How does mental coaching boost your performance?
Strength, endurance, technique, and tactics are still the focus of training, even in top-level sports. All performance values are meticulously documented and analyzed, and, in addition, nutrition plays a significant role today.
On the other hand, the mental aspect of sporting success still needs to be addressed. But we athletes know only too well: body, mind, and emotions are inseparable and equally involved in every sporting best performance! And that is why the optimal use of one's resources - including mental resources - is indispensable for every sporting success!
Scientific background
Mental refers to cognitive and mental processes localized in the brain. The term mental is closely linked to the so-called executive functions. These are processes organized in the frontal brain or prefrontal cortex that regulate our thoughts and actions. They include basic functions such as inhibition. It enables us to suppress disruptive stimuli and consciously regulate our concentration. And it also comprises working memory, which we use to compare alternative actions and set goals. With this part of our brain, we also practice cognitive flexibility, i.e., adjusting to new things and changing perspectives. These are all things that are part of everyday life in sports.
The executive functions thus primarily serve our self-regulation. They comprise all the mental mechanisms we use to regulate our attention, emotions, impulses, and actions. They enable us to act in a situation-appropriate and goal-oriented manner - which is essential for success in sports. Well-developed executive functions are synonymous with mental strength. Like a muscle, we must therefore train mental strength.
The theoretical foundations of mental coaching are the latest findings from exercise science and neurobiology, supplemented by practical principles for brain-friendly teaching and learning.