Optimism, mindfulness, and enhanced performance

Traits like optimism, pessimism, and mindfulness impact athletes’ performance and well-being. While no age, gender, sport type, or education differences were found in these traits in a recently published study, optimism was linked to higher levels of mindfulness.

Goal setting and sport performance

Process goals, centered on specific actions and strategies such as improving technique or maintaining mental focus, have shown to boost sports performance and self-efficacy more effectively than performance and outcome-based goals.

Understanding and Coping Among Adolescent Athletes

The impact of mental toughness on sport performance

Does mental toughness make a difference in sport performance? This review dove into research and found that athletes with higher mental toughness consistently perform better, especially in combat and individual sports.

Pressure training in sport

Athletes often face psychological pressure from competition, which can impact their performance. Pressure training, which introduces competition stress during practice, has been shown to be an effective method for helping athletes develop coping skills and better manage stress in sports.

Perfectionistic traits and distance running

In competitive sports, understanding how to achieve peak performance is crucial. This study found that athletes with perfectionistic traits performed better in a 10K run and a half-marathon, indicating that a drive for perfection can enhance results in distance running.

Self-esteem in sport

Self-esteem plays a crucial role in both daily life and sports. This study finds that athletes in individual sports generally exhibit higher levels of self-esteem compared to those in team sports.

Perfectionism in high performance athletes

Many high-performance athletes scrutinize their own performances and often aim for perfection. A recent study delved into how perfectionistic athletes view success and failure in sports. Through interviews and season-long diaries, researchers found that an athlete’s ability to deal with failure depended on the type of perfectionism they exhibited.

Positive effects of social support on stress adaptation

Stress can significantly impact an athlete’s well-being and sport performance, but social support from teammates, coaches, and support staff can positively influence how athletes perceive and adapt to stress. Recent research shows that for social support to produce positive effects, having a shared social identity and the knowledge and expertise to provide sufficient support is…

Music for weightlifting

Training and lifting at gyms are a common part of athlete development, with many athletes listening to music for motivation. A study found that although preferred warm-up music does increase the volume of lifts and motivation, it does not speed up or change how the lifts feel.