Mental Skills Series...

(Photo courtesy of Iseekgolf.com)

Recently I've been thinking about doing a series on some basic mental skills that are applicable to running, so the next five posts will be an introduction to mental skills that can be used not only in athletics but also daily life. The topics I'm going to introduce are Relaxation, Concentration, Imagery, Self-Talk and developing a Mental Routine. These skills can be learned and may help towards achieving a specific performance goal. I hope this series is interesting and helpful!

The first topic is Relaxation

Athletes use their muscles for strength, movement and stretch. Muscle tension can be caused by a number of factors including muscle fatigue, anxiety, worry and stress. If the muscle is tense, the amount of power, movement and stretch is limited. Developing awareness of what level of muscle tension, fatigue, anxiety or stress is best for individual performance is key. If one is too relaxed they might feel sluggish while if one is too tense, their performance also suffers. Athletes and performers are looking for that place where they are appropriately excited, and maybe even anxious about their event--moderate levels of arousal has been shown to be best (Williams, 2006).

Relaxation techniques take two different forms:
First there is mind-to-muscle. Mind-to-muscle relaxation includes techniques that as the name suggest begin with your mind and in a trickle down effect move to your muscles. Meditation is actually a form of mind-to-muscle relaxation. Visualization is also a mind-to-muscle technique that can be used for relaxation (Williams, 2006).

The second group of techniques is called muscle-to-mind. These techniques start from a specific, targeted muscle or muscle group and help increase the relaxation response in the mind. Breathing exercises and a technique called progressive relaxation are common, but not the only muscle-to-mind exercises.

When thinking about runners, they need a lot of energy and endurance from their muscles to propel them in practice and in races. If their muscles are tense, that’s diverting energy into that “tension” that could be used for propulsion. It’s very common to see runners of all levels pull their shoulders up, arms in and then drive their arms across their bodies. Two other common "tense" moves in running are either leaning forward or backwards and also what I like to call "the turtleneck." Which is basically super strain in the neck muscles. These things happen as runners get tired. It takes energy for the body to be tense like this and it’s essentially wasting that needed energy for movement forward. The ability to be aware and identify overly tense muscles and then systematically relax them is a skill that can be quite helpful for runners in all of the phases of training and competition.
While many of the techniques are best practiced after a workout or competition, some may actually be utilized during a run. (photo courtesy of Coastal Hills Running Club)

When doing relaxation techniques in running, I have found Progressive Relaxation to be helpful.
Progressive relaxation is an exercise in which specific muscle groups are contracted and held for 5-7 seconds and then relaxed. This exercise progresses from one muscle group to another. The contraction phase helps develop awareness and sensitivity to what muscular tension feels like, while the "letting go" phase teaches an

awareness and sensitivity to the absence of tension. Through regular practice, athletes can become proficient at recognizing unwanted tension wherever it may exist and then know how to release that tension (Williams, 2006).

I use an abbreviated form of Progressive Relaxation while I'm running. Basically I do a quick body scan. I quickly "check-in" with myself, scanning my body from head to toe. I only stop at muscle groups where my own tension level is too high. I consciously release that tension and then continue to scan my body. Usually, when I'm tense--I start to carry my arms higher, and my neck and shoulders are tense, so I know to focus on those areas.

So, there you have it. A brief introduction to the mental skill of relaxation. There is lots of information available about relaxation and various techniques out there. When first learning and then practicing it is best to work with someone who has been trained in the techniques to learn them properly--but then practicing on your own increases the benefits.