professional coaches. In such a scenario, working with a partner can have immense benefits. In this blog, we discuss the benefits of having a sparring partner and criteria’s for choosing an ideal one. Why train with a partner? Imagine you are seated near your boarding gate waiting for your flight to get announced. As soon as the flight is announced, you notice a long que at the gate. Looking at the que, you decide to leave your comfortable seat and stand in the long que to board the aircraft. Does this sound familiar? The passengers near the gate are never going to miss their flight. Ever wondered then why are they in such a hurry to board the aircraft? We as humans are naturally competitive. We thrive for...

  Which came first- the chicken or the egg? The answer to whether an athlete is ready for competition, is equally tricky. Should I play tournaments when I am ready or do I play to get ready ?   This question has many amateur athletes and sport parents confused. “Am I of the level where I can enter into competition?” “Should I send my child for tournaments?” “I don’t want to put any additional pressure on my child” are common thoughts which come to an amateur athlete's or a sport parent's mind. In this blog, we will try and analyse various dimensions of playing tournaments and eventually have a clearer picture on the above question. I was recently watching a 13 year old practice while chatting with his father. The child is being coached by someone else but as I share a good relation with his father I suggested he starts playing serious tournaments. The father replied that “he is still not ready”. On this I narrated a very interesting true story to him. There was a young b...

We all know how negative thoughts can impact our performance on the match field. Most athletes have no clue about how to deal with such thoughts. They find it almost impossible to bring their focus back to the present situation. But some professional athletes seem to thrive in pressure situations. How do they do it? Don't they get negative thoughts which distract them? Agreed, they have the experience of playing in similar situations many times before. But they seem mentally so strong.   Athletes who do not have that experience under their belt can use simple mental steps to manage negative thoughts more effectively. This blog will talk about these three simple steps on how to manage negative thoughts during your match and how to remain focused in those pressure situations. Step 1- Acceptance. Resisting negative thoughts is our biggest mistake. We try to resist them. We try to fight the thought. But guess what- the harder we try to fight- the harder it hits back at us. It is like a...

  Purposeful practice is the building block of improved performance. But it is crucial to approach your practice with the right mind set. Having a fruitful practice session can be very satisfying and fulfilling. There are few key elements to practice which an athlete must know about, before he starts his session. Be clear about the intention of the session Before a session, the athlete must decide his key focus area in that session. You must be clear about the intention and what you want to improve upon in that session. You can list down a particular area or a couple of areas to work on. A mental imagery would also be helpful while planning out the session. If you train with a partner, make sure you have decided before hand on the theme of the session. The focus area could be mostly technical, but observing the mental side could also be one of the intentions in the session. Being observant and open to feedback is the key. Using a tripod and smart phone to record your practice mak...

A coach has a huge impact on an athlete’s life. If the athlete is a child, chances are that he listens more to his coach than to his own parents. Choosing the right coach with a right attitude for those early sporting days for your child is extremely important. The coach will have visible effects on not only to your child’s sporting skills, but his overall personality. He will teach your child on how to be a good human being. So, what are the qualities which we should watch out for in a coach, what are the must haves? Let me give a few pointers for parents to help them take that decision. According to me, when starting a sport there are three qualities which a good coach must possess- 1) Walks the talk Your child will look up to his coach for almost everything. The way he talks, behaves, plays, eats, drinks, everything. For the child, his coach is nothing less than a superhero. If I want my student to follow something, I do not always say it to him. I just do it myself and the child le...