How Super Champions Face Challenges

How do you face challenges? It can be tempting to be disheartened and demotivated but viewing roadblocks as stepping stones instead can make us tougher athletes and stronger people.  An article by Pecel, Collins, and MacNamara in Frontiers in Psychology found that Super Champions (“great” athletes) view challenges positively—even before they encounter them.

The authors studied the experiences of athletes across three differing levels of performance; Super Champions, Champions, and Almosts.  After interviewing the participating athletes, the authors compiled the experiences and began to see patterns of behavior that differentiated the Super Champions from the Champions and the Almosts.

One of clear distinguishers was simply how Super Champions faced challenges.  Notably, they often had a preexisting attitude of learning from challenges.  While some Champions had this outlook, Almosts, on the other hand, “seemed almost entirely reactive.”  Simply put, Super Champions are distinguished in that they view challenges as “catalysts for their development rather than roadblocks.”

Lesson Number One:  Before you face a challenge, choose to see it as an opportunity to grow. 

In addition, the Super Champions demonstrated a high level of commitment to their sport.   They were internally driven, very focused on details and improvement, and sometimes, in their retrospective view, a bit too critical of themselves.  In contrast, Champions and Almosts tended to be less committed, viewed challenges more negatively, and did not cope well.  They also were motivated to improve by comparison with others rather than on an internal drive.

Lesson Number Two:  Be whole-heartedly committed.

Lesson Number Three:  Be internally driven to improve yourself.

(Don’t be mainly motivated by outdoing your rivals.)  Work to be your best.

I hope the above study recap was intruiging and motivating.  (For the full study, please click here.)  And if you are an athlete looking for tools as you conquer your next challenge, you can find our comfortable and highly effective padding here.  Our final thoughts for the day?  Embody the Olympic Motto:  Faster, Higher, Stronger.

Summer's Not Over Yet!

Just because it’s August doesn’t mean the summer is over! ????????‍ What goals are you going to crush yet this summer? ????????

When it Feels Like Forever--Perceived Time During Exercise

Time keeps ticking on . . .  but are we actually all that accurate when it comes to our “internal clock?”  Whether sitting in class, on an incredibly long plane ride, or on a long run, we always think, “shouldn’t this be over by now?”  Generally, when we’re not particularly enjoying a situation, time seems to move more slowly.  But what about exercise?  (Yes, exercise can be enjoyable!)  However, exercise, and especially more difficult exercise, seems to alter our perception of time.

A.M. Edwards and A. McCormick from the University of St. Mark & St. John in Plymouth, UK and James Cook University, Sport & Exercise Science in Cairns, Australia published what is probably the first research on this topic of exercise-altered time perception.  Participants spent twenty minutes on a rowing machine at three different levels of exertion three separate times.  They stated their perception of time throughout the twenty minutes.  At 15 minutes and again at 20 minutes, their perceived time was more than the actual amount of elapsed time.  (In other words, they thought more time had passed than actually had.)  Additionally, as the level of exertion during exercise increased, perceived time became even longer than actual elapsed time.

The authors discussed how the data could differ if the participants were professional athletes who were accustomed to exercising and could perhaps become accustomed to correcting their perceived time.  The discussion also mentioned how perceived time could pass more quickly due to a higher amount of neural processing occurring at levels of more exertion.  This greater amount of processing than normal could lead to the perception of more time passing.

As time passes (get the pun?!), I’m sure we’ll learn more about why and how our perceived time differs from actual time—and how athletes can work with these factors for optimal performance.  Until, then, we’ll still have runs, conditioning, and those stroking classes that make your legs burn and feel like they last forever.  (Luckily, they don’t!)  So, just “keep calm and carry on!”