The Super Mental Training Book (48 page)

During their workouts the athletes in Kodzhaspirov's study listened to the three types of music, which were presented in the recommended sequence; the tunes were also changed regularly. Considerable improvement in both attitude and performance were detected in these athletes. Reports Kodzhaspirov:

Results showed that during the time of hearing the leading music the amount of work executed increased by a mean of 39.5% (in comparison with analogous data from

previous control times without music).

. . .According to the responses given by most of the athletes, musical accompaniment in the sports sessions gave them a clear and new impression. It counteracted monotonous thoughts and brought about unexpected splashes of enthusiasm, interest in the training, and created a feeling of satisfaction and a desire to work more than usual. They stated that the music helped them overcome the feeling of satiety and boredom from the usual training conditions and made the ensuing work happy and satisfying. [15]

Based on his studies, the Soviet scientist concluded that exposing athletes to the three types of music according to the method spelled out in the table ensures against monotony. Very importantly, Kodzhaspirov also states that it is practical to present the music along the lines suggested.

Tennis greats Ivan Lendl and John McEnroe lend additional credence to Kodzhaspirov's contentions. On the instructional videotape, "The Winning Edge" (1985), Lendl informs the viewer that "like a lot of other players, Mac and I both practice to music because it gives you rhythm and inspires you to play your best. I have speakers in the trees and on my practice court, and I seem to play my best matches when one of my favorite songs sticks in my mind." McEnroe goes one step further in endorsing the music-based workout concept, telling the viewer that for him "music is about the only thing that makes practice bearable." Both athletes in their own way follow Kodzhaspirov 's advice, and the success Lendl and McEnroe have enjoyed may be partly attributable to their adoption of this mental training strategy.

Dr. Unestahl and Inner Mental Training

Extremely impressive and valuable work with Swedish athletes has been done by Lars-Eric Unestahl, a sports psychologist at Orebro University in Sweden. In 1981 Dr. Unestahl presented an exciting scientific paper, "New Paths of Sport Learning and Excellence," at the Fifth World Sport Psychology Conference in Ottawa, Canada; this paper, available in English, details his outstanding work. As of 1981, nearly 5,000 Swedish athletes had gone through a mental training program, called Inner Mental Training (IMT), created by Dr. Unestahl. IMT contains two main parts: 1) a 12-week general mental training program, applicable to all sports, and 2) mental preparation for a specific competition, best done within a week before the competition. The 12-week basic IMT program consists of the following:

Week 1: Muscular relaxation I.

Week 2: Muscular relaxation II.

Week 3: Mental relaxation I.

Week 4: Mental relaxation II.

Week 5: Dissociation training.

Week 6: Detachment training.

Week 7: Goal-programming training.

Week 8: Ideomotor training.

Week 9: Systematic desensitization.

Week 10: Problem-solving.

Week 11: Self-confidence training.

Week 12: Concentration training.

The second part—mental preparation for a specific competition—is to be performed only after the athlete has completed the 12 weeks of basic mental training, and it entails:

2 sessions for activation and psyching-up.

2 sessions with post-hypnotic suggestions concerning the ideal performing state.

1 session with mental rehearsal of the coming competition.

The entire Inner Mental Training program is put forth on three audio tapes (available in English) which the athlete listens to on his own, it being impossible for Dr. Unestahl to work on an individual basis with every single athlete interested in learning and applying IMT. Tape I, "Basic Mental Training," covers the first six weeks. Tape II, "Mental Training—Sport," instructs one on the concepts introduced in Weeks 7-12. Tape III, "Mental Preparation for Competition," presents the five mental rehearsal sessions listed above, which one should perform before a competition. [16]

As you can see, the basic Inner Mental Training program takes three months to complete. Dr. Unestahl favors this deliberate pace because: 1) it is "long enough training to give good learning and automatization, but short enough to prevent there being too many drop-outs," and 2) it allows for a "step by step build-up in order to keep motivation levels high."[17] Also, you observe that muscular and mental relaxation, as well as dissociation and detachment training, are names used to describe the lessons of the first six weeks. In 1981 when I talked to Dr. Unestahl (see Soviet Athlete chapter), he conceded that the term "self-hypnotic training" could just as easily be used to depict these six weeks' teachings. He admitted:

For sure some of the contents of the first six weeks you can call self-hypnotic training if you want. It doesn't matter. I don't use the term "hypnosis" much; the term doesn't matter. But, many people have wrong ideas about the term "hypnosis," so I call it "mental training."

Again, one of the recent developments in sports psychology is the trend to assign other names to hypnosis—in the hopes that the athlete will employ this powerful technique, without him necessarily knowing that hypnosis is what he is actually engaging in. So nowadays, one encounters "mental training consultants" and "sports psychologists" who teach "self-encouragement," "mental rehearsal," "imagery," and the like; you find few people working with athletes who outwardly call themselves "sports hypnotists" and say that they teach self-hypnosis. The reason for this, as Dr. Unestahl indicates, is that you don't want to scare away the customer (the athlete) by uttering that "threatening" word— hypnosis.

The Week 11 section on self-confidence training (on Tape II) is perhaps the most important part of the general mental training program. Throughout this book we have seen athletes who have been given confidence-building hypnotic suggestions perform very well during the ensuing competition. Dr. Unestahl reconfirmed the wisdom of giving such suggestions. He conducted a study on the effects of various posthypnotic induced states on strength performance. Only two states— with one of them being a high confidence state or feeling—brought about increased strength performance. A brief summary of Dr. Unestahl's experiment is presented on the next page. The Swedish researcher clarifies this summary for us by noting that "the maximum strength on left and right elbow flection, and left and right knee extension was measured during 18 conditions." Two of the eight posthypnotic states—high confidence, and perceived task difficulty = Easy—resulted in increased strength performance, while the other six "decreased strength compared with normal waking." [18] This is a good thing to know, especially if your sport requires a lot of strength movements. For instance, a weight lifter can likely benefit from giving himself a hypnotic suggestion such as: "I will lift the bar with no problem." A lineman in football could tell himself, "I will go through my man every time," while a wrestler could give himself the suggestion, "I will pin my

Recent Developments

197

% A

108 -106 -104 102 100 -f

98

96

94

92

90

88

1. Easy

2. High

4. Tense

5. Low conf.

3 Normal

6. Calm

7. Worried

8. Difficult

9. Relaxed

n=12

8

opponent quickly and with ease." However you phrase the suggestions, make sure that they: 1) are confidence-builders, and 2) portray the task as easy.

In the Self-confidence training section on Tape II Dr. Unestahl first has you select a "trigger" of your choice. This "trigger," or hypnotic cue, can be such things as stepping into the batter's box, stepping onto the starting block—things you do; or, it can be an action another person does, such as the referee blowing his whistle. After you have selected your trigger, Dr. Unestahl presents these confidence-building suggestions:

From now on, when you run into or use your trigger, it will immediately release an intense and complete concentration on the task.

You will be completely involved in what you are going to do, and experience that nothing can disturb you at that time.

Your body will function maximally, and you experience yourself in the winning feeling.

Each time you use this training program, the relation between your trigger and total concentration will become stronger and more reliable.

Each time you use your trigger, it will work more effectively. When you know that your trigger works, you will experience increased assurance and strength. You will experience that you can produce and maintain concentration, and that helps you to perform even better.

Another vital element in any mental training program is goal-setting. "Select bold goals," advises Dr. Unestahl. Too often athletes content themselves with creating easily attainable goals. Dr. Unestahl notes his 1981 "investigation of top-flight Swedish soccer showed that over 70% of the players had the goal of c a place on the team,' i.e., a goal that they had already reached."[19] Bold goals, says the Swedish scientist, create motivation. Obviously, winning the league championship is not made any easier if one's primary goal is simply to make the team. Athletes out for team sports might as well make winning the league championship their main goal, because overambi-tiousness rarely prevents one from making a team, while limited aspirations held by one or more players can hurt a team's performance over the long run. Once you are officially on a team, redouble your efforts to make the season truly meaningful and satisfying. If you have not previously done so, establish as your main goal to win the championship; forget about making the team— you're already on it!

To make goal-setting more effective, Dr. Unestahl suggests that you create "a written contract, stating positive and concrete future goals in present terms. Sometimes," he continues, "a fabricated photo of the athlete as prizewinner can serve the same purpose." The contract and photo, in any case, are "to be placed in an intimate environment such as the bedroom" so you will be constantly reminded of your goal. [20]

Tape III, "Mental Preparation for Competition," is used: 1) after the athlete has completed the 12-week general program (Tapes I & II), and 2) in the week leading up to the competition. This second condition can cover a longer time period than one week for athletes participating in individual sports. But, Dr. Unestahl indicates that team players should utilize Tape III just two or three days before the competition. He states, "The mental preparation of a team player starts much closer to the match, preferably two days before the (coach's) tactic discussion."[21] In team sports, such as basketball, many games are played over a season; injuries and line-up changes often necessitate last-minute shifts in tactics and strategy. These are possible reasons why Dr. Unestahl advises team players to not look too far ahead in their mental preparation.

To give you an idea of how Tape III attempts to get you ready for competition, we shall look at the part on it which presents the Mental Rehearsal session. This session, as expressed by Dr. Unestahl, "starts with a regressive activation of the Ideal Performing State-feeling from a former model-competition. The feeling is then transferred to the future competition."[22] In other words, you recreate through visualization the way you felt on a day in the past when you performed flawlessly; then, you embed that feeling for the upcoming competition. [23] Before the Mental Rehearsal session formally begins, you are led into a state of relaxation. Then comes the visualization portion, a brief account of which follows:

Drift back in time until you return to a competition where you did very well—a competition where you had the winning feeling —a competition where everything worked. . . Relive the competition. Experience it vividly and intensely, and in detail. Experience the winning feeling again. Feel it and imprint it. When I contact you again after three minutes, you have had time to relive the entire competition. You can now get into the competition, and relive it intensely and realistically.

(3 minutes of pleasant music)

Recent Developments

199

0/0 % of IMT-trained athletes 1980

40

30

20-

10

%

100H 90

36%

30%

1/2%

Level

Swedish

athletes

5,000/1,000,000

Swedish champions

European champions

121/400

28/77

% of IMT-trained athletes in the Swedish Olympic Team 1980

86%