Exercise & Motivation

DEALING WITH OBSTACLES
When you encounter an obstacle, take a little time out to reconnect with your main goal and your reasons for wanting to achieve it. Remember why you're exercising in the first place. How could you still achieve your goal, and find ways around this new obstacle? Your journal can be your friend here - use it to reflect back over why something may have ended up being more difficult than expected, and to brainstorm ideas for different ways to move forward. You can also use it to proactively motivate yourself before obstacles appear - to track your progress in whatever area you'd like to see yourself improving.

GET OTHERS INVOLVED
If you haven't already, create an exercise routine that gets friends or family involved. Studies have shown that people whose friends or family support their goals are far more likely to achieve them, and it's hard not to feel supported when people you care about are working out alongside you. Not only that, but if you've agreed to meet your 'workout buddy' for an exercise session, you make it that much harder to let them down by deciding at the last minute you just can't be bothered today.

MAKE DEALS WITH YOURSELF
If you're having trouble summoning the motivation to get out the door, promise yourself you don't have to finish your workout if you don't want to. Decide that you only have to complete the first ten minutes, and then, if you really don't feel like keeping at it, give yourself permission to pack up and go home again. Most of the time, just getting out the door and starting will be enough.

For a short term motivational quick-fix, don't underestimate the power of bribery! Identify three or four different little things that bring you pleasure, and promise yourself you'll take time out and indulge in at least one of them if you complete your workout as scheduled.

GET HELP!
Finally, if you're noticing increasing difficulty motivating yourself despite trying all of the above suggestions, consider talking to a personal trainer near you. A big part of qualifying as a trainer involves not just learning specific exercises, but learning how to keep clients motivated. If cost is an issue for you, think seriously about hiring an online trainer.

Generally, online training is far more reasonably priced than face-to-face training - and if all you're wanting is someone to keep you enthusiastic and accountable, it means you're not paying for services you don't need.

Importance of Sports Psychology

The importance of sport psychology in football or soccer is becoming increasingly well recognised with many professional clubs employing psychologists. Sport psychology is sometimes called mental preparation or training, mind games, or mind over matter. The aim is for the team to play football at peak performance in every match.

Mental training or sport psychology is no substitute for skills, and it is vital to emphasise the importance of skills, particularly when coaching youth football. Since the main aim of psychological training is to attain peak performance, it will not help much if your peak performance is poor!

The first step is to decide what you want to achieve. Do you have a dream that you wish to make a reality? It's important to discover what motivates you, and to write down a mission statement or creed to provide motivation.

Goals should be set for the long term, short term, and daily. A simple example of a goal is to obtain a regular place in the school team, or the town or county team. A daily goal might be to run an extra quarter mile, or to learn a new skill. A short term goal might be to run an extra five miles, score a certain number of goals, or master a set of new skills. It is important to set realistic goals. Becoming a professional footballer is a wish of many young footballers, but few are successful. It is better to set challenging, but achievable short-term goals.

Achieve peak performance

Peak performance in football and other sports completes or pages on sport psychology and mental training. Peak performance means playing at the very best of ones ability, being "on a roll" or "in the groove". Think back to your greatest achievement on the sports field or even in life as a whole. What was it that caused you to play so well? Unfortunately, most of us will have trouble answering that question, and such events are rare. The idea of peak performance is to turn these rare events into regular events. Peak performance started as a concept in athletics, but now it is well recognised in football or soccer and other sports as well as in the business world.

What characteristics does a state of peak performance have?

* Feeling relaxed. It is a common mistake that we should be "psyched up" to play at our best, but research shows that this is not true. The best state of arousal is slightly above normal, that is relaxed, but with a feeling of energy.

* Confident. There is a feeling of expecting to succeed, not hoping or wishing for success, but expecting it. There is no fear, and a trust in instincts and intuition.

* Complete focus. There is a feeling of being in the present, of being totally absorbed in the moment, with no sense of time.

* A feeling of that everything is effortless. Movements are smooth, even graceful, with the mind and body in perfect harmony. The game feels as if it requires little or no effort.

* Automatic actions. In other words, there is a feeling of being on autopilot with no interference from thoughts or emotions. Athletes perform better when apparently no conscious thoughts are involved. A footballer needs to be able to think about tactics, and who is around him, but the idea of not being distracted by emotions applies.

* Being in control. You feel in control, so that what you think will happen does happen.

* Fun. A sense of enjoyment. Peak performance is not obtained when we are bored. This is one reason why it's important for coaches to make training as interesting as possible.