Can sport psychology make you run quicker?

Dear runners,   I am part of a research team conducting a study with the British Miler's Club to examine the relationship between pain perceptions, mindfulness, and running performance.   If you have 5 minutes free and would like to take part in a research study please click this link:   http://t.co/B28WUnLz   If you would like to access the results when they are available, please join the BMC research scholarship Facebook page:   https://www.facebook.com/pages/BMC-Frank-Horwill-research/297368647030585?ref=hl   We will post the results of the research and other information about sport psychology and running to help you improve your times and your enjoyment of the sport.   Thanks   Frank Horwill Scholarship research team.         Kind regards     Martin I. Jones PhD   Google Scholar Citations    
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Comments

  • RMcDRMcD ✭✭✭

    ''Your body will argue that there is no justifiable reason to continue. Your only recourse is to call on your spirit, which fortunately functions independently of logic.”
    Tim Noakes, Lore of Running

  • RMcD wrote (see)

    ''Your body will argue that there is no justifiable reason to continue. Your only recourse is to call on your spirit, which fortunately functions independently of logic.”
    Tim Noakes, Lore of Running

    It's a very interesting topic.  One I know little about but am interested in undertanding more of.

    We are often implored to "listen to our bodies" in sport.  How do we determine when it's our bodies telling us to stop/slow down or our minds tricking us?  When do we truly know that we are spent?

    Furthermore, what are the repecussions of not slowing or stopping when we are telling ourselves that we must?  Do we risk too much doing so?

  • link not working for me

  • RMcDRMcD ✭✭✭

    There's more than one aspect to this. Take someone who gets nervous before races, and tends to run within himself. Psychological help may produce quite dramatic results - I saw an example of this where a girl went from being merely a good runner to winning races after sessions with a sport psychologist.

    Another aspect is trying to fool the mind. The brain or central controller tends to keep energy in reserve and some techniques are aimed at overcoming this and using psychology to force the body to move faster. I'm wary of this but the approach has supporters.

    And then sometimes the body may successfully override the mind, particularly if you're recovering from an injury. No matter how iron willed you are or how much you 'visualise' a favourable outcome the body adjusts and slows because it knows everything is not at full functionality.

  • I reckon 99 people out of 100 no sports pyschology wont help - but quite a few of those people the psychologist will convince it has.   

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