Five Non-Negotiables for Mental Training to Boost Athlete Performance
Written by Alex Manos, Elite Athlete Life Coach
Alex Manos is a Coach for Elite Athletes and Professional sportspeople. He is the founder of Athlete Life Coaching, which is a bespoke coaching business that focuses on coaching the human behind the athlete to maximize performance in their sport and life.
If you want to get stronger, lift weights. If you want to get fitter, do some cardio. If you want to lose weight, eat less and train more. If you want to write a book, write consistently. If you want to play the piano, practise the piano. If you want to become mentally stronger and more emotionally resilient as an athlete, how do you train that?
Here are my five non-negotiables
1. Mental training is training
The first and most important is this: mental training is training. Unfortunately, there is often an inconsistent relationship between mental performance and mental training, as athletes tend to wait until competition to work on their mental skills. They learn techniques but only use them on game day. That would be like attempting a free throw in a game without practising it outside of competition.
Mental performance needs mental training at four key times:
Outside of your sport
Pre-training and competition
During training and competition
Post-training and competition
Treat mental training as you would physical, tactical, and technical training, it is a skill that requires consistent practice.
2. Repetition, repetition, repetition
The simplest training principle is repetition. Mental training requires repetition and is arguably harder to build momentum with than physical training. Why is that? Because the results are often less tangible and immediate.
Take one example of mental training: breathwork. If you practice breathwork for five minutes daily for a week, you may not see results. If you practice your tennis serve for five minutes daily for a week, you will likely notice improvement next time you play. The same goes for doing five minutes of press-ups daily for a week, you will feel, and maybe even look, slightly different.
Mental training requires repetition, so my advice is to start slow and build up gradually, as it can feel overwhelming at first. The old adage “rinse and repeat” is 100 percent necessary for mental training.
3. Consistency
Consistency is not the same as repetition. Consistency means sticking to the process despite changes in performance. I have worked with athletes who practice journaling, meditation, or a new morning routine for a few weeks or months, and when performance rises or dips, they stop. This does not build skill or mental capacity, it only gives a temporary boost before returning to square one.
Consistency is trusting the process, no matter what the performance. It is sticking to the plan and committing to the training in the long term.
A caveat: if the type of mental training is not producing the desired effect, then change it, which brings me to the next point.
4. Be willing to try different techniques and practices
Journaling, breathwork, meditation, visualisation, mindfulness, reading, writing, listening to podcasts, yoga, tai chi, Qigong, EFT, prayer, and more are all options. Mental training is not, and should not be, the same for everyone. It must fit your energy and inspire you to keep doing it.
If reading biographies of athletes or role models and taking notes works for you, great. If sitting for five minutes a day with guided meditation works, great. If a mindful, silent walk for 20 minutes a day works, perfect.
It is unlikely that you will only need to do one thing. My advice is to have a small toolbox of three to five practices to build your mental training.
Here is the easiest way to know you have a structured process and routine: if someone asked, “What does your mental training look like?” you should be able to answer clearly and concisely, like a diary system. For example: “I do five minutes of guided meditation twice a day, journal before and after competing, and practice tai chi three times a week for 15 minutes. I also meet with my mental performance coach twice a month.”
5. Find a coach, mentor, or psychologist
Of course, I am going to say this as it is my job, but like hiring a PT, physio, sports coach, nutritionist, or doctor, working with one of the above can be the difference between managing mental training adequately or at an elite level.
Find someone who can guide you through the process and push you when needed. Find someone who understands you and provides a framework that works for you. Find someone you are willing to invest in long-term and trust completely. Hiring a professional eliminates guesswork, as they have already done the work you are seeking to do. They also hold you accountable.
Final comments
Mental training is not easy, but the process can be incredibly simple. With a clear plan and consistent training principles, improvements can be both performance- and life-changing.
If you are an elite athlete looking to maximise your performance and feel that your mentality is holding you back, I can help. Email me at alex@alexmanoscoaching.com.
Read more from Alex Manos
Alex Manos, Elite Athlete Life Coach
Alex Manos is changing the landscape for how coaching and mental training can benefit Elite Athletes. Having spent 25 years as a physiotherapist, half of which was working in professional sport, he turned his career to coaching several years ago. Passionate about developing athletes as humans first, his work focuses on self-discovery and realization of how their life outside of their sporting arena is a reflection of life in it. Put simply, his coaching philosophy is "Where the athlete meets the human".
