Nov 28 2018
The dos and don’ts of inner dialogue

How many thoughts do we produce on a daily basis? 100? 300,000? The number 70,000 has been roaming around the scene for a while but it can’t be scientifically proven due to the experimental challenges that arise. How can you measure something as intangible and generally inaccessible as human thought?

self talk

Self-talk generates a million unanswered questions. What we do know is that we think a lot. Whatever we are doing at any point in time is generally accompanied by some form of private monologue that may or may not have to do with the task at hand. And if this self-talk is not present – while performing automatized actions (driving, brewing coffee in the morning, brushing your teeth, etc.) – it will be soon.

Even though we are well aware of the amount of work we put our brains through during the day, we don’t realize how much the content of our thought process impacts our behavior. It changes our course of action and, necessarily, the consequences that follow. An example: two different individuals are frying eggs for breakfast. Both of them are cracking one of the eggs and suddenly the yolk breaks.

  • Individual A: *inner monologue* dang it. What a way to start the day. This is bullsh*t.
  • Individual B: *inner monologue* well…scrambled eggs it is.

Both have experienced the same situation but they reacted differently to it, resulting in different emotional states. We all have A days and B days but the relevance of all this is that cognitive appraisal of a situation affects emotional management.

But let us take a step back for a quick second. Where do these thoughts come from? Are they all automatic or do I get to control them? A little bit of both – as usual – but ultimately we get to create what we think. Once we realize we’re not enslaved by our automatic thoughts and that we get to mold them however we want, we become active agents in our emotional processing.  I can put whatever I want into my thoughts: information, instructions, motivational quotes and so on.

What impact can self-talk have on sports performance?

Self-talk has been conceptualized as “a multidimensional phenomenon concerned with athletes’ verbalizations that are addressed to themselves” (Hardy, Hall & Hardy, 2005). They are mainly used to manage ones feelings, perceptions and cognitions while performing a certain task. Literature has suggested these verbalizations can enhance performance. The first studies – conducted during the late 80s – aimed to investigate the effects of self-talk on performance. Results determined that positive self-instruction could improve task performance in different sports (skiing, tennis or dart-throwing). One particular study proved that the use of specific verbal cues in elite 100-m sprinters allowed a significant reduction in times compared to baseline measures.

But not only has inner monologue proven its worth regarding performance; it’s also helpful in the learning process. Self-instruction verbal cues have been useful for athletes when learning new movements or in later stages of skill acquisition; it’s been proven in sports that require fine motor skills such as precision or hand-eye coordination (golf, basketball, etc.)

The matching hypothesis

inner dialogue

There are two types of self-talk: instructional and motivational. The first kind, involves verbal cues that guide us through a certain process; the latter refers to inner speech that is meant to give us an extra push.

Which one is best? Science says that personal preferences are most effective. We can say em out loud or privately, use instructions or motivational phrases; and select our own cues or have them assigned to us. So it all depends. But it also changes according to the activity at hand. For example, throwing darts and long distance running are two very different tasks. They involve different muscular groups and pathways in our central nervous system. Consequently, they might call for specific verbal cues. Science suggests instructional self-talk could be more useful when performing a task that requires timing and precision – such as dart-throwing -. On the other hand, tasks that require pure grit and strength (long-distance running), could pair better with motivational inner speech.

This is called the “matching hypothesis” and it has been studied on long-distance runners. Results confirmed that motivational private speech helped reduce rate of perceived exertion (as would psychostimulants, aerobic training or a nutrition plan), resulting in an improvement in performance. So what this means is that (surprise, surprise) training our cognitive processing is just as effective as training the physical aspect.

What about negative self-talk?

Carver & Scheier (1988) researched the effects of negative self-talk on sports performance and investigated its relationship with precompetitive anxiety and competition. They proposed a model which suggested that the athlete establishes goals and monitors their performance based on achievement. If the competition is not going well and the athlete detects this discrepancy between their goals and intended behavior, negative self-talk kicks in. In summary: the progress of competition influences the athletes’ thought content.

inner dialogue
Relationship between anxiety, performance and negative self-talk.

But we need to think of it as a cycle. Cognitive precompetitive anxiety – expressed in the form of worry and self-doubt – can predict poor performance; poor performance will necessarily lead to goal discrepancies and this perceived failure will provoke negative self-talk. This cycle sets the tone for future competitive events because it establishes a pattern in our cognitive processing. Unknowingly, the athlete has perpetuated a thought process that will hinder progress and performance in the future.

“Attention is a funnel for emotions” – Marta Redondo, PhD.

As we’ve seen so far, self-talk casts a large shadow when it comes to performance. We tend to forget the impact our thoughts have on our behavior, how they take hold of our attention and mediate our emotional responses. In college, a very special teacher once said that “attention is a funnel for emotions, an amplifier”. If we focus on negative self-talk and our feelings of worry and self-doubt, our behavior will suffer the consequences and our performance won’t get any better. So, take matters into your own hands!

  • If the workout includes a heavy front squat and you tend to lose tension under heavy loads, you might experience fear – trade that fear with self-instruction (“high elbows”, “chest up”) or motivational self-talk (“push through it”)
  • If you’ve been practicing kipping pull-ups for the longest and you still don’t get the hang of it, this experience might lead you to doubt yourself – change that doubt with instructions (“squeeze glutes”, “pull down on the bar”) or motivation (“you got this”; “be patient”)
  • If today’s class includes a 1RM Snatch, you’ve built up to your personal best but can’t seem to hit it after several attempts, don’t let negative self-talk get in the way. Find the problem and correct it. Is it the set-up? Or is it an early arm bend? Maybe all you need is belief. Talk yourself through it and give your attentional resources something productive to work with!

It’s all good and well to measure your daily food intake, run 800 m sprints on the track field and practice your snatch on a day to day basis; but, you should also spend some time training your self-talk. Choose the right verbal cues. Adapt your perception to the situation at hand and don’t ruminate on unforeseen circumstances in competition or in training. Motivate yourself when you need that extra push. Instruct yourself when you are not performing a movement correctly.  If you do, you’ll manage your emotions more efficiently and, indirectly, you’ll maximize your performance.

Carver, C. S., & Scheier, M. F. (1988). A control-process perspective on anxiety. Anxiety Research, 1, M-21

Blanchfield, A. W., Hardy, J., De Morree, H. M., Staiano, W., & Marcora, S. M. (2014). Talking yourself out of exhaustion: the effects of self-talk on endurance performance. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 46(5), 998-1007.⁣

Hardy, J. and Oliver, E.J. (2014) “Self-talk, positive thinking, and thought stopping”, in Encyclopedia of sport and exercise psychology. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage.

Hatzigeorgiadis, A., & Biddle, S. J. (2008). Negative self-talk during sport performance: relationships with pre-competition anxiety and goal-performance discrepancies. Journal of Sport Behavior, 31(3). Hatzigeorgiadis, A., Zourbanos, N., Galanis, E., & Theodorakis, Y. (2011). Self-talk and sports performance: A meta-analysis. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 6(4), 348-356.

Desiree Mejia-Naranjo 0 Comments
dialogo interno
Nov 28 2018
Cómo usar el diálogo interno a tu favor

¿Cuántos pensamientos producimos al día? ¿100? ¿300,000? 70,000 podría considerarse el número mágico pero no ha podido comprobarse científicamente debido a las dificultades experimentales que representa; ¿cómo medir algo tan inaccesible como es nuestro diálogo interno?

El diálogo interno genera millones de preguntas sin responder pero lo que sí sabemos es que pensamos mucho.

A pesar de tener esto tan claro, seguimos sin entender realmente el impacto que tiene el contenido de nuestro pensamiento en nuestro comportamiento. Cambia nuestro curso de acción y, necesariamente, las consecuencias que siguen. Un ejemplo: dos individuos distintos están friendo huevos para el desayuno. Ambos están rompiendo uno de los huevos y, de repente, la yema se rompe.

  • Individuo A: *monólogo interno* mierda. Menuda forma de empezar el día. Así me va.
  • Individuo B: *monólogo interno* bueno… pues unos huevos revueltos.

Ambos han experimentado la misma situación pero sus reacciones difieren, resultando en estados emocionales distintos. Todos tenemos días A y días B pero la relevancia de todo esto, es que la interpretación que damos a una situación afecta a la gestión emocional.

Pero demos un paso atrás. ¿De dónde venían estos pensamientos? ¿Son todos automáticos o puedo controlarlos? Pues un poco de todo – como suele pasar – pero, en última instancia, podemos ejercer cierto control sobre lo que pensamos. Una vez que nos damos cuenta de que no somos esclavos de nuestro pensamiento automático, nos convertimos en agentes activos de nuestro procesamiento emocional.

¿Qué impacto tiene el diálogo interno en mi rendimiento?

La literatura sugiere que el diálogo interno puede ser de utilidad en el campo del deporte. Los primeros estudios – llevados a cabo al final de la década de los 80 – investigaron los efectos de la autoinstrucción en el rendimiento. Los resultados mostraron que las autoinstrucciones positivas podían mejorar el rendimiento en diferentes deportes (esquí, tenis o dardos). Un estudio en particular demostró que el uso de claves verbales específicas en corredores de élite en la prueba de los 100 metros permitió una reducción significativa en los tiempos en comparación con medidas iniciales.

Pero no sólo ha probado ser útil en relación al rendimiento; también lo es para el proceso de aprendizaje. Las autoinstrucciones facilitan el aprendizaje de movimientos nuevos y la mejora de habilidades ya adquiridas.

Hipótesis de concordancia

Existen dos tipos de autoinstrucción en función de su contenido: instruccional o motivacional. El primero, se refiere a claves verbales que nos guían a través de un proceso; el segundo, se refiere a frases pensadas para energizar y dirigir nuestra actividad.

¿Cuál es el mejor? Los estudios sugieren que las preferencias personales son las que determinarán la eficacia de la autoinstrucción. Podemos decirlo en alto o en privado, usar instrucciones o citas motivacionales; elegir nuestras propias frases o que nos las asignen.

Pero también cambia según la actividad que estemos realizando. Por ejemplo, el lanzamiento de dardos y las carreras de larga distancia son tareas muy distintas. Para tareas que sean relativas a destrezas de pura fuerza y energía, quizá convengan autoafirmaciones motivacionales. Para tareas que exijan destreza de motricidad fina – como la precisión o la coordinación mano-ojo – podría ser más efectivo darse autoinstrucciones. Esto es lo que llamaron “hipótesis de concordancia”.

Esta hipótesis ha sido estudiada en corredores de larga distancia. Los resultados relevaron que el autodiálogo motivacional ayudaba a rebajar la puntuación en la escala de esfuerzo percibido y tenían el mismo efecto que la administración de psicoestimulantes, el entrenamiento aeróbico o un plan nutricional. Lo que viene a decir esto es que entrenar nuestro procesamiento cognitivo es tan efectivo como entrenar el aspecto físico.

¿Qué pasa con el autodiálogo negativo?

Carver y Scheier (1988) investigaron los efectos del autodiálogo negativo en rendimiento deportivo y exploraron su relación con la ansiedad precompetitiva y la competición. Propusieron un modelo que sugería que el atleta establecía sus metas y monitorizaba su rendimiento en relación a las mismas. Si los resultados de la competición no se alineaban con sus expectativas, la discrepancia entre las metas y el comportamiento del atleta facilitaban la aparición del autodiálogo negativo. En suma, el progreso que sigue la competición influye sobre el contenido del pensamiento del atleta.

dialogo interno

Debemos pensar en ello como un ciclo. La ansiedad cognitiva precompetitiva – expresado en forma de preocupación y duda – puede predecir un rendimiento insatisfactorio; este rendimiento dará lugar a una discrepancia en las metas establecidas y este fracaso percibido provocará pensamientos negativos. Este ciclo deja un rastro para futuras situaciones porque establece un patrón en nuestro procesamiento cognitivo. Sin saberlo, el atleta perpetúa un proceso que afectará al progreso y el rendimiento en el futuro.

“La atención es el embudo de las emociones”. – Dra. Marta Redondo

En la universidad, una profesora muy especial dijo una vez que “la atención es el embudo de las emociones”. Y razón no le faltaba. Si nos concentramos en el autodiálogo negativo y nuestras emociones de duda y preocupación, nuestro rendimiento no irá a mejor. Así que es hora de que cojas tú las riendas.

  • Si el entreno incluye una sentadilla frontal pesada y tiendes a perder tensión bajo cargas elevadas, quizá sientas miedo – cambia ese miedo por autoinstrucciones (“codos altos”, “pecho arriba”) o autodiálogo motivacional (“sé fuerte”)
  • Si has estado practicando las dominadas con kipping durante muchísimo tiempo pero sigues sin encontrar el truco, esta experiencia puede llevarte a dudar de ti mismo – cambia la duda por instrucciones (“aprieta los glúteos”, “tira de la barra hacia abajo”) o por motivación (“lo tienes”, “sé paciente)
  • Si la clase de hoy incluye una repetición máxima en arrancada, has llegado a tu peso máximo pero no consigues subirlo, no dejes que el diálogo interno negativo se interponga en tu camino. Encuentra el problema y corrígelo. ¿No terminas el primer tirón? ¿No recibes la barra en el plano frontal? Quizá lo único que necesitas es confianza. Sea lo que sea, háblate a lo largo y ancho del proceso y dale a tus recursos atencionales algo productivo con lo que trabajar.

Está muy bien medir la comida, ir a hacer sprints de 800 m en la pista y practicar tus muscle-ups a diario; pero deberías dedicar algo de tiempo a entrenar tu autodiálogo. Elige las claves verbales correctas. Si lo haces, estarás más cerca de gestionar tus emociones de una forma más eficiente e, indirectamente, mejorarás tu rendimiento.

 

 

 

 

 

- Carver, C. S., & Scheier, M. F. (1988). A control-process perspective on anxiety. Anxiety Research, 1, M-21
- Blanchfield, A. W., Hardy, J., De Morree, H. M., Staiano, W., & Marcora, S. M. (2014). Talking yourself out of exhaustion: the effects of self-talk on endurance performance. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 46(5), 998-1007.⁣
- Hardy, J. and Oliver, E.J. (2014) "Self-talk, positive thinking, and thought stopping", in Encyclopedia of sport and exercise psychology. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage.
- Hatzigeorgiadis, A., & Biddle, S. J. (2008). Negative self-talk during sport performance: relationships with pre-competition anxiety and goal-performance discrepancies. Journal of Sport Behavior, 31(3). 
- Hatzigeorgiadis, A., Zourbanos, N., Galanis, E., & Theodorakis, Y. (2011). Self-talk and sports performance: A meta-analysis. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 6(4), 348-356.
Desiree Mejia-Naranjo 0 Comments
anxiety
Nov 21 2018
Pre-competitive anxiety: friend or foe?

I’m guessing no one who’s ever found themselves in a competitive environment is a stranger to precompetitive anxiety. It’s a tale as old as time and it can hit you when you least expect it. Even when you’re just training at the gym. The coach starts that countdown and as the clock starts ticking, you feel your heart beating faster and faster as it approaches that final second and then…you’re off. For some, those first reps make anxiety settle into levels that allow for a significant improvement in performance. For others, however, anxiety stays too high as to where performance is hindered. How to find balance between the two ends of the continuum?

Aristotle said that virtue is the middle state between excess and deficiency and, unsurprisingly, this is applicable to precompetitive anxiety. This notion was scientifically demonstrated in 1908 by Yerkes and Dodson, two psychologists who found that there was a level of arousal – the physiological and psychological state of being “awoken” – that allowed optimal performance (figure 1). The ascending portion of the curve proves the positive effects of arousal, correlating with higher performance. Once the optimal point is surpassed, the negative effects of stress kick in and performance begins to decrease.

precompetitive anxiety
The Yerkes-Dodson Law    

These negative effects take their toll on a cognitive, physiological and behavioral level. In the cognitive sense, you begin to overanalyze, lose ability to focus, are unable to make decisions and your mind is suddenly flooded with automatic negative thoughts. This process nurtures a sense of panic and fear that translates into an increase in heart rate and muscular tension. All this makes it complicated to follow through with the initial game plan so execution errors and ultimately a bad performance are the consequence.

What happens on the other side? Contrary to popular belief, those who are known to stay cold as ice prior to competing are not necessarily doing themselves a favor. Low levels of arousal are associated with lower body temperature, low motivation and decreased attention, amongst other aspects. Physically and mentally these symptoms are detrimental. A lower body temperature will difficult blood flow and muscle contraction. Decreased motivation and attentional levels will make it harder to produce high energy levels, affecting our concentration and focus. Try walking on your hands or snatching near your 1RM on pilot mode. Ain’t gonna happen. So, again, we’re messing up our performance without having even started.

“When I’m scared that I’m not capable in a workout (…) I really focus” – Mat Fraser

 Mat Fraser, in my opinion, has seemed to crack the code on this one. He’s been on both ends of the continuum and it would appear he’s found his optimal arousal level given he’s been the unquestionable champion in the sport for the past 3 years. In relation to the 2016 CrossFit regionals he said in an interview: “When I’m scared that I’m not capable in a workout, you know, I really focus.” The reason he says this is because in Regional Nate he was terrified he would place extremely low in the event. He was unable to complete the workout inside the 20-minute time cap in training so he was sure it could be dangerous. Before starting that event, he was focused on one thing and one thing only: pushing through no matter what. He paid no mind to the excruciating pain in his upper body or his lungs and he ended up winning the event in the region, finishing the workout nearly a minute and a half within the time cap. However, other workouts where he felt more confident, he underperformed because he went into the event with a slight decrease in arousal levels, (i.e., not as scared and anxious). As soon as something started hurting a little, he would take a longer break, being passed by other athletes and before he could even react it was already too late to make a comeback. These experiences taught him a valuable lesson: fear fired up his performance.

precompetitive anxiety

As we’ve seen in science and CrossFit, anxiety plays a huge role in performance. But not all of us are exposed to high-stake competition the same way Mat Fraser is, so how can we know we’ve hit the sweet spot? Through practice and practice alone. We don’t need to sign up for every other competition for this goal; competition encompasses many areas. Trying to beat your training buddy or racing against a specific time cap can be enough. You can compete against a mental projection of Tia-Clair Toomey and imagine her picking up the bar every time you drop it; or include cash-outs with the worst combination of movements ever as punishment for not reaching the preset goal for a workout. Get creative! You need to experience difficulty just enough for you to fear not being able to make shit happen. This way, the fear component is present and it becomes relevant enough to elicit states of anxiety.

precompetitive anxiety

Once the workout is completed, record your performance and take note of any changes you noticed in your mental and physical state. If you’ve reached the goal for the workout, analyze the differences to increased your psychological awareness. Did you use positive or negative thinking? Maybe a mix of both. Did you change your strategy mid-workout or did you stick to the game plan? When your body started to give up on you, how did you manage to keep on moving?  You need to figure out the behavioral pattern that relates best to higher performance. Naturally, this is subject to individual differences and optimal arousal level will change from one athlete to another. But if you learn how to panic in training, you’ll know just how much fear you need to perform to the best of your ability.

Desiree Mejia-Naranjo 0 Comments