Managing Physiological and
Psychological Energy Leading up to
and During Competition
Jim Bauman, PhD
Licensed Psychologist
USA Swimming – Sport Psychologist
“Energy - Cracking the Code”
PERFORMANCE
• Yerkes – Dodson 1908 “Inverted U Hypothesis”
High
Low
Low
Energy
High
“Energy” (Hardware + Software)
PERFORMANCE
• Yerkes – Dodson 1908 “Inverted U Hypothesis”
High
Low
Low
Energy
High
“Energy- 1 of the Tumblers”
PERFORMANCE
• Yerkes – Dodson 1908 “Inverted U Hypothesis”
High
Low
Low
Energy
High
“Energy” (Hardware + Software)
PERFORMANCE
• Yerkes – Dodson 1908 “Inverted U Hypothesis”
High
Too flat
C
O
D
E
Anxious
Low
Low
Energy
High
Aware of and Managing “RPMs”
Aware of and Managing “RPMs”
• Just like other racing machines, the rpms will
vary, depending upon the machine.
• Idle = 1000 rpms
• Cruising = 2500-3000 rpm (event variable)
• “Red Lining = 8000 + rpms
RPMs – How Many and When?
Managing your EMOTIONAL ENERGY and
aligning it with the required PHYSICAL ENERGY is
an important piece in GETTING READY TO RACE
and then RACING. As you can see from the
illustration, and similar to a tachometer in a
racing machine, the best and most powerful
performance comes from aligning your RPMs
(emotional energy) with your GEARS (physical
energy/exertion). Keeping your emotional RPMs
to the left side of the Tachometer (1 and 2) at the
beginning and shifting that energy toward 3, 4,
and 5 when you start, race, and finish…results in
saved energy and it creates a powerful rhythm in
the water without spinning or “red lining”.
Spinning and “red lining” wastes energy, lowers
power output, & slows you down in the water.
Manage your emotional RPMs with breathing,
music, CUES, and other strategies that you have
found work for you. Do this, and
YOU WILL SWIM FAST!
JBauman, PhD 7/2011 R
Strategies – Too Flat
•
•
•
•
•
•
Start monitoring it early (tachometer)
Music (Bob Bowman)
Abdominal Breathing routine (4-8-4 X3)
Get more active (stretch/swim/massage)
Be around others who are more energized
Practice these energizing strategies regularly
(we’ve been practicing the hardware skills for
years, don’t expect the software skills to happen
over night!)
Strategies - Anxious
• We usually have more of these!
• Watch for the “yawners” and those who increase trips to the bathroom
(or maybe the pool)!
• Start monitoring it early (tachometer)
• Know where you are supposed to be and when
• Music
• Abdominal Breathing (4-8-4 X3)
• Channel some of that energy into constructive physical activity
(stretch/swim/massage)
• If possible, remove yourself from congestion, noise, other highly
energized people (this could include swimmers, coaches, staff, etc.)
• Practice these calming strategies regularly…if you don’t make them part
of your routine, you will not remember to use them when situations
(competition) arise and you need relax
Tachometer Music
• Encourage the athlete to create a competition playlist
(iPhone/iPod)…they know how to do it!
• The range of the playlist matches the numbers on a
tachometer (idle to cruising to “red line”)
• Have them find music that has the same or similar rhythm
to each number on their tachometer
• Multi-event people may have more than one playlist that
varies with their event or they could use the same playlist,
but adjust the ”cruising” number/music, depending upon
the event.
• The music can help increase or lower energy, depending
upon where they need to be at different times (see HO).
• Practice, Practice, Practice!
PART II - CONFIDENCE
• Confidence – self-assured, sureness, ready…
• Lack of confidence – not self-assured, not sure, not
ready
• Symptom – sign, indicator, hint, or clue of some
underlying problem or issue that has been activated
• Propose that confidence…having it or not having it is
a symptom
• When we are confident, there could be absence of
problem/issue? Just like when we are healthy!
• When we lack confidence, there could be an
underlying problem/issue? Just like when we are
feeling ill?
MEDICAL METAPHOR
SYMPTOM
PROBLEM
OR ISSUE
HEADACHE
CAUSE
TREAT?
Medical Metaphor
•
•
•
•
•
Do you get headaches?
How do treat headaches? (think about it)
Advil, Tylenol, ibuprofen, water, rest, sleep
What are some of the causes of headaches?
Illness, dehydration, lack of sleep, head injury,
food, allergies, noise, lights, smells, eye strain,
alcohol, altitude, feeling mentally overloaded,
stressful situations, relationships (coaches,
athletes can cause these, eh?), tumors, lesions,
stroke, and many more…
Medical Metaphor
• What I typically hear regarding how people treat
headaches…medications, drink water, or rest.
• What if the underlying problem isn’t dehydration of
lack of rest? What if it is a food issue, stress, or
something else. Medications will briefly take care of
the discomfort, but they don’t take care of the issue
causing it. You can take all the meds, rest all you
want, drink lots of water, but if the treatment
doesn’t match the cause…the headaches will keep
coming back. We have to identify and treat the
problem!
Now for Confidence!
• Do we see athletes who experience confidence
issues?
• How do we typically treat this?
• What are some of the typical causes of this?
past performance & current performance
lack of preparation, feedback from others,
competition, hardware issues, perceived or
real performance expectations, and more…
WHEEL OF FORTUNE
SYMPTOM
PROBLEM
OR ISSUE
LACK of
CONFIDENCE
CAUSE
TREAT?
____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____
WHEEL OF FORTUNE
SYMPTOM
PROBLEM
OR ISSUE
LACK of
CONFIDENCE
CAUSE
TREAT?
R
____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____
WHEEL OF FORTUNE
SYMPTOM
PROBLEM
OR ISSUE
LACK of
CONFIDENCE
CAUSE
TREAT?
E R
E
E
____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____
WHEEL OF FORTUNE
SYMPTOM
PROBLEM
OR ISSUE
LACK of
CONFIDENCE
CAUSE
TREAT?
P E R
P E
E
____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____
WHEEL OF FORTUNE
SYMPTOM
PROBLEM
OR ISSUE
LACK of
CONFIDENCE
CAUSE
TREAT?
P E R
P E
T
E
____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____
WHEEL OF FORTUNE
SYMPTOM
PROBLEM
OR ISSUE
LACK of
CONFIDENCE
CAUSE
TREAT?
P E R S P E C T I V E
____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____
SELF-TALK INVENTORIES
• “ I keep track of WHAT I HAVE” – (solution
oriented)
• “I keep track of WHAT I DON’T HAVE or WHAT I
SEEM TO HAVE LOST” (problem oriented)
• In sum…you are either part of the solution or you
are part of the problem…no place in between!
JOHN WOODEN ON SUCCESS
• Never said “WIN” at practice, in the locker room, or at a
game
• Emphasized individual and team success
• Subjective perspective of how ready you are to race today
(0-100%)
• Give 100% of what you have today (have inventory) and
most of the time, that will be plenty.
• Try to make it more, it will go the other way.
• Definition of success is critical
– Won, but didn’t feel like it was such a great race
– Didn’t win, but had a great race
– Won and felt like it was a great race
Summary
• Perspective is the issue, confidence is just a
symptom
• Continuously update your “have inventory”
• Training – add to your “have inventory” by
working on your “have not inventory”
• Competition – go with what you got today, cuz
its’ too late to add more now