This book provides you with an astounding piece of knowledge, a tool, and the personal experiences of an extraordinary ultra-distance runner and sport psychologist. With this book, Michele Ufer has added another milestone to the existing literature on running.
Prof. Dr. Oliver Stoll
Martin-Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Germany
You will learn much about yourself and our sport. Whether theorist or practitioner, you will definitely put it to use!
Jochen Schmitz
Chief editor, RUNNING magazine
The contents of this book were carefully researched. However, all information is supplied without liability. Neither the authors nor the publisher will be liable for possible disadvantages or damages resulting from this book.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Originally published as Mentaltraining für Läufer, © 2016 by Meyer & Meyer Verlag
Mental Toughness for Runners
Maidenhead: Meyer & Meyer Sport (UK) Ltd., 2019
9781782558378
All rights reserved, especially the right to copy and distribute, including the translation rights. No part of this work may be reproduced—including by photo copy, microfilm, or any other means—processed, stored electronically, copied or distributed in any form whatsoever without the written permission of the publisher.
© 2019 by Meyer & Meyer Sports (UK) Ltd.
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9781782558378
eISBN 978-17-8255-493-6
Email: info@m-m-sports.com
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PROLOGUE
1IT ALL BEGINS WITH AN UNUSUAL RUNNING STORY
1.1The Atacama experiment: Performance that defies the imagination
1.2The book’s character and structure: How it works
2HOW MUCH OF YOUR HEAD IS IN YOUR FEET?
2.1Antiquated everyday training: Is the earth still flat?
2.2Power of the mind
2.3The mind’s astounding effects on the body: Learning to control the uncontrollable?!
2.4Mental training as the magic bullet? Possibilities and limits
3POSITION FIXING: STARTING MY PERSONAL NAVIGATION SYSTEM
3.1“I’m going to rate myself”: Important topics in a nutshell
3.2Where am I right now?
3.3Personal performance profile
3.4Diagnosing my mental strengths
3.5Why do I run? What drives me?
4MOTIVATION AND GOALS: FUELING AND GUIDING PRODUCTIVE ENERGY
4.1Everyday self-sabotage, or: Fuck you, problem!
4.2Never again, motivational problems! A beautiful new world of athletics or something from the psychological bag of tricks?
4.3Brain-appropriate goal management: The basis of success
57-D HEAD CINEMA: LET THE MAGIC HAPPEN
5.1Visualization with virtuosity = 7-D experience patterns
5.2Visualization guide
5.3Remembering a successful future: Irresistible wish goals, performances, and results
5.4Magic moments: Perfect movements, processes, and sequences
5.5The big picture: Visualizing competitions
6USING RESOURCES
6.1Resource reload: The Swiss army knife of mental training
6.2Focusing attention: Learning from the grand masters
6.3Self-talk: How we can constructively guide the voices in our head
6.4You’re allowed to copy: Learning from more or less glam models
6.5Act as if: Fake it till you make it
6.6Testing and creating self-confidence
6.7Relaxed effectiveness and effective relaxation
7THE DARK SIDE OF RUNNING AND HOW TO TURN IT INTO OPPORTUNITIES
7.1A threat to body and soul: The negative effects of positive thinking
7.2Shit happens: How to handle failure
7.3Crises, opportunities, twists, and turns: How does a world champion think?
7.4From research & practice: Mental resilience as means for success
7.5Sports injuries: The role our mind plays in the occurrence and healing of injuries
7.6Exercise addiction: What exactly is it and am I affected?
7.7What happens when success makes you unhappy?
OUTLOOK
INTERVIEW WITH MICHELE UFER: WHEN MANAGERS LEARN TO RUN
REFERENCES
Readers’ opinions on the book
Success Stories
Photo credits
This book provides you with an astounding piece of knowledge, a tool, and the personal experience of an extraordinary ultra-distance runner and sport psychologist. With this book, Michele Ufer has added another milestone to the existing literature on running.
What makes this book so exceptional? On the one hand, it is the rock-solid technical foundation presented in language even the psychological layperson is able to understand, and on the other hand, it is the extremely candid treatment of sport psychology techniques, which he not only describes, but also presents via actual exercises in this book. And he did not leave out an opportunity for self-diagnosis.
A book like this can only be successful if the author can bring quite a bit of personal experience in distance running to the table. This, along with his own sport psychology training and his ability to build a network during his time as an active athlete, can validate his personal experience or allow him to process it with a book like this. In addition to world-class ultra-runners like Florian Reus, we also hear from scientists who do cutting-edge research (e.g., exercise addiction).
I do not know of any previous sport psychology book about running that bundled not only the author’s experience, but also that of his colleagues—or rather other runners—and made it available to the public in this way.
This book is also not a purely celebratory book, stating that mental training is the only and exclusive key to success; Michele Ufer also impressively points out the limits of mental training and addresses the so-called dark side of running. Michele thus demonstrates his ability to have a more differentiated view of his passion. In addition to his role as a runner, Michele Ufer is clearly also a practical sport psychologist and scientist.
Although I am an experienced sport psychologist and runner myself, I was able to personally benefit from the content of this book. I can only imagine how much more beginning runners and athletes who are less knowledgeable about sport psychology can learn from this publication. I wish all of you many hours of productive reading and lots of fun trying out the techniques, and most of all continued joy in running and achieving your personal goals.
Dr. Oliver Stoll
Leipzig, Germany
August 8, 2016
Dear Readers,
A few years ago, a previously unknown athlete appeared out of nowhere on the German ultra-running scene. This person caught our attention when we saw impressive photos in the editorial department of RUNNING Magazine that showed the athlete at a 250 km stage race in the Atacama desert, which he went on to finish seventh overall. I, of course, had to get to the bottom of this thing and picked up the telephone. In the end, I got Michele Ufer on the phone. He was the new guy, the athlete in the photos, and he told me how he came to participate so successfully in the aforementioned race with some physical—but lots of mental—training. This conversation was followed by many more, some remarkably long, and my curiosity about Michele’s approach and the subject of sport psychology continued to grow.
As a result of these discussions, we decided not to deny our readers this subject matter and created the series of articles called “Mental training in practice,” a column in our magazine which continues to be very popular. Thus it seemed only a matter of time until Michele would publish a book on his field of expertise. You are holding it in your hand.
During my time at university, I was able to take several semesters of psychology, and in my capacity at RUNNING Magazine I am in daily contact with athletes of various performance levels for whom sport psychology is an important factor. Moreover, as a runner, I have gained insight into my mental potential and myself. Based on this experience, I highly recommend this book. You will learn much about yourself and our sport because this is a hands-on book with lots of tests as well as examples that invite active participation or imitation. It also satisfies the science- and theory-oriented reader via cross-references, sources, and a long list of references. Whether theorist or practitioner, you will definitely make use of it.
And now some personal information about Michele: He is a true jack-of-all-trades! Next to his professional activities, he is always working to increase his knowledge and, of course, balances that part of his life with regular running. And on top of all that, he organizes a trail event by the name of Traildorado. Michele usually has a smile on his face and possesses a mischievous sense of humor (which you will see that now and then in the book).
In this spirit, I hope you will gain many insights from what follows.
Jochen Schmitz
Berlin, Germany
January 13, 2016
1.1THE ATACAMA EXPERIMENT: PERFORMANCE THAT DEFIES THE IMAGINATION
1.2THE BOOK’S CHARACTER AND STRUCTURE: HOW IT WORKS
Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.
—André Gide
If you want something you never had, then do something you never did.
—Nossrat Peseschkian
Imagine the following: You have a friend who was an ambitious soccer player in his youth, but never stood out for exceptional athletic performances, especially for running or endurance sports. This friend has never run a marathon, a half-marathon, or even an official 10K, and he knows nothing about the sport of running or the running scene. He has never really been interested. But one night, you meet up at your favorite pub and, over a beer, he cheerfully tells you that he just signed up for a 250 km ultra-marathon at one of the earth’s most hostile places! Surely this news would cause you to at least sit up and take notice.
Now let’s listen to what this guy has to say. This race consists of six stages over a distance of 250 km through the driest desert in the world, the famous Atacama in Chile, during which runners compete at an altitude of 2,500-3,500 m. This South American desert is said to be 50 times drier than the infamous Death Valley in the United States, with some areas recording zero precipitation since the beginning of weather records. Moreover, the race is organized as a self-supported run; in other words, runners must carry all of their personal items during the entire race. Filled with the mandatory personal gear (e.g., sleeping bag, ground pad, extra clothes, First Aid kit, provisions, headlamp), the running backpack weighs 7-10 kg (15-22 lbs.). Drinking water is supplied every 10-15 km during the race and at the target location at the end of each stage. Simple group tents that sleep 10-15 people are provided at the end of each stage. Participants run through deep sand, hilly terrain, and rocky canyons that sometimes require some climbing. The route travels through dried-up salt lakes, across razor-sharp scree, and sometimes even through mountain streams in deeply carved canyons. And it all takes place in a completely surreal landscape that is surrounded by snow-covered volcanoes that stand more than 6,000 m high.
When your novice-runner friend goes on to tell you with a cheerful smile that there isn’t much time to prepare because the race takes place in four months, what would you think? Maybe something like:
a)“He’s nuts! Impossible! Much too dangerous! Crazy! He’ll never be able to do it!”
Or preferably:
b)“Wow, awesome! What an adventure! What courage! Why not? He might be able to do it.”
Most people would agree with the first reaction, wondering what in the world your friend could be thinking. But the novice runner was not deterred by any of it. He was completely focused on the challenge.
As you might suspect, that novice runner was me, and in 2011, as part of an extreme self-test, I wanted to experience and demonstrate the increase in athletic performance the human body is capable of with the targeted use of mental training and sports hypnosis. And now that the cat is officially out of the bag, I can openly admit that my foolhardy goal was really just one thing: to somehow make it from stage to stage in spite of my lack of experience and very short preparation time. But onsite everything turned out much different than planned, and in fact much better.
Instead of just struggling through the desert day after day and arriving in one piece or somehow managing to make it across the finish line, I relatively quickly ran my way into the top ten much to everyone’s surprise, including my own. And I got better every day. Of course I also made a number of mistakes and had some crazy experiences, but I was nevertheless able to secure an unbelievable seventh place finish overall, with my daily best being a fourth-place finish. And with that I left some experienced and semi-professional runners in the dust. It was an incredible experience and result. The organizers and many participants I talked to could not believe that I had never previously participated in an official race and had never run more than 29 km (18 miles) during the entire four-month preparation period. It was a perfect sensation. I was on a total emotional high and the psychological experiment was a complete success. In my book Flow Jäger (Flow Hunter), I offer a more detailed account of my experiences at the Atacama race.
Now you might think there was a lot of luck involved, too, and I agree completely. Of course we always need a little luck in life, particularly for such adventurous undertakings, that’s for sure! But it’s also good to know how one can help that luck along a little. And so, after my adventure, people often asked me precisely how I did it, how I trained, and especially which mental techniques I used.
Michele at the Atacama Crossing
How did I do it? In addition to four moderately hard running units per week based on the principle of training smart rather than (too) hard prior to the race, I worked intensively on my goals, imagining myself reaching them as specifically and acutely as possible. And I especially imagined how I wanted to achieve them. Intense and vivid mental images emerged. I experienced emotions. You might say I built a wonderful memory of the future inside my head that I would remember again and again along with all the corresponding emotions. Despite the fact that it can be incredibly motivating, in my experience, it is surprisingly often neglected.
Neuroscientists have long known that new synapses are created that allow the desired result to become more probable. First, I extrapolated concrete challenges as well as abilities I would need in order to master the challenges on the path to my goals. Then I thought of past situations—in sports and in other areas of my life—in which I was successful and during which I had already demonstrated these strengths. This allowed me to access positive, performance-enhancing emotions and unconscious knowledge of how I had accomplished something in the past. And since it is possible to purposefully talk oneself into or out of something, I embellished the entire thing with strategies to turn negative thinking into positive thinking.
I created a set of emotions, internal images, self-talk, and inner monologues that helped me achieve my goals. I then mentally and physically embedded these sets or equipped them with triggers so they would be activated in certain situations, either unconsciously or consciously, to let their positive effect unfold. Such triggers can be images, symbols, music, small movements, or words, but also stimuli like the starting signal, lacing your shoes, or positioning your foot. I also occasionally used little subtle scenarios to positively impact seemingly automatic processes, like, for instance, the sensation of pain, movement coordination, metabolism, and regeneration. That’s the quick version.
I often didn’t have the time for a detailed explanation of my approach. And some people justifiably commented that things that worked for me don’t necessarily work for other athletes. And I agree wholeheartedly. However, in recent years, I had the wonderful opportunity to share my approaches with many running athletes. In 2012, I received an inquiry from Jochen Schmitz, the chief editor at RUNNING Magazine, asking if I would write an article on the topic of motivation and health.
After initial hesitation, I declined and offered a counter-proposal. I did not want to discuss this topic in such a limited way because I thought the risk of it turning into just another factoid story about motivation was just too high. Instead, I suggested a series of articles, each featuring a well-defined sport psychology topic presented in a realistic way. The suggestion was well received. The series of articles, “Mental training in practice,” was born and has been a feature in every issue since (beginning in 2016). The feedback on the published articles has been very positive. Time and again, readers or runners tell me that the suggestions are helpful and also inspire self-reflection.
Because lots of material had accumulated over the years, in 2015, the idea was to make a selection of previous articles available to a greater audience in a bundled and expanded form. Of course, this was also an opportunity to include my practical experience in coaching runners, as well as more detailed explanations of my approach during the Atacama experiment. That was the idea. You are holding the result in your hand. Enjoy!
This book is not a textbook that offers a comprehensive overview of sport psychology. It’s also not a scientific book. The use of technical language has been reduced to a minimum in favor of everyday language. For a more immersive experience, simply refer to the bibliographical references. I also won’t offer you any secrets to success or open up a box of tricks. Such a title might sell better, but that would be deceptive marketing.
I want to be honest. You may find that you are already doing many of the things in this book unconsciously in your everyday life, and that’s good! It means this material will justify or confirm all the things that have already worked or have proven to be helpful. Continue to use them in the future and spread the word! Other strategies have been used for hundreds of years in many cultures around the world, but many have been forgotten. Or they may just not get the necessary attention in your busy everyday life, even though they can be powerful tools. So it is good to be reminded. And some suggestions are based on current research findings from the areas of psychology, medicine, and neuroscience. They offer information on how you could change something to achieve your goals better, faster, more easily, or more reliably, regardless of whether they involve motivation, performance, or health and general well-being. Nothing more, but also nothing less.
The contents of this book were gained by experience. They were successfully tested around the world by myself and other athletes during various races in more or less extreme conditions. Moreover, they were tried and tested on recreational and high-performance athletes during different coaching processes that lasted from one intensive hour to multi-day seminars, as well as over an extended period of time as part of comprehensive personal and career development. The contents and methods are presented succinctly and simply so you can get started as quickly as possible without first having to labor through pages and pages of explanatory theory.
You are holding a workbook in your hands. It can effectively help you to … work on yourself. But only if you really want to, and actually do it! Only by using the presented strategies will the true value of the book reveal itself, will you acquire a taste for it. Thus I would be honored if you were to really put this book to work. Grab a pencil and underline the passages that are most important to you, circle places in the text, take notes, and try the exercises and strategies. This book is a utilitarian object and wants your personal additions. Only then will it be complete, if that is even possible.
This book is for runners of all performance levels, from beginners to old hands, regardless of whether their preferred running terrain is trail, street, mountain, desert, rainforest, tartan track, urban forest, or whatever. Triathletes, cross-country skiers, expedition participants will also be able to find many suggestions that go beyond running. And anything that is helpful to athletes might possibly be of interest to those who accompany and support athletes in their sport, such as running coaches, personal trainers, (sport) psychologists, mental trainers, or significant others. The strategies presented here are also very well suited for challenges outside the running sport. So it is possible that some non-runners—corporate leaders, executives—will also enjoy reading this book. And then we could think of running as a symbol for things running smoothly, professionally and privately, because after all: “Life is like an ultra-marathon.”
Since our motivation, personality, past experiences, and goals can be very different, it is likely that not all contents will be equally relevant to all readers. You should therefore choose those things that are currently of particular interest to you. That might be the entire book, or a particular suggestion or exercise that will make the difference in the future or that initiates an important change. And periodically pick up the book again because we always continue to change and evolve. Over time, things can become more important and interesting even if they weren’t before.
We can draw the following conclusion from what has been said so far: Although you would probably like to be given a plan that tells you exactly when you have to do what how many times per week, I cannot do you that favor.
Every person is different. Mind games that help one individual might drive someone else crazy. A training rhythm that works fabulously well for one person might make someone else feel pressured. Training content that might fit one person’s current situation perfectly may well be completely wrong for another. For this reason I would like to invite you to use the presented material to develop your very own plan that meets your actual needs. Mental training becomes most effective when it is specifically adapted to your situation. That means fine-tuning: experiment, experience, reflect, and if necessary, adapt again. You can start by working your way through the exercises, and then build on them to develop your own creations.
In chapter 2, we take a critical look at typical everyday training for runners, shine a light on the different ways the mind can influence and affect the body, and consider which possibilities mental training can offer us.
Next, we make a sound determination of our current situation (GPS), based on which we will define the current status quo as well as future target states. We will then be able to deduce our personal developmental goals. Moreover, determining our current location via our personal GPS is an excellent way to evaluate the goal achievement processes.
In chapter 4, we will address a topic that is often given surprisingly little attention and, possibly for that very reason, can lead to unnecessary motivation problems. We will answer the question of how we should structure and manage goals so they are truly effective. And we will also learn which attitudes are helpful or impedimental in overcoming challenges.
One core element of mental training is working with mental images and thoughts. Chapter 5 outlines many opportunities for the use of so-called visualizations to create memories of a successful future and magic moments.
In chapter 6, we will address how we can activate, develop, and, in critical moments, use or access our (to some extent unconscious) abilities, strengths, and resources.
Since everything isn’t always going smoothly in life, in chapter 7 we take a look at how we can constructively deal with injuries, failure, crises, and exercise addiction.
And we will frequently look at concrete application examples of the presented strategies within the context of practical examples and the explanations for the Atacama project. Now and again we will add a brief look at research.
As you read you will notice that some topics seem to repeat themselves. That is indeed the case and it is intentional. Just like in any good cookbook, there are some ingredients that we use again and again, in different variations and combinations depending on what it is we are preparing or trying to achieve.
Since the first publication of this book, I have received numerous messages from readers about their experiences and successes with my methods. I was very happy about—often touched by—every single one of them. I had the idea to let some readers share their success stories in this book because that could motivate and encourage others to apply the presented strategies. I am very happy that some readers agreed to share their experiences with us. To read these success stories, see the section at the end of the book.
I am really curious to see which suggestions you will find most valuable and what changes and improvements you will notice after their implementation. 3, 2, 1, go!
Focus is important. Here Michele is shown running across razor-sharp crusts of salt. One misstep, and they puncture the bottom of your shoe.
2.1ANTIQUATED EVERYDAY TRAINING: IS THE EARTH STILL FLAT?
2.2POWER OF THE MIND
2.3THE MIND’S ASTOUNDING EFFECTS ON THE BODY: LEARNING TO CONTROL THE UNCONTROLLABLE?!
2.4MENTAL TRAINING AS THE MAGIC BULLET? POSSIBILITIES AND LIMITS
The largest undiscovered part of the world lies between our ears.
—William O’Brian
Soon after I had successfully finished the Atacama experiment, I received a phone call from two journalists. Only a few days later, two big articles about my story appeared in different daily newspapers. I was flattered that major athletes took a backseat, at least in this one edition. But what was most interesting was the title. Although two different journalists had conducted the interviews, and two completely different publishers had published the articles, the titles were identical: “As far as your feet will carry you.” When I read that, I had to smile, and I immediately thought, “Your feet will carry you as far as your head wants them to.” I then gave a subsequent presentation with the following slightly more provocative title: “How much of your head is in your feet? Running a 250-km race through the driest desert in the world with mental strength.” I like that question very much, but does that make me an ardent proponent of mind over matter? No!
In this chapter you will learn about the intelligent connection between mind and body, the partly puzzling effects the mind can have on the body (and vice versa), the exact meaning of mental training, and the extent to which mental training can be used to achieve goals and increase performance more elegantly. Or in plain English: The head and body are two sides of a coin and they are inextricably linked. To ignore this fact in everyday training would be downright negligent.
Sparrows will never understand why eagles fly higher than cherry trees grow.
—Russian proverb
In elite sports performance, density at the top tends to be very high. When two athletes with the same talent, the same training conditions, and the same general level of fitness and health compete against each other, the one who has the edge at the critical moment will be the one with the stronger mind. While materials-based, biomechanical, and athletic training-related approaches have increasingly exhausted their potential, the largest developmental resources lie within the brain. And how is it in recreational and popular sports? It’s actually pretty similar. We can train as hard as we want, run tons of miles, but if we’re mentally not in a good place on the big day, we might not achieve our goal. And so it is no surprise that this realization is also gaining ground in recreational sports.
Whenever you ask an athlete if the mind is important for athletic success, the answer is: “Yes, of course!” And that is true regardless of the type of sport. By now, everyone knows that success and failure are somehow also a matter of the mind. Some say it is a matter of attitude or character, while others say it’s a matter of motivation or willpower. Even in the running world everyone agrees that achieved results and successes are also a matter of the mind. Nevertheless, the question remains of how exactly to manage it, or rather how to optimally tune the brain muscle to be able to reliably access its performance at the critical moment and achieve precisely the successes or changes one desires. Or how to train more appropriately and holistically by using forms of mental training, thereby achieving goals more elegantly, more joyfully, or faster, with less effort.
Here suggestions are mostly perfunctory and largely anecdotal, the standard advice we hear all the time. In practice it isn’t very helpful because it is not followed by concrete information on how to improve motivation or how to develop willpower.
Of course, I don’t know how many hours a week you train. Is it an average of 3, 5, 10, or 20 hours? And at top times, how many more hours does that add? Granted, that depends on your personal circumstances, ambitions, and goals, but, be honest, how much of your average training time do you devote to mental training? Probably less? The good news is that many athletes already unconsciously use a number of approaches without being aware of it. They visualize competitions, plan progressions ahead of time, and know how to motivate themselves during difficult moments. You can learn and train your mental abilities just like you can systematically learn, train, and refine physical abilities. And the investment pays off, as you will see later on.
The sport of running is a worldwide mass phenomenon. There is probably no other sport for which more books, service providers, and internet sites with detailed training plans for all different distances and target times are offered. The plans are eagerly traded, intensely debated, offer training orientation, and are very helpful if one knows how to choose wisely. But why do these training plans still include so little information on mental training, on integrating the mind in the performance development process?
While some runners are convinced that everything is somehow mental, others consider psychology and mental training wishy-washy or irrelevant hocus-pocus. Let’s take a look behind the scenes to form a more differentiated and, most of all, a well-founded opinion on our psyche and mental training.
By now, the effects of the mind on the body have been scientifically very well documented. For our purposes I would like to first share a few well-known research results. You can find detailed information and supplementary explanations in the following chapters.
It is regularly confirmed that certain personality traits, attitudes, and deportments have a positive effect on physical processes, the immune system, and overall health, as well as overall success and satisfaction, not just in sports, but also in life overall.
A substantial piece of evidence from the area of sports medicine suggests that the performance-limiting factor in endurance performance appears to be primarily a matter of the brain.
Sport psychology research reveals many positive links between the use of mental or sport-psychology techniques during training and competition and general performance level, the situational athletic performance, and health.
Research on hypnosis and studies on the influence of trance processes in extreme athletes, fakirs, and Shaolin monks has given us impressive insights, providing suggestions on how to cleverly integrate the use of concentration techniques like the power of thought, mental imagery, and autosuggestion to positively influence largely automatic and uncontrollable physical processes such as pain, fatigue, stress reaction, metabolism, post-sports injury regeneration, and healing, among others.
Sports hypnosis results in extensive positive, health-enhancing physiological changes. The impressive results of a recent study even showed that objectively identical physical performance and effort performed during a state of trance can considerably reduce the amount of subjectively felt exertion and actual muscle activity, compared to a normal alert state.
Let’s take it a step further. A large portion of our behavior is automated and unconscious. Experts say 90-95%. While you are reading this book, your breathing until just this moment most likely proceeded fairly unconsciously. Until now, without your being aware of it, your muscles have also largely made sure that everything moves the way it should, no matter where you are right now and regardless of whether you are standing, sitting, lying down, or walking, and without your having to permanently think about which muscle groups to contract how much at what ratio in order to achieve a desired position or movement as you turn the pages. It is precisely this autopilot that allows us to function, unburdening our everyday consciousness. It makes sure that lots of things function as quick as lightning or without having to think about them. That’s good, as long as we get the desired results.
But what happens when we sometimes aren’t satisfied? When we don’t achieve the desired performances, are unmotivated or lethargic, when there are ingrained habits, fears, or other obstacles that seem to stand in our way? If that unconscious autopilot controls a large portion of our thoughts, feelings, and behavior, would it not make sense to involve that autopilot in our training, in our personal development? But how can we bring our subconscious mind onboard and thereby make our athletic training more modern and more successful, accelerate our personal development, or make it possible in the first place?
In view of the fact that the mind influences the body, does it not make sense to work more on mental processes as part of the training structure that has proven to dramatically improve performance capacity, performance efficiency, heath, and well-being? Yes, absolutely. Let’s do it!
And in case you are still not quite convinced, I urge you to carefully read the following segment
It is no longer a secret that running is good for your health and, among other things, can effectively boost the immune system. However, it can also have the opposite effect. We are more susceptible to infection after major athletic exertion, such as a marathon. Our immune system appears to be weakened temporarily due to physiological changes, which means we may catch a cold more easily. In the fall of 2015, the German Ultra-marathon Association’s (DUV) magazine ULTRAMARATHON published an interesting article written by an esteemed fellow runner. In “Not just ‘mental’: ultrarunning and immune defense,” biologist Verena Liebers reported on a current sports medicine study about the effects of running on infection-relevant messengers (Liebers, 2015; Gill et al, 2015).
At a 24-hour run in Scotland, a team of researchers studied the effects of the competition on bodyweight, perceived gastro-intestinal discomfort, and other physiological parameters, like the quantity of certain messengers in the blood that play a role in infections. For comparison, blood samples were taken from the subject group immediately before and after the race. The results showed that nearly all of the tested messengers (interleukin-6/-8/-10/-1/-beta, tumor necrosis factor, interferon gamma, C-reactive protein) had considerably increased after the race. Moreover, 75% of participants complained of gastro-intestinal discomfort or nausea, whereby a link was established between the gastro-intestinal problems and the increased presence of two messengers (interleukin-8/-10).
But this link could not be substantiated during a follow-up study (Gill et al., 2015) at a multi-day ultramarathon in Spain. However, here, too, considerably higher levels of infection-relevant messengers were detected. This means runners react to the physical exertion by producing more messengers that can also be found during infections or inflammation. Physiological changes take place that far exceed the phenomenon of weight loss. While the body immediately takes regulating measures, an increased susceptibility to infection remains for a certain amount of time.
Experts call this the open window theory. While according to Liebers these studies do not provide concrete information for practical purposes, she wanted to at least start a conversation and remind those ultrarunners who always say that everything is mental, “that even for an ultrarunner not everything is ‘strictly mental.’ Anyone who is willing to undergo such exertion must be aware that he places his body under stress” (Liebers, 2015, pg. 120).
On the one hand, I was pleased that the DUV’s association magazine ULTRAMARATHON published an article on such an exciting topic in layman’s terms. On the other hand, I had to ask myself if it did not come up short because, in my opinion, one significant aspect was not taken into account, at least if one takes a more holistic view of the human being: What effects could our mind, our personality, and the conscious and unconscious use of certain strategies potentially have on infection-relevant blood values and gastrointestinal sensitivity? Or in other words: When two athletes possess the same physical qualifications, are equally well trained and healthy, couldn’t it be possible that their values differ depending on their individual attitudes and the mental strategies they use?
Staying on the topic of stress and gastro-intestinal complaints for the moment, we are probably all familiar with one of the following situations in our everyday lives or that of our friends, acquaintances, and colleagues: Just before a college exam, driving test, important company presentation, a job interview, or an important competition we consider a major highlight, we react with relaxed anticipation or with anxiety and stage fright. The night before the big event, some sleep soundly while others toss and turn accompanied by a queasy stomach. They are experiencing stress.
We all know and experience it again and again, that people often react differently to identical situational demands. Some are stressed. Others are not.
In stress research as well as in sport science—specifically in training theory and sport psychology—we therefore differentiate between stress and strain or rather internal and external stress.
External stress refers to the situational demands that are objectively the same for everyone (for instance, completing a half-marathon). Strain or internal stress refers to a person’s individual physiological, biochemical, and psychological reactions to a specific external stress factor.
Of course circulatory, respiratory, and thermoregulation, as well as muscle metabolism also depend on the physical condition and general state of health. However, they can significantly differ even with the same strain and physical condition, and cause different levels of stress. It is also indisputable and universally known that physiological stress is inextricably linked to mental and emotional factors. For instance, anxiety and fear always result in an elevated heart rate, shallower breathing, increased perspiration, and altered muscle tone—and often also in a queasy stomach. Surely none of this is conducive to a good performance.
Now the critical question remains: Can we control mental factors so they can have a desirable or beneficial effect on the strain, and if so, how?
Verena Liebers’ title is slightly provocative: “Not just mental.” Of course she is right. Anything we do has a mental and a physical component. And by simply imagining ourselves running a fast 10K through the woods this afternoon, we still haven’t even covered 1 m. However, body and mind, physiological and mental processes are inextricably linked. They complement each other and impact each other, positively and also negatively. Here are a few exciting and educational examples on the subject.
Psychoneuroimmunology deals with the interactions between the mind and the nervous and immune systems, and is currently one of the most important areas in medical research. The knowledge that many mental factors have an important positive and negative effect on immune defenses is increasingly gaining acceptance (Schubert, 2011; Pressman & Cohen, 2005).
Personality traits such as optimism, self-esteem, and self-efficacy, along with social relationships and activation of positive emotions in everyday life, have a beneficial effect on the immune system, and verifiably lead to faster healing after injury or surgery. If the mind has such a powerful effect on our health and even on healing after injuries or surgeries, is it not reasonable to think that the mind also affects temporary inflammatory responses and metabolic processes during and after athletic activity, and thereby can positively impact individual stress levels and recovery times?!
Medical placebo research is an extremely exciting, still relatively new area of research. It addresses the following question: Which mechanisms are at work when sick, suffering people are treated with placebos and get well? The success rate in large-scale controlled studies is astoundingly high.
But it gets even more mind-boggling: Have you heard of placebo operations? It works like this: A recommendation of surgery is made to a patient with, for instance, knee complaints. Everything proceeds exactly like a regular operation. There is a comprehensive pre-surgery briefing, anesthesia is discussed, and at some point the patient ends up in the OR and is anesthetized. But instead of a regular orthoscopic surgery to, for example, remove part of the meniscus, two superficial cuts are made. That’s it! The knee is otherwise left untouched. The patient wakes up half an hour later, and it appears that he has had knee surgery. Post-op procedures also take their usual course.
Ordinarily one would think that nothing has changed since no real intervention took place and nothing on the knee has been changed. But lo and behold, even with placebo surgeries the rate of success is astoundingly high. Postoperatively some patients have fewer or no symptoms at all (Siegmund-Schultze 2008). Both strategies have one thing in common: An intensive healing process occurs even though no medically effective chemical or operative intervention takes place.
But it can also work the opposite way, and in extremely dramatic fashion. Nocebos refers to the circumstance when preparations that don’t contain therapeutic agents, due to personal expectations, are unhealthy and even cause illness. In 2006, a 26-year old man was told by his then significant other, that she planned to leave him. The young man’s lovesickness was so severe that he wanted to end his life. Since he had previously participated in a medical study for a new medication, he had in his possession 29 tablets of a highly effective medication. He swallowed the entire contents of the container. Shortly afterwards, his medical condition deteriorated dramatically and he was admitted to a local hospital. The doctors fought for his survival. The man’s blood pressure was dangerously low. As part of the treatment, one doctor contacted the director of the medical study to find out which ingredients were in the medication. The director of the research project took a look at the files and replied: “None!”
The man had been part of the control group and had only taken a placebo medication without any therapeutic agents. Just the belief that he had swallowed a highly effective, large dose of a deadly medication put the man in serious danger. The moment the man was told that he had merely been part of the control group and had been administered a non-effective placebo preparation consisting only of starch and lactose, his dire medical condition improved within a short amount of time and he was discharged from the hospital free of complaints (Merlot, 2008).
Conclusion: Fervently believing in healing (or illness) alone greatly activates one’s own power to heal (or destroy) and causes positive (or negative) changes in the body or brain entirely without external or conscious help. In the future, wouldn’t it be interesting to control these powers a little more systematically before, during, and after major stresses and strains? At least the positive ones? But what and how should we believe during those moments, what should we focus our attention on?
Up to now we have received valuable information about the fact that our mind—meaning our personality traits, attitudes, and expectations—broadly and constantly affect our bodies without us consciously controlling these processes. But we are also able to specifically influence physical processes that are completely automatic and appear to not be deliberately controllable. To preempt: Yes, we can do so, and it might represent one of the greatest and most valuable opportunities for personal development and improved performance.
The famous lemon experiment is a wonderful example of how our conscious thoughts and mental imagery affect our bodies in a minimum of time.
EXERCISE: THE LEMON EXPERIMENT
chapter 6.1