Current Mind Training Tip

The Mind controls the body,
and the mind is unlimited.
The best of success, Craig Townsend
A note from the author

#6 - How Does a Champion Think?

What goes through their mind before and during a race, compared to a regular swimmer? When two swimmers are at the same level of skill, talent and experience, this is what will separate the two at the end of the race.

Thought processes are regarded as so powerful nowadays that it is considered that one mind can influence another - e.g. if an excellent swimmer 'hangs around' with a champion for long enough, they will eventually take on that swimmer's habits, training methods, thought processes and behavior, which should eventually bring similar-type results! Great swimmers seem to possess an almost innate ability to handle pressure, control doubt and negative thoughts, and come through when the chips are down. Some of these skills are inborn; often, however, these skills are learned along the way.

These are the attributes most swimmers desire - those intangible qualities that make a true champion. Kieren Perkins was up against huge odds after a bad heat swim in the 1500m at the Atlanta Olympics. He struggled with major nagging doubts and incessant negative thoughts during the 24 hours before the final, so he opted to read a book constantly during this period to cleanse his mind of the nagging doubts. This was a clever piece of innovation, because reading the book prevented any negative thoughts to enter his mind during this crucial period, and kept his mind and body relatively loose and relaxed for the race.

We can learn from this type of strategy. Whenever you feel you are getting 'tied up in knots' from nervousness, providing a distraction can be a clever idea to divert your mind from feeling the pressure. This could include a wide range of possibilities depending on how much time you have - such as a reading a book, simply going outside and having a break from the race atmosphere, listening to some music with headphones (a popular choice), talking or laughing with friends, a computer game, or doing some relaxation exercises such as meditation or visualization.

Distracting yourself from nervousness can simply but effectively re-focus your mind upon something else, taking the focus off the future race and reducing stress (it's amazing how many people actually get nervous about being nervous!) Try this whenever you can feel the physical symptoms of nerves or negative thoughts beginning to bother you.

Perkins also provided an insight to his mental preparation for that Olympic final, and about his thoughts during the race itself. To quote the newspaper article, he said "I visualized exactly what was going to happen tonight" he said. "It's hard to explain, but when you are focused you almost have no thought. Sitting behind the blocks I was 100 per cent focused and I didn't have a single thing in my mind. I knew what I had to do and it was just a matter of letting my instincts take over".

The two techniques Kieren mentioned have been recently discussed in past tips - the enormous benefit of visualizing the perfect swim in your mind, and also getting into the mental state known as 'the zone' by clearing the mind of all thought and simply allowing the body to operate on pure instinct. These are the practices of champions, and they are powerful techniques which work. It's a good idea to master this first in training, in addition to the conscious training sets where you are concentrating on something specific.

One of the ways to becoming a champion is to copy their habits, and find out which ones work best for you. Begin watching and learning from the champions, they are living proof of what may work for you.

The opportunity of being in contact with so many people has shown to me that all over the world a large number of swimmers, even at the very elite level, are struggling with loss of confidence and lack of inner belief and self-esteem. This seems to be an ongoing problem for many swimmers, and so today I am going to resist the temptation to teach any techniques, and simply drive home a powerful truth which must become embedded in the minds of all potential swimmers of the future. There seem to be swimmers all over the globe who are constantly questioning their own talent and ability, comparing themselves to others and pulling their own confidence down. There are some who wonder if their best swims have passed them by, others who doubt their own ability because they haven't swum a PB for a long period, and others disconcerted because they feel that younger swimmers are catching them up or passing them, and they don't know why.

A 15 year-old tells me that for 6 months he's been in a slump, not getting any better, practicing and practicing and yet often thinking he's actually getting worse. On top of that, his coach had left, the only person who made him feel like someone believed in him and his swimming. Another person, a swim parent from Utah, USA is concerned about her two daughters, both excellent swimmers, who get greatly disappointed when they do not achieve personal best times, and fears them burning themselves out. Yet another wonders if she is ever going to realize the dreams she set for herself years ago. The important thing to know about 'slumps and plateaus' is that they are completely normal! Nobody can constantly swim their best times all the time, not even the greatest of champions. Because we only hear about the fabulous achievements of champions such as Ian Thorpe, Susie O'Neill, Lenny Krayzelburg etc, we come to assume that they are putting in these performances every day!

The fact is they, like you and every other swimmer, are human and have will often experience lapses in between the great swims. But what makes them true champions is how they cope with these plateaus, and then bounce back even stronger than before. Now that is what a champion is all about! A State level swimmer I am working with recently overcame a major slump which was caused by the death of a close relative. She achieved 2 PB's and qualified for the State finals. This is the stuff champions are made of. Occasional lapses are normal. Plateaus are natural. It's how you respond to them that matters most. Humans improve, then plateau, and then improve further….this is how improvement works.

This does not mean to say that we should be complacent when we have plateaued out for a while. We should always endeavor to move forward and look at new ways of improvement. Personally I have never found complacency to be a problem with swimmers, as any serious swimmer I have met has always had the attitude of further advancement. This is possibly because only serious swimmers seek out mental training anyway. What if other swimmers don't appear to be experiencing the same problems? Then those swimmers are going through their own problems, which you probably don't even know about. Every great swimmer must overcome adversity to achieve greatness, it cannot be plain-sailing all the way, or everyone would be a great swimmer! Your abilities are unique (as are those of every human being) and cannot truly be compared to other swimmers, so dispatch with this form of self-depreciation, and begin boosting yourself up. I also believe that many confidence problems could be alleviated by simply opening up the communication lines with the coach. Simply having a chat with them about the situation may produce some views or suggestions which can help the situation and ease a worried mind, because I believe that many swimmers bottle their feelings inside of them and tell no-one.

But the point today is that swimmers are human beings, not machines, and so ups and downs are inevitable, but know this; the fact remains that most swimmers possess within them the ability to dig deep and bring out that special performance when it counts most. This includes you! You have the innate ability right now to put aside slow training times, recent bad performances or even sickness and demonstrate to the world what you are truly capable of. This makes it absolutely essential for us not to tear down our confidence each time we experience a lapse, or do not perform up to our expectations. This period can simply be where our mind and body is becoming accustomed to the present level of swimming, before we prepare to move ahead and bring down the times even further. You have within you the ability to bring out a great swim at any time, regardless of your recent performances. Why? Because within your mind at this moment lies the memory of every great swim you have ever performed in the past. Every single swim. Those past glories and experiences will remain with you forever, and you can bring them out once again, at any time. This means that once you have done it before, you can do it again! Freakish achievements happen in sport all the time, and they may be just about to happen to you. So if you are one of the many swimmers who are bordering on desperation about your recent performances, know that you have the potential to change it. Believe in yourself, because the only limits we have are the ones that we impose upon ourselves. Free yourself of the chains that have been holding you back, and go for it!

One of the greatest abilities the mind possesses for the swimmer is its ability to kill pain. The body, so top endocrinologist and mind/body expert Dr. Deepak Chopra tells us, possesses every chemical you will find in a pharmacy or drug store, including morphine, commonly used in hospitals as a painkiller. It is quite common to read in the newspaper that when a person has lost a limb in a major accident, they often never experienced any pain at the time of the accident, because the mind's powerful immune system instantly released morphine to the affected area, numbing all sensation for the victim.

This amazing ability of the mind and body is one which can be utilized easily by swimmers, especially long distance or open water swimmers, and I have used several techniques which have had remarkable success. One of the fascinating aspects I discovered about swimmers is that most swimmers have already made up their minds when they are going to feel the pain! For instance, most 400m swimmers tell me that the pain hits at the 320m mark every single time, and that the rest of the race is virtual agony. Believe it or not, this actually becomes a conditioned response, where the body (virtually) goes "OK, we're coming up to the 320 mark.... getting ready to feel the pain, let's feel the pain.... NOW!", and sure enough, the swimmer experiences pain.

I have been able to get swimmers to swim pain-free races by introducing a suggestion to their mind that each week they will feel the pain 20m further into the race, until eventually the race is over before the pain may arrive at all. So the first week, instead of feeling the pain at the 320 mark, they expect to feel it at 340, the following week 360, and so on.

This can be achieved in a variety of different ways, but the method I'll mention today is simple self-hypnosis by mental rehearsal, just visualizing or imagining in their mind each day the exact mark where they will feel the pain, and delaying it by 20m each week. Then for that week, remind yourself consciously that the pain will not hit until that particular mark. Importantly, this tends to work better than trying to program the mind for a completely pain-free race immediately, which usually the swimmers' belief system is not ready to cope with, all at once. So if pain is a major factor in your swimming (and it is for most swimmers), practice delaying the pain until you find that it lessens substantially or disappears completely.

What thoughts go through your mind before an important race? This question may be crucial to your results in the pool. It seems that the more science discovers about the human mind, the more important the power of thought becomes, especially in swimming.
Believe it or not, every thought you think, and every word you say in the 5-10 minutes before a race can have a major effect upon your results.

Humans think around 60,000 thoughts a day, and the quality of these thoughts is becoming increasingly important in a sport where a hundredth of a second is an eternity. We already know many of the problems which are associated with a negative attitude, such as fear, intimidation, lack of belief, intimidation ... and so on.

If you still struggle to believe the importance of the mind in swimming, think of this; all of your swimming experience (that is, every lap you have ever swum in your lifetime) is recorded in the archives of your memory bank, and this lies in your subconscious mind. The subconscious happens to be the control-center of all movement, and works just like a computer, and is being constantly programmed by the thoughts, words and statements you choose.

Your results in the pool (the printout) are determined by the quality of the thoughts (the data) which are programmed into your mind. What this all means is this: think negative thoughts before a race, and you will generally get a negative result. Likewise, program your mind positively, and get rid of the mental roadblocks which have been holding you back, and you will get a vastly improved result. Garbage in, garbage out, as they say. The question is: are you satisfied with the results you are getting, or could they improve (a lot)?

Simply by changing the thoughts you think before a race, may help you to change your printout (results) for the future. So how can we do this? Hopefully this answer may help a member of Swim Florida from Fort Myers, who tells me that she and her coach have decided she possesses an 'overactive mind', and wonders if I could help (a common affliction of swimmers).

One of the best ways to overcome negative thoughts before a race is to re-focus the mind onto something positive, by using an affirmation. This is an ancient technique, where you simply repeat a few words over and over again for 5-10 minutes before a race. This does two things; it focuses the mind onto the positive, and it prevents negative thoughts being programmed in before the race. An example of an affirmation could be 'power and speed', or 'perfect rhythm', but you can just as easily make up your own affirmations using your own words. Susie O'Neill did this (mentioned in her book 'Choose to Win') and the greatest boxer of all-time, Muhammad Ali, used "I am the greatest" to great effect.

If you make up your own affirmation, just ensure you keep them short, positive (no words such as 'lose'), and present-tense (e.g. 'I swim like lightning', not 'I will swim like lightning'). Some swimmers even sing a song as an affirmation, and this can also work well. Practice this technique, and see if it makes a difference. I have seen it make massive change and quantum leaps in swimmer's results.

Probably the biggest problem I have found facing most swimmers is a distinct lack of real belief in their own ability. I am not talking about external confidence (which is simply a brave face put on for competitors!). I mean real inner belief that you truly KNOW that can win, or swim the time you desire. This lack of real belief in oneself creates a mental approach of fear, which can cause a variety of problems before races, the most common ones being:

* a deep inner feeling of not being good enough
* extreme nervousness (which sometimes manifests as vomiting)
* negative thoughts of all types
* low energy
* worrying about small details which may never occur
* intimidation from other competitors
* unusual or silly mistakes during the race
* recurring problems
* not looking forward to meets/swims
* jealousy of other swimmers.

Once swimmers gradually begin to believe in themselves, these symptoms often disappear completely or reduce substantially, allowing positive feelings of confidence, anticipation and even a general feeling of happiness to fill your mind and body before a race. This is a far better preparation for a strong performance.

Don't get me wrong, however, nervousness before a race is not a bad thing! It's a sign that you are psyched up and ready to go. (So don't get nervous if you're nervous!!) It's only extreme nervousness that most swimmers can do without before a race. So what is the best way I know to begin to create belief in yourself and your own ability?

Daily visualization. Let me explain, this is all you have to do. Every day for 5 minutes (or even if just for a few minutes) vividly imagine in your mind the absolute perfect swim you wish to do at your next meet, as if it is really happening right at that very moment. This literally reprograms your subconscious mind for success (much like a computer), it's a form of self-hypnosis which is very safe, easy and it works brilliantly.

When you visualize a race in your mind, use all your senses - imagine seeing the swimmers, pool and surroundings in their respective colors, smell the chlorine of the pool, hear the sounds people cheering you, and most of all - feel the joy of victory when you win the race or swim that time you desired. If you do this every day for around 5 minutes, you will gradually notice a shift in your confidence levels before races, and your times will begin to steadily come down. I don't have the space to tell you how this works, except to say that this programs the area of your mind that is the control-center of all of your body's movements.

Now the only trick to it is this - it's only the truly dedicated swimmers who will do this every day. It very quickly sorts out the serious swimmers from the ones who just wish they were better, but are not willing to do anything about it. Are you willing to try this for 5 minutes a day? Try it, you'll discover a whole range of extra benefits from it as well.

There are many important aspects to visualization which you should know about (I could probably write 100 pages on this topic alone) so I will try to cover some of the important ones in future tips, plus special tips on how you can use visualization to:

* overcome extreme nervousness
* reduce / erase pain
* learn new skills more easily and quickly e.g. kicks/turns
* overcome major intimidation from a competitor
* increase your energy
* relax more easily
* increase speed / reduce times
* banish negativity, and sustain positivity
* recover from illness and injuries more quickly
* and many others

Begin today, find a quiet place for 5 minutes and start your daily mental training routine. Be patient and the results will come.

As many of our subscribers are head coaches from various countries and National associations, we have a wealth of tremendous knowledge out there who wish to share their expertise. Donald J. King, who works with Paul Bergen at Tualatin Hill Swim Club, in Beaverton, Oregon USA has kindly submitted a technique he has implemented with his swimmers. He plants a new goal in his swimmers minds each week at training, who make a commitment with their lane mate to make 'the best turns of their life today'. He changes their focus each week onto a different particular aspect of their swim. Thank you, Donald, for your tip.

Most swimmers I've worked with are either "frontrunners or underdogs". This means they either prefer to lead the race, or come from behind, to win. The majority of swimmers seem to prefer coming from behind to win races, rather than leading the race from the start. This way they seem to feel that they 'know where they are' in the race, instead of worrying about who's coming up behind them, as the leader often does.

There is not necessarily anything wrong with this approach, except that it can occasionally limit your opportunities if the chance to move ahead presents itself. It may also leave the race open to the chance that the leading swimmer may not allow you to catch up! Here is an effective method for frontrunners or underdogs who find themselves in the lead of a race.

The underdogs get to see their goal in front of them in their peripheral vision (the frontrunner), and this usually makes them positively motivated to move forward and catch up. However, many frontrunners fall into the trap of focusing on the swimmers behind them, and become negatively motivated to try and protect their lead, instead of positively motivated to move further ahead.

When you are out in front, instead of focusing or worrying about who is coming up behind you, a powerful motivator is to invent a new frontrunner. Pretend that you are coming 2nd to an imaginary swimmer ahead of you, and that your goal is to catch them, instead of worrying about who's trying to catch you. If you have difficulty imagining them because you can't actually 'see' them, pretend that they are already on the next lap and out of your view. This works incredibly well for many swimmers, and allows you to 'burn off' the swimmers behind you.

Of course, it is generally best to swim your own race anyway, using 'tunnel vision' to prevent yourself worrying about the other lanes, and keeping focused on the goal, instead of the obstacles. This imaginary frontrunner allows you to take your focus off the other 'real' swimmers and swim your own race, even from the lead. Try this method, you'll be surprised how it can change your attitude when you are in this position.

These articles are reprinted with the permission of the author

Craig Townsend (Dip. Clin. Hyp.) is a Clinical Hypnotherapist and Director of It's Mind over Matter in Sydney, Australia. He has worked with National and State level swimmers for over a decade, teaching them various methods of improvement through mental training, and creating a powerful program which has spawned impressive results in swimmers of all levels. His personal audio tape utilizes relaxation, hypnotic suggestion and visualization and has led the way in mental training for swimmers. For more information contact Craig Townsend at mindmastery@one.net.au