Muscle Fatigue

Fatigue plays a major part in the sporting performance of the athlete both in physical and mental terms. The athlete needs to learn to notice the signs of fatigue and tension that arises from this and introduce methods to cope with the debilitating effect it can have on their performance.
Muscle fatigue and the tension associated with it can result from a number of different factors. The athletes may simply have over exerted themself physically in training or competition leading to muscular fatigue from pushing their physical limits. They also may have drained their body and mind from mental stress with regards to performance or outcome. This is described in General
Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) as originally described by Hans Selye and describes the body’s
Here she will counteract the increased physical tension by standing in a relaxed state with flex in the knees, relaxing the neck and shoulder muscles and focusing on breathing from the diaphragm with a loose jaw and narrowing the focus to the task in hand keeping distractive thoughts at bay. Often the athlete can focus on a mantra whilst doing this, repeating thoughts like â€oerelax― as they perform the task. Once this type of exercise has been mastered by the athlete they will find they are able to recognise the cues of tension and use centring during performance effectively to get back on track.
As the Real Madrid footballer Ronaldo said after scoring the match winning penalty v Juventus in the Champions League semi-final after a 4-minute delay in injury time â€oeThe pulse increased, but I calmed down, and I knew I'd be decisive―.
Using imagery in training and performance is an excellent tool for the athlete to combat the stresses on tension. As the effect of the mind on sporting performance continues to grow, more and more athletes are harnessing the power of imagery and visualisation to increase sporting performance.