Mental Preparation
The best performers get their minds ready as well as their bodies. Learn how a warm-up and mental rehearsal help you focus, calm your nerves and perform at your best.
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In the zone
A gymnast stands still, eyes closed, before a routine. She is not resting: she is getting her MIND ready. Top performers prepare mentally as well as physically. This module is about two things, the WARM UP and MENTAL REHEARSAL.
Mental preparation words
Four ideas run through mental preparation:
What is it?
What is mental rehearsal?
- Picturing yourself performing successfully in your mind
- Stretching your muscles before exercise
- Resting completely and thinking of nothing
- Eating the right food before a match
Body and mind
A good warm-up prepares both. Mental rehearsal then sharpens the mind further.
What does it do?
- Focusing on the task
- Calming the nerves
- Building confidence
- Refining a skill
- Blocks out distractions before you perform
- Controls anxiety so you feel ready
- Makes you believe you can succeed
- Practises the movement without moving
How to rehearse
To rehearse mentally, find a quiet moment and close your eyes. Picture the skill step by step, as if watching a film of yourself. See it go well and feel the movement. Many performers do this as part of their warm-up, just before they compete.
Why rehearse?
Which THREE are benefits of mental rehearsal?
- It improves focus and concentration
- It helps calm the nerves
- It builds confidence
- It makes you physically tired
- It removes the need to train at all
Picture it
- A diver on the board
- A footballer before a penalty
- A gymnast before a routine
- A sprinter in the blocks
- Pictures the whole dive before jumping
- Imagines the ball hitting the back of the net
- Runs through each move in the mind
- Imagines exploding out to a fast start
Get ready
Put a pre-performance routine in a sensible order.
- Arrive early and stay calm
- Do a physical warm-up to raise the heart rate
- Mentally rehearse the performance
- Focus on the first action
- Start the performance
Complete the idea
Mental _____ means picturing yourself performing well before you do it. A performer often does it during the _____ up, just before they compete. It uses _____, creating a clear picture of the skill in the mind. It helps you _____ on the task and calms your _____.
True or not?
Tap the TWO statements that are TRUE about mental preparation.
- Mental rehearsal means picturing a successful performance.
- A warm-up prepares both the body and the mind.
- Mental rehearsal replaces the need to practise.
- Imagery only works after the event is over.
- Warming up has no effect on the mind.
When?
When would a performer use mental rehearsal?
- Just before a performance, as part of their routine
- Only while asleep the night before
- Never, because it does not help
- Only after the event has finished
Ready to perform
A netball player is preparing for a big match. Choose the best mental-preparation action.
- She feels nervous in the changing room. What could help settle her?
- During the warm-up, how can she prepare her mind as well as her body?
- Just before the whistle, what should she focus on?
Get set
Explain how a performer of your choice uses a warm-up and mental rehearsal to prepare for a competition.
- Say what the physical warm-up does
- Explain what mental rehearsal is
- Give two benefits of mental rehearsal
- Describe when the performer would do it