Tag Archive: sports psychology

1. How to start weightlifting pt3: your first competition

   12th April 2022 10:33 am Leave a Comment

   Your first weightlifting competition.

   

   Entering your first competition is a big step for every weightlifter. Every single Olympic weightlifter has had to enter as a beginner at some point. Whilst you may not be able to control your nerves, and you can’t control what the other entrants are lifting, you can prepare yourself by eliminating silly mistakes.

   Competition overview

   Weightlifting, like boxing and wrestling, is divided into different weight categories. Men and women compete in different groups and they are further sub-divided into youth and masters.

   In smaller competitions, you may find yourself lined up with people a lot younger or older or even heavier, but the results only count against your category. Usually, 6-8 people are lifting in the same group.

   Each lifter has to weigh in with an official 2-3 hours before their group is due to start. The lifters have a warm-up area to prepare for their first lift. They are called to the competition platform and their names are announced to the spectators about ten minutes before the first lift is due.

   The lifters share one competition platform and the lightest load is lifted first. The weights are continually added to the bar until each lifter in the group has attempted the snatch three times. You might lift three times in succession or you might have to wait for 5 to 8 lifts as other lifters make their attempts. If you are following yourself, you will have a 2-minute rest, if you are following another lifter, you will have a 1-minute rest.

   The same process is repeated with the clean and jerk. If you fail an attempt you can either stay on the same weight or choose to go up. You can never go lighter!

   The winner is the person who has lifted the most weight combined in snatch and clean and jerk.

   A presentation is held shortly after the competition finishes.

   There are three technical officials who judge whether your lift is successful, or not. This is now done electronically and you will hear a buzzer and see 3 white lights for success or red lights for failure. You just need two white lights for it to count. If the electronics fail, then the judges will use a flag system.

   Control the controllable

   

   This has become a cliche amongst sports psychologists but, watching one of our recent weightlifting club‘s ‘Personal Best’ nights, I was gobsmacked about how ill-prepared some of the young people were.

   This is why we run these sessions: it allows the novices to make mistakes and learn on their ‘home turf (platforms)’. They can then improve and prepare better for the time they enter their first licensed competition.

   Here is a checklist of things that are within your control:

   • Enter the competition early (they sell out fast).
   • Arrive on time (plan your route, know the start time, allow for delays).
   • Make your weight. Only enter the category that you know you can make weight for. Know this in advance and lose weight gradually if you have to.
   • Have a drink and snack ready. If you have had to skip a meal to make the weight, have something ready to eat before you compete. Never rely on finding something at a competition venue.
   • Don’t chew gum (can’t believe I have to write this). You can choke on it.
   • Know your opening lifts. You have to declare this on the competition entry and also when you arrive. You are allowed to adjust this by a maximum of 20kg on both lifts combined before you lift. I.e. if you declare an opening snatch of 60kg and clean and jerk of 80kg, (140kg total) you can adjust to a 120kg or 160kg total depending on how you feel on the day.
   • Have all your weightlifting kit packed and prepared. Check the competition rules to see if you need a singlet or not. You will always need weightlifting shoes.
   • Know your personal bests and what you aim to lift on the day (some people don’t know what they lift!).

   Dealing with the uncontrollable

   

   There are certain things you can’t control: the schedule, the weigh-in times and how much your opponents are lifting. The order in which you make your attempts is constantly changing as the other lifters adjust their attempts. You could wait 2 minutes, or have to wait 10 minutes between lifts: this is disconcerting and you might have to get an extra warm-up lift in.

   But, if you have everything else in control, you are better able to focus on the bar and make your lifts. The audience is respectful at competitions and wants to see good lifts. If you are fit and prepared, then be confident and lift the weight above your head. It’s that simple.

   Summary

   It is a good idea to go along to a competition to see how the format works. You can volunteer as a loader (always needed) or cheer your club mates on.

   Otherwise, get used to lifting in front of an audience at your club, and replicate the countdowns and the 6 attempts. This will help you understand the process. Enjoy your first weightlifting competition.

   • How to start weightlifting part one.
   • How to start weightlifting part two

2. The best sport psychology book?

   23rd February 2015 9:14 am Leave a Comment

   What is the best sport psychology book for coaches?

   A discussion we had on the Level 3 Coaching Strength and Conditioning Sport Assessment on Saturday.

   I always share some book ideas with coaches on the courses I deliver. This time the 3 I brought were:

   • 6th Edition of Frank Dick’s “Sports Training Principles“.
   • Phil Jackson’s “Eleven Rings“.
   • Randall J. Strossen’s “Winning Ways: How to Succeed In the Gym and Out”.

   I said that Winning Ways and its predecessor “Stronger Minds, Stronger Bodies” were the best practical sport psychology books I had read.

   I liked “Chimp Paradox” by Steve Peters for overall life and underlyng understanding of the person.

   However, Andy Ellis said that the Chimp Paradox had become a bit of a crutch for some athletes and he preferred “Mindset” by Carol Dweck.

   Dweck talks about growth vs fixed mindsets and rewarding effort over achievement. It is a good read. However, this also has now become a mantra for some people to justify misinformation or disagreement with policy i.e “You have a fixed mindset“.

   Because it is a good read, it is easy to forget to be critical  this excellent critique of Mindset is worth reading as a counterpoint.  The danger of coaches just reading pop psychology is that they lose their critical questioning skills.

   This happened a few years ago with people quoting Bounce and Outliers as “facts” when these books are riddled with errors.

   My other favourite sport psychology book is Jim Loehr’s Mental Toughness Training for Life”

    Community of Practice

   It was great to have this discussion on Saturday. We also talked about the use of External vs Internal Coaching Cues. This was a big part of the Level 3 course, with an excellent presentation by John Brierley on skill acquisition.

   I mentioned this book:“Motor Learning in practice, a constraints led approach”: Renshaw, Davids & Savelsbergh (eds). A very useful book on coaching using task and environmental constraints. The introduction and boxing chapters are duffs: pretentious academic twaddle. The other chapters (particularly Renshaw) offer really useful insights and practical examples.

   Andy Ellis then brought up that theories change over time, and that he would take evidence from an experienced coach, if what they did worked. This is the key point in coaching. We must challenge each other’s thinking and practices, as well as challenge those who come down from their Academic Ivory Towers and preach.

   It is all too easy to get stuck within our own comfort zones, and safe environments and spend time in mutual grooming. I always appreciate the comments, ideas and challenges from Andy and all the other coaches who take part in  our courses: it makes me think and question my practice. This then transfers to my athletes, which is most important.

   Every coach who comes onto one of our courses is invited into our community of practice. If you want to develop your coaching skills as a strength and conditioning coach then it would be great to see you.

   Read more: Best books for S&C coaches

3. Andrew Strauss breeding mental toughness

   20th November 2009 1:17 am Leave a Comment

   Mental toughness in cricket

   

   Strauss in action

   According to Jim Loehr the environment in which one trains is very important for developing mental toughness.

   Andrew Strauss makes a similar point in an interview with the Financial Times last weekend:
   “You start playing cricket in England and you think ‘Ok, I’m Barry Big Pants’ and you’ve got your shiny tracksuit and your bats… the system doesn’t produce battle-hardened cricketers. It’s one of the issues that prevents us from being the best side in the world.”

   When, as an adult, he returned to play in Australia, he was struck by the contrast.

   “Almost by default they think you’re crap unless you prove otherwise. I’ve never been sledged as badly as I was playing club cricket out there. Though the one thing that really got me was that they weren’t interested in excuses. Whereas in England you go the wicket wasn’t playing very well today – and your teammates would go Yeah, it was pretty tough, I don’t know how I even got the runs- the Aussies would go He was crap, he should have got a hundred, or something along those lines. It’s a very different kind of mindset.”

   Have a think about that next time you see some players and coaches wandering around in their shiny tracksuits, squandering big budgets on external fripperies and allowing mediocrity and excuses for failure to become embedded into their culture.