Terry Peloton

Tag: mental conditioning for athletes

  • HOW FAST CAN A BRUISED EGO HEAL?

    Bucked

    I have written recently about the “off season” and how I look forward to moving my body differently during the winter months  – repairing both my body and mind from the grueling pace of training when I am in season. But even a “Derailleur” can learn a thing or two about what does and doesn’t work. And that includes how to repair a “bruised ego”.  Now, you haven’t been reading my blogs thinking I was perfect did you? Of course I am not. I make mistakes all the time. But I make all new ones and never the old ones over and over again. That was until last week. I did make one old mistake that I had made years earlier as a young 20-something eager to prove I could ignore my body’s messages of pain and push through it. Pain is different than discomfort. Remember that for this story.

    I ranted and raved on the benefits of moving your body differently and taking inventory of your mind during the off-season. Walking my talk (or should I say pedaling my pedals?), I have enjoyed the first few months in Vermont of coming off the roads and into warmth of the gym. That was until I was challenged by “Angie”, a CrossFit workout of the day that is what they call a benchmark workout. It is designed to test your fitness level by throwing 100 pull ups, 100 push ups, 100 sit ups, and 100 air squats at you to see how long it would take you. You can do them unbroken meaning you can take breaks in between, but you must do all 100 pull ups before you move on to the push ups, and so on. I walked into my local CrossFit box, saw the workout and said, “no problem, I got this, it won’t be fast and it won’t be pretty, but it will still get done.” And so, the music went on, the clock set and off I went.

    What I realized was that my months of lower body work on the bike was actually a detriment to me when I was 20 push ups in (and after a painful 100 pull ups) and I noticed an odd sensation in my arms. They were painfully tingly. Not just tired, not sore, but painful. And then my arms blew up to twice their size. I looked like Popeye! But not in a good way.  I looked at my CrossFit Coach and asked him what he thought and he said “why not stop now and move onto the sit ups…you are doing great – listen to your body”. But I made a crucial mistake at that very moment. I thought “nah…I am going to do all 100”. And I continued to crank them out. When I got to 80, I couldn’t move my arms any longer. I stood up and walked over to the wall to begin my sit-ups. But I couldn’t cross my arms over my chest…in fact, I couldn’t touch my face with my hands. I felt such pain in my elbows; I couldn’t bend my arms to touch anywhere close to my face.

    I did a modified sit up with my arms by my side and then easily knocked out 100 air squats (thank you hill workouts this summer). I was done. I looked at the clock and sighed…as I had predicted; I did it, it wasn’t fast and it was far from pretty, but I got it done. Well except for 20 little push-ups I just couldn’t get out. I headed home tired and proud of what I was able to accomplish. And in pain.

    The story of course doesn’t end here because the title of this blog mentions how my ego had gotten damaged. What I should explain was that my arms actually got the worst of the injuries – I wound up micro tearing both of my arms in the bicep and tricep area. I could not touch my face, my head, or bend my arms for days. My arms throbbed painfully leaving me to ask for help washing my hair, brushing my teeth and doing ANYTHING that required me to bend my arms. Yes, I know, that basically means doing anything. When I asked for help from my friends and family, I had to explain what happened and why I was suddenly helpless. With each time the story was told, my ego took a little more of a hit when I realized that I was the only person to blame for this predicament. I could have stopped. I should have stopped. I needed to stop. But my determination to continue left me injured and out of the game for a full week.

    What if I had stopped when my Coach suggested? I would have been able to work out the next day, and the next day, and the next.  Instead my bull-headedness caused me to sit out for a week. So what was the smarter thing to do? Prove to myself I could do it or listen to my body. I have know been reminded AGAIN of that answer.

    My injury has healed, but my ego has one heck of a scar on it of a lesson I will never forget. Push past discomfort…stop at pain. Lesson learned. I am humbled. But smarter.

    Anyone else ready for the “off season” to be over?

     

    Amy Magyar is a Derailleur. She helps her clients across North America change their gears, their pace, and their direction. She is the essential piece of equipment to get you where you need to move forward at a different pace and with a different power. As an industry veteran and a Certified Performance Coach, Amy works with individuals who are athletes, were athletes, or wish to be athletes, on navigating change.

  • What shape are you in (your mind, that is)?

    Testing your mental conditioning through awareness.

     

    In my introduction last week as The Derailleur at Terry Bicycles, I mentioned that I coach, among other types of clients, athletes of all shapes and sizes on their mental conditioning. Your body can be as fit as an elite athlete’s but if your mental conditioning is lacking, you may perform like you have “cement shoes” (as my friend from Jersey says.) So what is mental conditioning? I know you are about to click off this blog because the last thing you need to be told is to do more exercising. But listen up, this form of exercise is important. This isn’t about your athletic strengths; this is about how you show up on a day-to-day basis in your life. This is about how your mind performs.

    Ok, so how do you even know how “fit” your thoughts and beliefs are? Let’s break it down to this…mental conditioning is about training your mental fitness. Mental fitness is your own self-awareness around how your mind works (or doesn’t work) to support you and your physical conditioning. In other words, what you think is what you do…so what have you been thinking lately? Does it sound like “That was a really hard ride but I am proud of the effort I put on the last ascent.” Or does it sound like this, “Really? You were the slowest on that climb…you came in last. Last! Because that’s where losers come in…last. Nice job loser.”

    Your thoughts may not be that radical either way, but my guess is that there has been a time or two that you “trash talked” yourself after a ride that didn’t go as planned. Worse yet, you may have even “trash talked” yourself BEFORE you even got on the bike. Mental trash is not a source of motivation; it is exactly as it is named…trash. It clutters up the mind, keeping you from learning the lessons of the experience and definitely keeps you from being able to pat your self on the back for the effort you put in. All-important steps to increase your mental fitness level.

    So the first step to mental conditioning is awareness. You have to understand where you are first, before you know how much to train. One way to test your mental fitness level is to see how many times in a day you say the word “Should” or “Must” or “Gotta”…it might sound like “I should have done better” or “I must go faster.” Keep a list of how many times in a day you say words like “should” and its evil friends (Must and Gotta) and see how limiting the “should” often makes you feel. How heavy are the “Shoulds” that you carry with you on your ride each time?

    What would happen if instead of thinking about what you “should do”, you started to train yourself to think about “what is.” This is often called mindfulness and is a way to self-awareness. Thoughts, feelings, attitudes, beliefs, behaviors – all are raw material for the growth of the mental side of your game. The mentally conditioned athlete makes self-awareness a priority and uses it to strengthen their core mental skills. And instead of “should do” they condition themselves to think “I am…” More on “I am” to come in future blogs.

    Once you become aware of how many times you use limiting self-talk or beliefs, you are able to get a clearer picture of how what your mental conditioning level is. Is it strong and designed to move you forward in a healthy, sustainable way or does it act as a defeating message keeping you in your place and preventing you from growing?

    The first steps to increased mental fitness include the most important…awareness. So I challenge you this week to become aware of condition level of your mental game. Keep track of the “shoulds” and share with us what you find! There is no judgment, only awareness. Once we know, then we can change them.

     

    Amy Magyar is a Derailleur.  She helps her clients across North America change their gears, their pace, and their direction.  She is the essential piece of equipment to get you where you need to move forward at a different pace and with a different power. As an industry veteran and a Certified Performance Coach, Amy works with individuals who are athletes, were athletes, or wish to be athletes, on navigating change.

    photo courtesy of Ronwuphoto.com

  • A coach for your head?

    I am…a Derailleur.

    I am…a Certified Performance Coach.

    I am…an agent of change.

    I am…certain.

    I am…loud.

    I am…a firm believer in getting outside and playing.

     

    I help prevent broken resolutions one day at a time by offering:

    – Performance Coaching

    – Career Coaching and Development

    – Resume Construction

    – Mental Conditioning for Athletes

    – A Kick-In-The-Ass

     

    As a Derailleur, I help my clients across North America change their gears, their pace, and their direction. I am the essential piece of equipment to get you where you need to move forward at a different pace and with a different power.

     

    After a good ride, you’re a different person. You’ve changed. You faced a fear. Proved a point. Impressed yourself. It’s like somebody drilling a hole in your brain, inserting all this wonderful scenery, certainty, and freedom. And it forces out the bad stuff. But the ride doesn’t stop when you step off the bike. That’s where I come in…I am here to remind you that you can also change, face fears, prove a point and impress yourself off the bike as well.

     

    Some folks call me a “Life Coach” or a “Head Coach”. But I am more than that. I am all the benefits of a Coach without the annoying whistle some trainers have. I can’t make your body stronger, faster or more flexible but I can help you train your mind to be stronger, faster and more flexible. You are not broken…you don’t need to be fixed. You need support. I do support.

     

    Partnering with Terry Bicycles, we have expanded Ride it Forward so that we’d have a place to post original content about the psychological, emotional, and social aspects relevant to intense exercise or other physical and competitive endeavors. Most of what will happen on this blog, including articles, videos, and pictures, will have some relationship to Cycling. However, there will be something here for you even if you do not consider yourself a Cyclist.  Ride it Forward is a forum where people will be challenged and inspired toward self-reflection and will find ways to make their lives more meaningful. It is a resource for people to learn about sports performance enhancement and access tools to improve training. And I am your tour guide. I won’t always wear the “yellow jersey”…I will invite you, the community to share your stories and wisdom as well. This is a collaboration. Now let’s get going! Contact Amy

     

    Amy Magyar is a Derailleur.  She helps her clients across North America change their gears, their pace, and their direction.  She is the essential piece of equipment to get you where you need to move forward at a different pace and with a different power. As an industry veteran and a Certified Performance Coach, Amy works with individuals who are athletes, were athletes, or wish to be athletes, on navigating change.

    photo courtesy of Ronwuphoto.com