First of all as I
have said several times over the years in this blog mental toughness is a
figment of the imagination. Throwing a bunch of exercises together in a circuit
and calling it mental toughness training is just an excuse for doing stupid
stuff. Getting tired is not training. Those kinds of workouts teach the athlete
to go through the motions, to click their brain off, actually the opposite of
what you want mentally. Because you see it all the time does not make it right.
Training must be mindful not mindless. A good training session demands mental
concentration, intensity and focus. Anyone can make someone tired but that is not
training. Focus on what the athletes needs to do to get better to perform at their
optimum in competition.
6 Comments
Curtis Mahoney
Agreed totally Vern, mental toughness is being confused with ability to focus when under stress or pressure of competition and is acquired from deliberate practise. Beating one self up and calling training is a recipe for injury and loss opportunity.
James Marshall
Circuits have their place, but “getting tired” is a poor aim. I keep reminding coaches, that if they have a clear goal for that session, the planning is easy. “Strength/ endurance circuit” is vague for example and leads to a mish mash.
“lower body strength circuit for field hockey players” is a lot clearer.
Jim Radcliffe made the point that he would rather face an opponent on the wrestling mat who had been doing 10 mile runs for “mental toughness” than one who had been practicing wrestling!
A C
This phenomenon unfortunately is a long held practice of many coaches and programs. My son and daughter are Division 1 athletes (Big10/B1G Conference) and their Coaches and unfortunately, their S&C Coaches, all practice this type of training. After a loss this weekend, one was told bring your shorts for the next practice because they were going to run till they drop. Thanks for the intelligent reminder.
Marty
Well said. Mental toughness is more than just performing when tired just for the sake of it. It is being steadfast in adversity and when things are against you. Working out smart will always beat out working out till you drop.
Mr. K
A person I knew bragged about how “killer” the Crossfit workout was. I asked him, a few simple questions: What was the ratio of upper-body pushing movements to upper-body pulling movements in the workout? I also asked what was the total volume of your training. He had no clue.
Training just for the sake of exhausting someone is mindless, purposeless, and just plain dumb. I mean, give me the most fit athlete in the world, and I could bury him in less than 3 minutes. I’d just slap 100-lbs of chains on his back, tell him to hit the ground and I’d make him Spiderman crawl for 200-yds. He’d surely get exhausted, but what have I accomplished? Absolutely nothing.
Ken Jakalski
Hi Vern!
This is just another example of how any fool can get another fool tired….
As you noted, that’s not training.