Can a DNA Test Tell You Your Athletic Inclinations?

If there was a DNA test that determined what kind of sports you could excel at, would you take it?

The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) has developed a few and has been testing whether or not they can be used to help train their athletes. The AIS use DNA profiling through 12 gene tests to determine what type of athletic endeavors an individual is best suited for.

For example, if they are better suited to power activities then they would lift more weights, but if they were better suited to endurance activities than they would run more. They hope that by custom tailoring their training programs for their athletes, they can attain better performances that work with the athlete’s body instead of against it.

In fact, the largest benefit from such a course of action could be to reduce the frequency and seriousness of injuries.

Not everybody believe that this is a good idea, however. Some scientists and sports experts have advised against the process, especially as there is no “mongrel” gene to account for people that have mixed strengths that can be specifically tested for.

I have to agree if you are going to use the DNA profiling to select or exclude your athletes. It does a disservice not only to the athletes, but also to the organizations that employ the tests. Knowing what tasks an athlete’s body is more likely to respond favorably to will not really tell you which athletes are likely to be successful or that are going to have the right mindset and focus during competition. Read the rest of this entry »

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Mental Toughness in Sport: Part 4 – Moving From ‘A Right State’ To ‘The Right State’

This article provides some further tips on dealing with defeat and poor performance. It will give you some tips about how to get back into the right state of mind, giving you the best chance of performing at your best and hence getting the results you want.

Being In The Right State
All top athletes and sportspeople know the importance of being in the right state of mind. Often, athletes say that it is difficult to be in a good state when things are going badly, yet this is precisely the time when the athlete needs to have access to ‘resources’ such as confidence, motivation and inner-strength. Fortunately, there are some simple yet powerful ways for athletes to access these sorts of positive feelings and hence be in the right state before and during competition.

There is a technique in NLP called ‘Anchoring’, which uses the principles of ‘Stimulus-Response’ to help us to create a unique and replicable stimulus that can generate a given emotional response, for example, feeling confident. The process is simple, and is normally best done in a quiet environment.

  1. Choose a unique movement that is replicable in the situations you will need it, such as squeezing your thumb and forefinger together, or clenching your fist(s).
  2. Remember several situations in your life where you felt an intense, positive emotion, such as confidence, a sense of power, or a sense of motivation.
  3. Relive (as if it were happening right now) one event from step 2 above, and when the feeling is really intense do the movement chosen in step 1 above (choose one event at a time to relive, rather than think about several events). Stop the movement as soon as the intensity begins to wane
  4. Repeat step 3 for each event, so that you have several powerful, positive events ‘stacked’ on one unique and replicable anchor. Do this between three and six times in total. Read the rest of this entry »
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Mental Toughness in Sport: Part I

In sport, mental toughness is one of the key criteria for success. All competitors will make mistakes, have unfortunate or even unfair things happen (for example bad referee’s decisions and opponents’ gamesmanship) and have disappointments. That’s part of the fun! Without them, how would we grow and learn? How would we truly savour the taste of victory?

This is the first a series of articles for coaches and players/athletes, regardless of the sport you play or the level you play at, on developing Mental Toughness in sport.

Why Develop Mental Toughness in Sport?

Apart from the reasons mentioned above, being mentally tough will help us perform better under pressure, and make it more likely that we will win, or at least perform well. Also, we can often replicate the mental toughness skills in other areas of life, especially work, so that they become resources we can draw upon whenever needed. Remember, “It’s not what happens, it’s how you deal with it that counts.”

The Main Types of Disappointments in Sport

Here are some of the main types of disappointment and challenge in sport where mental toughness is useful:

  1. Defeat, especially when it is unexpected
  2. Poor performance and/or mistakes
  3. Injury, especially long-term injury
  4. Difficult relationships, for example with coaches and team-mates
  5. Poor decisions by officials Read the rest of this entry »
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