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The Secret Tools Needed for Peak Performance
Jennifer Koch, Psy.D., Sport Psychology Consultant, Psychology Specialists, Ltd.

Athletes face an inordinate amount of stress and pressure to be the best that they can be at all times. As mentioned in previous articles, however, physical condition and skill prowess are often not enough. The athletic element most often overlooked is the mental side of the game. Do you really think that Michael Jordan’s practice only consisted of improving and perfecting his physical game? Heck no. He, like many other elite athletes, engaged in mental skills training (in addition to physical practice) in order to develop a mental toughness that would lead to ultimate peak performance.

So just what are these elusive and strange sounding mental skills? The first skill is known as arousal-level training and involves purposefully using psychological techniques to adjust your energy level so that it will match an ideal level for peak performance. This phenomenon is also referred to as identifying and meeting your Individual Zone of Optimal Functioning or IZOF. Whether or not you are playing in your IZOF is one of the single most important factors that are guaranteed to affect your performance outcome in some manner. It is up to you to decide if it will be a positive or negative manner.

An athlete’s IZOF can typically be described as falling somewhere on a continuum between extreme relaxation (e.g., vacationing on the beach) to extreme excitement or terror (e.g., skydiving). When preparing to activate your energy level, you must first identify an optimal zone or arousal level in which you perform your best. Then you must identify an optimal arousal level for the sport or position in which you are engaging. It is important to note that just because two individuals play the same position in the same sport, doesn’t necessarily mean that their energy levels will be the same. Also, just because you identify that you play your best basketball at a moderate to high IZOF, doesn’t mean that you will also play your best golf at that same level. Arousal level is both individual-specific and sport-specific. Once you identify your IZOF within your sport of choice, then you can learn specific strategies or skills which will enable you to get to your preferred and effective energy level needed for peak performance.

There are multiple ways to achieve your IZOF, however three popular techniques that have been proven effective by top level athletes are relaxation, imagery, and goal setting. Relaxation involves the use of breathing techniques in order to purposefully change one’s heart rate, blood pressure, galvanic skin response, body temperature, muscle tension, and/or thoughts. Relaxation training is a skill that is helpful in all aspects of athletics as it can help you to focus during day-to-day practice sessions, calm your thoughts during your pre-game routine, and/or re-center you during incredibly intense competitions. Imagery, on the other hand, is a symbolic sensory experience which involves an athlete consciously engaging in a mental process (or visualization) for the purpose of preparing for a performance. This skill is best used in a practice setting or pre-game routine and is typically not used during the actual competition. Finally, goal setting is the act of identifying and defining the specific tasks and accomplishments that one wants to attain. Again, this particular skill is often used prior to a competition such as during practice or the pre-game routine, however, is also occasionally used during the competition itself in order to re-focus an athlete or team and remind them of the competitive purpose.

Each of these skills can be used separately or in conjunction with one another. Many top level athletes, however, have found the three to be most effective when used appropriately and in a complementary combination. When used consistently and appropriately, relaxation, imagery and goal setting can serve to get you to your IZOF quickly. As a result, when you have learned how to engage in these three mental skills, you will be able to play in the “zone” that is most effective for you, the majority of time. Don’t leave your “zone” play to happenstance; contact a sport psychology consultant today to learn how to achieve peak performance all the time.