Relax Your Mind and Body

By Al Lyman

Have you ever stopped to notice how relaxed and smooth the best endurance athletes in the world look when they are competing? When we swim, bike and run, we are continually moving between a state of relaxation and tension both physically and mentally.

While we obviously need that tension at times, if you are gritting your teeth and trying to force and fight yourself through a workout or race, you may be severely lessening the potential benefit and enjoyment you would have derived from that session--and you might end up going slower. The elite athletes who are silky smooth and relaxed know that:

• When your body's natural rhythm and timing are altered, less fluid and less efficient movements use up precious energy reserves and increase the risk of cramping and injury. 
  
  
• The best chance for a true "breakthrough" performance can only happen if our focus is on being more relaxed, rather than trying to fight through and force more power from our legs. 
  
  
• Taking at least one session each week in each sport to practice and refine skill and technique will lead to more relaxed, efficient sport specific movements.
  
  
• Your ability to completely relax your body and mind, while simultaneously moving at the fastest possible speed, is a very important determinant of how successful you will be in your most important events.

What does it mean to relax the mind? 

According to Joann Dahlkoetter, Ph.D., well-known author and expert on mental training for athletes, "Relaxation is an experience. It's a state of physical and mental stillness characterized by the absence of tension and anxiety." In addition, studies and anecdotal reports from elite level cyclists and other endurance athletes consistently say one related key to faster training and racing is learning to stay "in the moment" at all times--emptying the mind of left-brain thinking, analyzing and judging.

In my own practical experience as an endurance athlete, when I am able to really focus on staying task-oriented and being in the moment--emptying my mind of anxious thoughts and judgments--I instantly feel a mental and physical response that allows me to relax more fully. What results is that I am able to breathe more deeply from my lower abdomen, which in turn lowers my heart rate and any additional tension I might be feeling. This makes it easier to move through a greater range of motion and helps me pick up my pace even further without an increase in heart rate or in RPE. I know that with nothing more than my enhanced focus and breathing, I am able to immediately change the way I feel and perform.

Try Relaxing As HARD As You Seem to Be Working

In my local indoor cycling class this past season, I recommended to one of the cyclists that he try relaxing as hard as he seemed to be working. I asked him not to look like he was suffering so much, even though I encouraged him to perform at the same or higher level. I reiterated to him that all the tension in his face and body was wasted energy and didn't help him go harder or faster. He countered that when he's gritting his teeth he feels he can "go harder" and therefore believes he gets more benefit from the workout. His response is very common and is characteristic of a "type A" personality, which describes most of us pretty well.

Despite this common belief, he was wrong. This trait will hurt his performance more than help because his desire to drive himself may result in cramping, inefficient and uncoordinated movements, poor pacing and might even lead to overtraining. If you can introduce a new dimension of relaxing your mind and body while training, you will add to the "high achieving" part of yourself, rather than take away from it.

Tips to Help Quiet Your Left Brain and Relax Your Mind and Muscles

• Your left brain wants to constantly judge and criticize you. Stop it by using "thought replacement" strategies that will enhance relaxation. The instant you experience a negative thought or criticism, replace it with a positive one.
  
  
• Use key "power" words such as calm, focus, smooth, patience, effortless or winner to re-center and stay focused in the present.
  
  
• Use deep focused breathing to key into how your body is feeling. Learn to detect subtle changes in muscle tension levels that will help you relax muscles not needed for a particular movement.   

Without a doubt, learning to relax your body, calm your mind, and conserve energy while swimming, riding or running and throughout the day (how tight do you grip the steering wheel in your car?) will enhance your quality of sleep, accelerate your recovery, recharge your mind, and enhance your performance and enjoyment. Take these strategies and integrate them into your daily training and I guarantee you'll see instant benefits in every phase of your life.