To win you need muscle, technique and speed. But what is becoming increasingly clear, how important is a file mind powerAbility to focus, free from distractions. on the stage health time, at the Museum of Science and Technology in Milan, journalist Christina Maroney to interview Riccardo CicarelliAnd Sports physician, founder of Formula Medicine, who has been working alongside Formula 1 drivers for over 30 years, for example Riccardo Piattiand tennis coach and coach of great champions, including Yannick Sener.
mental economy
We discuss with them how important head training is in sports performance. And the keynote that Siscarelli immediately gave us: mental economy. Everything is there, says the doctor, who made him the object of his study. Analysis and research, I get it The rhythm of sports competition that gives the athlete fatigue or mental clarity. Through MRI, I studied the reactions of the brains of twelve pilots, we compared them with those of some students and we understood that what determines their strength is this mental economy. That is, while we are mere mortals with our heads cluttered with fears, anxieties, and distractions, they are, in fact, saved. They pave the way for all the ideas and stay on topic and put them on autopilot. Translator: the winning driver, with the same performance, has a lower expenditure of cerebral energy, that is, the posterior parietal cortex, involved in the production of planned movements, is slightly activated, just enough to complete the task, as if it were a mechanism. Those who are not mentally trained in a particular type of activity will have a greater expenditure of brain energy.
But how was it done? How do you learn to do mental economics? Ceccarelli always answers: With awareness, everything is there. A great athlete should have high self-esteem. To achieve this, he must know his strengths and weaknesses. Because only by knowing one’s limits can the best results be obtained, thus increasing self-confidence, resilience and adaptability.
To confirm Ceccarelli’s theories, there is the Sinner story, quoted by Riccardo Piatti. When Jannik loses a race he doesn’t focus on what went wrong, he immediately thinks about how to improve it in the next training session. I could sense his mental strength from the start. And he continues: I think in the game it’s 70% mind, 20% playing order, 10% opponent. The player must be very efficient, but not easy because there are a lot of distractions on the pitch. As a coach, I look for athletes who are mentally prepared to overcome difficulties: Yannick has that.
mental training
You can learn to do mental economics. Of course, many champions will probably be inclined to this kind of approach not only in sports but also in life, but we can all train ourselves to waste less energy and be more focused. We also work with overly emotional and anxious people who often have performance anxiety hampering them: You can learn to overcome these fears with some techniques that teach focus, says Ceccareli. Every athlete, for example, has his own way of de-stressing before a competition: there are those who watch a movie, those who play video games, those who surround themselves with friends and family, those who practice mindfulness, those who do yoga. All relaxation techniques share one common denominator: distraction. They distract the mind from what’s stressing, the doctor continues. Riccardo Piatti, before he says goodbye, reveals Sinner’s pre-race relaxation rituals and techniques: Take a twenty-minute nap. Then he gets dressed, and gets ready five minutes before concentrating, thinking about the match himself. Then ready to take the field.
5 November 2021 (change on 5 November 2021 | 17:10)
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