Training Programs

Attitude and Focus

Through my 35+ years of working with athletes from various sporting backgrounds, there is one significant difference between a highly talented athlete and a champion: the attitude & approach applied to daily workouts and high-profile competitions (amateur or professional level).  As humans, there are two motivating variables in our lives: pleasure or fear.  No matter what category you can think about, all of your decisions are motivated by these two emotions.

Fear: being motivated by fear causes your mind and body to “react” to variables in hopes of accomplishing your goals; this mindset is counterproductive when attempting to reach your full potential.  The reason for this is because your focus is on the elements of failure.  Here are some examples of fear-based thinking:

• I hope I can go fast for the entire race
• I hope I get down to my desired race weight
• I hope I can survive the hills on the racecourse

Pleasure: being motivated by pleasure (i.e., winning) causes your mind and body to “prepare” with the variables necessary to create the desired performance results.  This concept is the EXACT difference between a talented athlete and a champion – the champion understands that every aspect of success has to be identified, tested, evaluated, trained, or improved on, and then re-evaluated to ensure that progress is being achieved.  The process of being the best never ends.

Let’s take a look at the same three comments mentioned above in a different perspective:

• I am going to race at a specific intensity level throughout the race resulting in a negative split
• By eliminating simple sugars and white starches in my diet, I am going to get my body fat down to 10% by race day
• I am looking forward to climbing those big hills during the second half of the race the same way that I practiced them in training

Within your program, you have created a Strategy of Success which overrides their Fear of Failure. The development of this mindset is one of the key ingredients to creating a champion.   Once you are focusing on the Strategy of Success, you can mentally prepare for what comes as a result of implementing a strategy. For example, if you practice & develop a successful strategy for consistently going out strong & efficient, you are now able to focus on the mental aspects of leading a race.

Athletes want to be at the front of the pack but are rarely prepared to handle leading a race.  This is because most athletes spend the majority of time working their way to the front – being the one doing the chasing verses being the athlete out front.  Being a leader requires a completely different mindset and approach before it becomes a normal part of your program. Literally, being a champion is something that has to be learned, practiced, and implemented on a regular basis.  This is why I frequently say to you, “Champions are built from the inside out”.

Changing your perspective from a competitor to a champion, another tool to help you Work Smart, Not Hard and Avoid Overtraining!

Yours in sport & health,

-Coach Robb, Coaches and Staff

Thought for the week:

“Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.”