The New Toughness Training for Sports

I love that question.

Do you think top performers always *feel* like showing up for the performance? That they’re always psyched up and ready to rock?

As Loehr tells us, the answer is quite simply, no. They’re just like you and me.

But what makes them truly great is that how they happen to feel pre-show time is irrelevant. Super-competitors are able to access what he calls their “Ideal Performance State” at will.

Whether they *feel* like it or not, they have mastered the art of ACTING the way they want to feel. And their performance follows.

Here’s how Loehr puts it: “And how does this all relate to competitive toughness? The answer is simply this: great competitors are great actors. They have learned to move their body chemistry in the desired directions just as actors do. But for competitors the script is always the same: IPS. Great competitors have learned to bring to life feelings of confidence, high energy, relaxation, fun, and challenge no matter how they really feel.”

This is awesome. Even if we don’t step into an arena to perform, we can still practice acting the way we’d like to perform so we can enter our Ideal Performance State at will.

Not feeling fired up for work? Alright. Act like you are.

Not feeling warm and fuzzy with the fam. No problem. Act like the inspired version of you would.

When the pressure is on, our attitude determines whether we experience a (sub-optimal) fight-or-flight response or the much more empowering “challenge response.”

Kelly McGonigal talks about this in her great book The Upside of Stress (see those Notes). Here’s how she puts it: “Like a fight-or-flight response, a challenge response gives you energy and helps you perform under pressure. Your heart rate still rises, your adrenaline spikes, your muscles and brain get more fuel, and the feel-good chemicals surge. But it differs from a fight-or-flight response in a few important ways: You feel focused but not fearful. You also release a different ratio of stress hormones, including higher levels of DHEA, which helps you recover and learn from stress. This raises the growth index of your stress response, the beneficial ratio of stress hormones that can determine, in part, whether a stressful experience is strengthening or harmful…

People who report being in a flow state—a highly enjoyable state of being completely absorbed in what you are doing—display clear signs of a challenge response. Artists, athletes, surgeons, video gamers, and musicians all show this kind of stress response when they’re engaged in their craft or skill. Contrary to what many people expect, top performers in these fields aren’t physiologically calm under pressure; rather, they have strong challenge responses. The stress response gives them access to their mental and physical resources, and the result is increased confidence, enhanced concentration, and peak performance.”

The key switch to shifting from a fight-or-flight to a challenge response? Our attitude!

We want to trigger “feelings of aggressiveness, spirit, and fight combined with a profound sense of calmness and confidence.”

Best way to do that?

As with everything, practice.

Emotional target practice as Loehr puts it.

This is one of the key aspects of Loehr’s toughness training.

In short, it’s not the STRESS that is getting us down, it’s the LACK OF RECOVERY.

That’s a huge distinction.

We need to, as Loehr advises, “Work hard. Recover equally hard.”

We need to lean into challenges AND systematically train ourselves to recover adequately.

Loehr calls that “making waves.”

Imagine a sine curve—oscillating up as we push ourselves and down as we recover. Up. Down. Up. Down. Nice, rhythmic WAVES of stress and then recovery. Stress followed by recovery…

THAT’s the magic ticket. We need to make waves.

How? Make recovery training as important as your creative pursuits. Prioritize things like a good night of sleep, naps, eating well, active and passive rest, seizing recovering opportunities and processing your emotions.

Here’s to making waves!

Loehr walks us through his study of the military in pursuit of key practices that may apply to competitive sports. One of the things he discovered is the universal importance of soldiers learning to march.

Imagine young soldiers going through boot camp. Why do they learn to march?

Loehr tells us: “How do marching soldiers look on the outside? You never see any visible sign of weakness. If a soldier is tired you’ll never know it unless he or she collapses. No visible fatigue, no sagging shoulders, no negativism, no fear. What you see is total focus, confidence, positive energy, and precision. Every movement is decisive and clean, nothing sloppy and lazy. Every breath is synchronized to exact movement.

Marching prepares soldiers for battle by giving them practice in being decisive, and in looking strong and confident regardless of how they feel. It trains discipline, sustained concentration, decisiveness, and poise, all essential elements in conquering fear.”

How do YOU move your body in pressure situations? Pay attention. Whether you feel strong or not, hold your body, smile and breathe the way you would if you KNEW you had it all under control. Remember that your emotions respond to your physical postures. We need to PERFORM the way you want to feel.

And, the next time you’re watching a sporting event, pay attention to the way players respond after something goes wrong. The mentally wobbly competitors will slouch their shoulders, look exasperated and essentially defeated. The best will NEVER show signs of defeat.

Think of Michael Jordan and try to imagine him slouching and looking beaten. It doesn’t matter how badly he might be losing or how poorly he might be playing, he’s not going to let you think he’s down. Period.

Here’s to standing tall, breathing deeply and assuming the posture of a champion!

And, here’s a little more on that:

This is Big.

First, know that the First Rule of Toughness applies to ALL (!!!) of us.

And, let’s remember these two keys: 1. Project on the outside the way you want to feel on the inside. + 2. The link between emotions and muscles runs both ways.

David Reynolds echoes this wisdom in Constructive Living (see Notes). Here’s how he puts it: “Depression can be created by sitting slouched in a chair, shoulders hunched, head hanging down. Repeat these words over and over: ‘There’s nothing anybody can do. No one can help me. I’m helpless. I give up.’ Shake your head, sigh, cry. In general, act depressed and the genuine feeling will follow in time… Feelings follow behavior.”

“Feelings follow behavior.” <— Got it.

Remember: Move the way you want to feel!!!

Loehr has a chapter all about getting tough mentally.

He describes the physical stuff we just discussed as “outside-in” and the mental goodness in this chapter as “inside-out.” We need both—acting tough and thinking tough.

He walks us through 17 strategies for getting tougher mentally. I underlined/highlighted/marked up pretty much the whole chapter. Here’s a super quick look at the strategies:

1. “Change your thinking to change the way you feel.
2. Change the picture if you don’t like the feeling.
3. Take full responsibility for what you think and how you think.
4. Practice positive thinking constantly. (<—Note emphasis on “constantly” :)
5. Never think or say ‘I can’t’; never think or say ‘I hate.’
6. Think empowering thoughts.
7. Think humorously to break up negative emotions.
8. Think more energetically.
9. Learn to keep a here-and-now focus during competition.
10. During critical moments of execution, focus your attention outside yourself.
11. Practice strategic visualization constantly. (<—Note emphasis on “constantly” :)
12. Be more disciplined in the way you think about your mistakes.
13. Be clear why it’s important to fight. Before the battle begins, make the commitment.
14. Use adversity to get stronger.
15. Constantly remind yourself to love the battle. (<—Note emphasis on “constantly” :)
16. Use positive brainwashing to break negative mental habits.
17. Focus on ‘Just for today.’”

Performance goals vs. outcome goals.

Where does Loehr tell us to focus? On the performance goals, of course—defined as goals we can control ABSOLUTELY. How many minutes you exercise or meditate, hours you sleep, sales calls you make, quality time you spend with your kids or spouse, etc.

Yesterday I worked on the Note for The Slight Edge where Jeff Olson echoed this wisdom and shared this gem from Hall of Fame baseball pitcher, Tom Seaver: “In baseball, my theory is to strive for consistency, not to worry about the numbers. If you dwell on statistics you get shortsighted; if you aim for consistency, the numbers will be there at the end.”

Where are YOU focused? How can you dial that in a bit more?!