Jan 23 2019
How goal-setting can improve your performance
smart goals

When we decide to embark on any kind of journey, it’s important to start on a good note. This will set the tone for success or failure. However, it’s quite common to have obstacles appear on the way. These can make us doubt our ability to carry on, stopping us in our tracks. They can even make us abandon our route.

There’s an invaluable weapon that helps us to stay on our path: goal-setting. It’s not as much a personal belief but a concept that is pretty grounded in the literature. Setting smart goals benefits personal achievements and satisfaction along the way.

Note: We’ll be focusing on sports in this article, but goal-setting is applicable to any area.

Pros of goal-setting

1.  Keeps track of personal progress

Who hasn’t felt like throwing the jump rope out the window after failing for the hundredth time doing double unders? When we’re pursuing a goal, there are many moments where we feel helpless. We feel like we’re stuck in the hole and going nowhere fast.

A good way to diminish this feeling is through goal-setting. Well set, they allow us to take little steps forward when learning complex movements. Dissect the movement into its simpler parts. Perfect the basics and then slowly advance from there.

2. Gives me a sense of control

For the majority of us regular Joes, CrossFit is a sport that is quite the adventure. When you first hear about RM percentages, snatches, handstand pushups and other shenanigans, you feel pretty lost. Once you start growing in the sport, you start dominating the jargon and the movements.

That’s when a good coach will slowly start lifting your safety net so you can experiment on your own (during Open Box for example). Once we reach this point, we already know what we need to improve and how to do it: mini-goals. Setting goals based on needs you’ve detected yourself will give you an unmatched sense of realization.

3. Makes me fall in love with the process

When my mom started CrossFit she was unable to jump to a 5 kg plate. Any kind of jumping frightened her. Naturally, we decided to progressively work on jumping. First, it was lunges. Then, stepping on plates. Until one day, she personally decided to take a chance and just jump. That same day, not only did she clear the 5 kg plate, but also jumped on the plate with another 10 kg plate beneath it.

The most addictive part of goal-setting and achievements is learning that it is a never-ending journey. Once you walk through a door, you discover there are a million others just waiting. But you know you’re able to reach your goals, so you’re not scared of facing the challenge.

3 characteristics of proper goal-setting

So we’ve established that goals are the key to success and perseverance. But, as ever, there is a proper way to do it. I’m going to give you the characteristics of good goals.

  • Realistic. If you don’t have a strict pull-up, it makes no sense to set the goal of doing butterfly pull-ups. Start from the beginning!
  • Measurable. “Going all out” doesn’t do a great job as a goal. “Finishing top 3 in today’s WOD” or “Improving my time in Grace”, covers a lot more ground and allows you to know if you really did it or not.
  • Time-based. Goals must be set on short, mid and long term. Strict pull-ups may be a short-term goal; kipping pull-ups can be a mid-term goal; and butterfly pull-ups may be the long-term goal.

These two for good luck…

  • Put them somewhere you can see them. I have my personal goals on my wall to remember where I’m going, lest I forget and deviate from my path.
  • Scratch the ones you’ve reached but don’t erase them! This one has worked wonders for me. At first, I used to type them into a computer. I lost record of some of the goals I reached because I would erase them and substitute them with new ones. Since I couldn’t see them anymore, all I saw was things I hadn’t done yet and that became pretty frustrating.

Remember…it’s a tool that comes in handy for everybody

smart goals

Athletes like Mat Fraser or Ben Smith (current and former champions the CrossFit Games) are known to resort to goal-setting to plan their training. Fraser talks about goals that are “yes or not”, with no opinion in it. That way he can be sure if he achieved the goal or not. Ben Smith started CrossFit in his garage and had a paper on the wall where he would write his goals and track his progress… all the way up to becoming the athlete with more consecutive appearances at the CrossFit Games.

Although these are the most talented athletes on the face of the Earth, we all start on step one. Plan your journey and enjoy the ride!

Desiree Mejia-Naranjo 0 Comments
Jan 16 2019
The psychological impact of injuries in sport
psychological responses to injury

Injuries represent an interesting phenomenon in the field of Sport Psychology. Given its incidence and the consequences it has on athletes and coaches, it definitely deserves a chapter of its own.

Studies regarding injuries in sport from a psychological standpoint began during the 70s. It wasn’t until the 80s that three lines of investigation were defined:

  • Psychological vulnerability as a risk factor for injuries
  • Influence of past injuries of the athlete
  • Emotional reaction following the injury

On this occasion, I’ll be focusing on the last one, emotional reactions following an injury and how we can intervene on a psychological level to control its impact on the rehabilitation process.

The role of stress

It seems pretty obvious that injuries will affect the emotional well-being of an athlete, resulting in fluctuation of the athlete’s mood and a hindered adherence to rehab programs. There are, however, factors that initiate and maintain this emotional disequilibrium. The most important of all these is stress.

Firstly, stress stars in a vicious cycle in which the athlete becomes more vulnerable to having injuries and, also, appears more easily once the injury has actually happened (Ortín, Garcés de los Fayos y Olmedilla, 2010). So, it seems rather relevant to take stressors into consideration. However, stressful situations vary from one athlete to the next based on their modality:

  • Elite sport: club discipline, high demands regarding results and progress
  • Sport for health reasons: adherence, subjective well-being, balancing work, family and sport

When it comes to prevention, it’s important to know which stressors are affecting the athlete and the context in which they’re produced. Negative impact of injuries is directly related to the time the athlete has spent practicing their sport (Santi & Pietrantoni, 2013). The reason being that an Olympic athlete or a football player who’s been mastering their sport their entire lives define their identity based on their athletic prowess. An injury interrupts their day-to-day activity so the emotional impact will always be higher and more intense.

Not to say that stress induced by injury in someone who’s been practicing sport as a hobby can’t be as intense. Many people use sport as a source of positive sensations or as a coping method. When access to this source is unavailable, it also has negative consequences. It’s important to consider the role that sport plays in the athletes’ lives to explain their emotional state following the injury.

Affective cycle of injury (O’Connor et. al, 2005)

O’Connor et. al (2005) described the emotional consequences following injury as a “cycle”. Emotional recovery of the athlete is not linear, it’s a cycle that changes daily (Podlog, Heil & Schulte, 2014). Mostly affected by the proper stages of rehabilitation because they all pose a different challenge, and necessarily, change the emotional reaction of the athlete.

  • Denial: at first, the athlete doesn’t really consider the reality of the injury and may even feel positive and optimistic facing early stages of rehab. At this point it is actually adaptive to have this mechanism prevail. If it appears in later stages, it isn’t that helpful.
  • Distress (anger, fear, anxiety, etc.): once the idea has sunk in that injury will separate the athlete from their sport, negative affect appears: feelings of loss, fear of re-injury, excessive worrying, etc.
  • Determined coping: it includes resource appraisal, goal setting, commitment, attentional control and cooperation with medical staff. This is the most functional response when faced with injury and must be a goal in itself for all injured athletes.

3 things to help manage emotions

As we’ve seen, injuries cast a large shadow on the emotional mood of an athlete. The individual will suffer highs and lows during their recovery process motivated by the millions of thoughts that navigate their minds daily: performance concerns once they’re recovered, helplessness, optimism, impatience, etc…

It’s important that their environment, medical staff and even the athletes keep in mind 3 tools that may help keep their motivation and adherence to treatment up high to ensure a proper recovery:

  1. Giving more information regarding the rehabilitation process helps reduce the anxiety of the athletes because it allows them to view the situation realistically.
  2. Learn not to depend on painkillers along with differentiation between injury pain and rehabilitation pain (this education must be provided by medical staff, as well as the first)
  3. Goal-setting to increase motivation and commitment of the athlete. It also helps guide the recovery process. These goals must be realistic, measurable, specific, stimulating and time-based (short, mid and long term). It will have a positive impact on the sense of control of the athlete and their activation towards rehabilitation. 
O’Connor, E., Heil, J., Harmer, P. & Zimmerman, I. (2005). Injury. In J. Taylor, & G. Wilson (Eds.), Applying sport psychology (pp. 187-206). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

Ortín Montero, F. J., Garcés de los Fayos Ruiz, E. J., & Olmedilla Zafra, A. (2010). Influencia de los factores psicológicos en las lesiones deportivas. Papeles del psicólogo, 31(3).

Podlog, L., Heil, J., & Schulte, S. (2014). Psychosocial factors in sports injury rehabilitation and return to play. Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics, 25(4), 915-930.

Santi, G., & Pietrantoni, L. (2013). Psychology of sport injury rehabilitation: a review of models and interventions.
Desiree Mejia-Naranjo 0 Comments
lesiones
Jan 16 2019
El impacto psicológico de las lesiones deportivas

Las lesiones representan un capítulo de interés en el estudio de la psicología deportiva. Dada su incidencia y las consecuencias que arrastra para los deportistas, entrenadores y familiares, se trata de un aspecto que merece mención aparte.

El estudio de las lesiones deportivas desde un prisma psicológico comenzó allá en los 70, pero no sería hasta la década de los 80 que se definirían tres líneas de investigación concretas:

  • La vulnerabilidad psicológica como factor de riesgo para sufrir lesiones
  • La influencia de la historia de lesiones del deportista
  • Reacciones emocionales frente a una lesión

Para este post voy a concentrarme en esa última, las reacciones emocionales que siguen a una lesión y cómo podemos intervenir a nivel psicológico para controlar su impacto sobre el proceso de recuperación.

Papel del estrés en las lesiones deportivas

Parece evidente que una lesión va a afectar el plano emocional del deportista, resultando en fluctuaciones del estado de ánimo y dificultad de adherencia a programas de rehabilitación. Pero existen factores que inician y mantienen este desequilibrio afectivo. El primero y más importante de todos ellos: el estrés.

En primer lugar, el estrés protagoniza un círculo vicioso en el cual hace al deportista más vulnerable para lesionarse y, además, aparece con más facilidad a raíz de una lesión (Ortín, Garcés de los Fayos y Olmedilla, 2010). Parece importante, pues, tener en cuenta los estresores que acompañan al individuo pero éstos cambian según la modalidad deportiva:

  • En el deporte de alto rendimiento: disciplina del club, exigencia de resultados y de progreso
  • En el deporte para la salud: adherencia, bienestar subjetivo, conciliación con la vida familiar y laboral

Desde el punto de vista preventivo, es importante saber qué estresores están afectando al deportista y en qué contexto se producen. El impacto negativo de la lesión se relaciona directamente con el tiempo que lleva el atleta practicando su deporte (Santi y Pietrantoni, 2013). Y la razón es sencilla. Un medallista olímpico o un jugador de fútbol que lleven toda su vida haciendo su deporte relacionan su identidad con su faceta atlética por lo que su afecto negativo a raíz de una lesión siempre será mayor.

Pero no significa que el estrés causado por una lesión en alguien que practica deporte de forma recreativa no pueda ser de una intensidad considerable. Muchas personas convierten el deporte en una fuente de sensaciones positivas y de afrontamiento de situaciones vitales. Cuando el acceso a esa fuente se interrumpe, también tiene consecuencias negativas. Es importante considerar la función que cumple el deporte para el individuo pues nos sirve para explicar su afectividad tras la lesión.

Ciclo afectivo de la lesión (O’Connor et. al, 2005)

O’Connor et. al (2005) describieron las consecuencias emocionales tras una lesión como un “ciclo afectivo”. La recuperación emocional del deportista no es en absoluto lineal, sino que es un ciclo que varía día a día (Podlog, Heil y Schulte, 2014). Se ve afectado, en gran medida, por los estadios de la rehabilitación pues cada una representa su propio desafío y, por ende, cambiará la reacción emocional del deportista.

  • Negación: en un primer momento, el deportista no reconoce el alcance de la lesión e incluso puede sentirse positivo y optimista frente a la recuperación. En las primeras fases es incluso adaptativo que se produzca este mecanismo.
  • Afecto negativo (ira, miedo, ansiedad, etc.): una vez que se asienta la idea de que la lesión apartará al individuo de la práctica deportiva aparecen sentimientos de pérdida, miedo a recaídas, preocupación excesiva, etc.
  • Afrontamiento: incluye una evaluación de recursos, establecimiento de objetivos realistas, compromiso, control atencional y cooperación con el equipo médico. Se trata de la respuesta más funcional ante una lesión y a la que deben aspirar todos los deportistas.
como afrontar una lesion

3 cosas para mejorar la gestión de emociones

Como hemos visto, una lesión ejerce una larga influencia sobre el estado afectivo del deportista. Se alternarán momentos de decaimiento y optimismo, motivados por los miles de pensamientos que confluyen cuando uno se lesiona: deseo de volver, miedo de no volver a estar como antes, indefensión, impaciencia por los progresos, etc.

Es importante que el entorno, el equipo médico e incluso el propio deportista tengan en mente estas 3 herramientas que pueden ayudar a que la motivación y la adherencia al tratamiento se mantengan para propiciar una adecuada recuperación:

  1. Dar más información acerca del proceso de rehabilitación ayuda a reducir la ansiedad del atleta pues le permite ver la situación de forma realista.
  2. Aprender a no depender de la medicación contra el dolor además de conocer la diferencia entre dolores propios de la lesión y molestias derivadas de un proceso de rehabilitación (esta educación debe darla el profesional)
  3. Establecer objetivos para favorecer la motivación y el compromiso del deportista, además de guiar su proceso de recuperación. Estos objetivos deben ser realistas, medibles, específicos, estimulantes y temporalizados (a corto, medio y largo plazo). Tiene un impacto positivo sobre la sensación de control del deportista y su activación frente a la rehabilitación. 
- O’Connor, E., Heil, J., Harmer, P. & Zimmerman, I. (2005). Injury. In J. Taylor, & G. Wilson (Eds.), Applying sport psychology (pp. 187-206). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. 
- Ortín Montero, F. J., Garcés de los Fayos Ruiz, E. J., & Olmedilla Zafra, A. (2010). Influencia de los factores psicológicos en las lesiones deportivas. Papeles del psicólogo, 31(3).
- Podlog, L., Heil, J., & Schulte, S. (2014). Psychosocial factors in sports injury rehabilitation and return to play. Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics, 25(4), 915-930.
- Santi, G., & Pietrantoni, L. (2013). Psychology of sport injury rehabilitation: a review of models and interventions.
Desiree Mejia-Naranjo 0 Comments