Pre-performance Routines in Sports - Literature review Example

SPORTS Pre- performance Routines Order No. 168205 No. of pages – 8 – 6530 The world of Sport is considered to be one of the most important professions today – in fact it can be considered to be “a whole new world” altogether. A few decades ago, too much importance was not given to sports, but today it is considered to be one of the major deciding factors in the destiny of a country or nation. Besides being highly lucrative, a sports person earns name and fame with it. On the flip-side of the coin, being in the sports arena is not an easy job – the more fame it brings, the more the responsibility with it. In order to meet these challenges, an athlete has to prepare himself by under-going rigorous training if he wants to achieve this goal. He has to dedicate himself to the task of hard work in order to make his dream come true. Pre- performance training: It is not enough if one is a good sports person because very soon one could lose their shine. It is here that pre- performance training comes into the foreground, to create that bit of difference for an outstanding performance. Ordinary training does not help the sports person to achieve much. He needs a specialized training which would groom him to meet world standards by enhancing every aspect of his skill and endurance. Research conducted with elite performers, by John F. Murray, a Sports Psychologist, speaker and author says – “achieving optimal performance is never easy. It involves a delicate balance of mental and physical skills, practice and continual adjustment”. Thus a pre- performance training program is inevitable in order for a good athlete to perform beyond limits. The sports field has its own defining moments of glory that take place with great speed in an unpredictable and chaotic environment. It is for these rare and treasured moments, that the person spends his life in rigorous training in order to achieve it. Therefore these strenuous training programs strive to cultivate or nurture certain pre-requisites or qualities which would enable a sports person to achieve his goal and at the same time it reduces the risk of injury. Research and evaluation: According to a research undertaken by investigator Robert Singer, on pre-performance routines, an athlete who has reached a very high level doesn’t bother with the physical aspect of the game but focuses directly on his performance. In Singer’s words - “The secret, lies not in concentrating on the physical side of the sport but rather in reaching a transcendent level known as "the zone" or "the flow state." Getting there, he said, has been a mystery in the past. (Robert Singer, 2003) According to (Charles Hillman 2003), a professor of Dept. of Kinesiology and Psychology at the University of Illinois says that research conducted on pre- performance brain activity showed that such a state of mind belonged only to the top-notch players or elite athletes. In the research conducted, researchers found that the player had a very resourceful pattern going on inside his brain. As Hillman stated –“Just before performing, every individual has an ideal pattern of brain activity and this type of research could identify an (amateur’s) ideal pattern and further down the road be used to help them achieve an ideal brain state.” Training Criteria: The world of Sport has set very high standards for themselves and as such the pre- training program is indebted to fulfill it. Special care is taken by them to zero down on every aspect of the individual in order to procure the most favorable results. For the all round development and holistic approach, certain criteria or goals have to be met. These goals include – Speed Power Strength Flexibility Fitness Balance Agility Coordination Mobility and Reactive ability. Each of these aspects is looked into and specific training in each of these areas is given. Time and again they are tested to see how good the training program is progressing. Such programs are used for the youth as well as professionals. Pre- game Routines: Superstition Vs Ritual: You may call it superstition, ritual or just plain illogical reasoning- but this is what serves as a bait to a sports personality. Superstition is the belief that certain things have the “luck” or the “power” with actually no logical reasoning to support it. Things like chewing the same flavored gum or wiping the face with the same handkerchief or towel makes them believe that it is these things and not themselves is what makes them a winner! A ritual or a routine on the other hand is when an athlete intentionally prepares himself for an event using deliberate and meaningful actions. These actions help the athlete to focus, visualize and prepare himself to meet with success. This preparation builds great confidence within them and helps them to boost their sporting spirit. According to sport psychology consultant Matt Krug, President of Midwest Institute of Performance, Inc., pre-game routines are important because they help transfer comfortable feelings or "confidence" to less familiar, more anxious situations”. Any change in the routine they follow would make them feel out of sync and uneasy. Fitness Training: An athlete needs to be fighting fit in order to meet the high expectations of the Pre- performance Training program. So the first step would be to check his BMI (Body mass Index) i.e. his height in relation to his weight. If an athletes body is a little out of shape, then the training program starts with fun games that are challenging and at the same time helps them feel good about themselves. The body has to be prepared in order to meet the strenuous task of training that lies ahead. Trained personnel take charge for total body conditioning by dealing out fast paced and high energy workouts. The training session begins with a “warm-up” which includes exercising the arms and legs, stretching and jumping. These exercises activate the muscles and speeds up the heart rate. After this, they move to “the turf” where the exercises continue. In addition to these, the coach teaches them how to go about throwing, catching, falling, rolling and running. Training in batting and bowling are also done on the field. These exercises help to improve an athlete’s agility, movement, speed and accuracy. Once this is done, they have to under go strength – training circuits. This usually takes place in a gym where various types of equipment are there which help to build up an athlete’s muscles and tones up his body. These include pull- ups and push- downs and stretches which help to toughen or tighten his muscles. The outcome of the gym exercises is that it gives the athlete a toned and good physique. Cardio- conditioning is added throughout the training session which helps the athlete to burn excess fat and keeping it trim and healthy. Use of Visual images: Looking at the visual side of sports, it is no wonder that photography plays a significant role when it is used to assist pre-performance routines. An athlete visualizes himself either from a good photograph of himself or just from his minds eye which greatly helps in boosting his confidence and thus resulting in a better performance. He uses all his senses and emotions to create an image which is very close in reality to the actual experience in his mind. It acts as a stimulus to the task that is lying ahead of him. The athlete experiences a sensory- motor sensation which in turn reintegrates reality experiences which include physiological, neuro- muscular and emotional involvement. He could use these images when under stress to bring back his confidence once again. Visual images or imagery is used for positive thinking and problem solving concerning the game. It could also be used for reviewing his performance and forming an analysis. An athlete can also use visual images in his pre- performance routine to help him stay focused and alert to the task ahead. Certain specific performance skills could be visualized to center his energy on the same act when faced with it. Visual images enable the athlete to maintain mental freshness even in times of injury. Improving Performance: In order to improve ones stamina and performance an athlete has to under go certain training strategies- There are three kinds of training available which could be taken to suit the kind of sport which is undertaken. Different kinds of training prepare people for different kinds of sports. Resistance Training: This kind of training involves working against the force of gravity or by using weights. This kind of weight training helps to build good muscular strength. Lifting lighter weights for a longer period of time helps to build a person’s endurance. Circuit Training: Circuit Training is another form of resistance training in which a person uses his own body as a weight through exercises such as– push-ups and sit- ups. Circuit training builds up aerobic fitness and muscular endurance. Interval Training: In a training session, there are periods of hard work with alternating periods of rest; this is what is called interval training. “High intensity activity” is the name given to the periods of hard work. A person can regulate their distance and speed according to his sport. Interval Training tends to develop the aerobic and anaerobic skills of the sports person. Continuous Training: This is an easier kind of training which is performed over a longer period of time. For example, cycling slowly for 30 minutes could be called continuous training. Top athletes like Paula Radcliffe and Lance Armstrong used continuous training to heighten their heart rate. This sort of training helped to develop aerobic fitness and muscular endurance. Self Talk: “The key to cognitive control is self talk. The frequency and content of thoughts vary from person to person and from situation to situation. Anytime you think about something, you are in a sense talking to yourself,”( Zinsser et al, 1998.) Advantages of Self Talk: Self Talk helps the athlete to focus on the present without dwelling on the past or the future. It acts as an asset when it enhances performance and self – worth. During the early stages of learning, self talk helps to remind the athlete of certain key aspects of the skill he is learning. Once the skills are mastered, self talk becomes less and focuses on key strategies. When an athlete needs to change a skill or technique, he uses self talk. Sometimes during a game, attention could be lost – According to (Gould et al, 1992), “Self Talk helps athletes to control their attention”. For example, runners who say “quick” or “fast” have been found to increase speed. (Meichenbaum, 1975). Self Talk also helps athletes to increase or control anger, anxiety, fatigue and boredom and also helps to change moods. Application of Self Talk: Application of self- Talk can be done in three ways- Retrospection: By going back to the experience and analyzing whether it was good or bad. Imagery: By creating vivid pictures in the mind of the situation that they faced. Self Taught Log: Many athletes don’t have the ability to use the retrospective or imagery methods, so they can keep a log as the situation occurs. Social Support: Every sport has its ups and downs and good days and bad days. In the same manner every sports person loves the good days and hates the “days in the dumps”. When a sports person does well, his fans would help him touch the stars, but when his performance is not up to the mark, those very fans could drag him down to the Pitts. When such is the situation, they must always be ready to face any eventuality. After all a good sports person’s first criteria is to be “sportive”. In times like these, anyone would be grateful for a shoulder to cry on. According to some, “social support has a potentially beneficial influence within sport”. (Rees and Hardy, 2000) Advantages of Social Support: Social support acts as a moderator or a buffer against the impact of stress, there by safeguarding the well- being of the individual. If the level of social support is low then the well- being of the person is affected. The athlete’s mental and physical disposition very much depends on the social support he receives. His psychological and physiological well being would be less if there is insufficient or ineffective support. Social ties could be both supportive as well as problematic. As Rook, 1992 puts it – “Social interactions could be a mixture of both enriching and troublesome experiences”. Needs and Types of Social Support: An athlete needs a lot of social support in times of stress and failure. Albrech and Adelman, 1984 and Cohen and Wills, 1985 have proposed many multidimensional models of social support which include- Emotional Support Informative Support and Practical/Tangible Support. While emotional support could be rendered by family and friends, informative support can be rendered by any member of the athlete’s social network. Where as the Practical/Tangible Support can be effectively administered only by experienced individuals with content experience. A study conducted by Rosenfield et al; 1987 revealed the same results. While family and friends are the main source of emotional support, coaches and team- mates are good at rendering informative support which included technical appreciation and challenge. In the sports arena, “Life is not a bed of roses” but a journey of “blood, sweat and tears”. A good athlete is therefore not only accountable to himself but also to his country that depends on him and hence his responsibility is doubled. References: www.athletesperformance.com/spj/article.php?id=144 BBC Sport – Health and Fitness. www.news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/academy/default.stm Catz, Competitive Athlete Training Zone. www.prettytough.com/pregame.php www.esiksha.com/advice/prepcomp.asp Hardy, C.J., Richman, J.M. & Rosenfield, L.B. (1991) The role of social support in the life stress/injury relationship. The Sport Psychologist, 5, 128 – 129. www.integrative-healthcare.org/mt/archieves/2005/12/sports_massage.html www.johnfmurray.com/News.aspx?id=266 www.mindtools.com/prepcomp.html www.nexwebsites.com/Articles/15149.html www.peaksports.com/seminars_team.php Rees, T. Hardy., L. (2000) An investigation of the Social Support Experiences of High Level Sports Performers. The Sport Psychologist.14, 327 – 347. UF Research Reveals How Amateur Athletes Can Think Like Experts www.napa.ufl.edu/2003news/athleticperformance.htm Robert Singer, 2003 (352) 392-0584, Ext.1234 www.twosession.com/sports_performance_ehancement.htm www.townmvp.com/blogs/superstitions Read More