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The Relaxed Athlete: A 14-Day Plan for Optimal Mental Preparation. Two programs combined into one, you not only learn how to develop a focused and confident pre-competition routine, but you also learn the secrets to a poised and relaxed mindset. Read more about mental preparation keys...

Improve Kids Confidence with Kids' Sports Psychology! Kids' Sports Psychology is a one-stop, exclusive 10-step plan for boosting confidence and cultivating positive mental game skills in young athletes! As a member of our newest online community, parents and coaches can download age-specific confidence-boosting mental game strategies, e-books, videos, and audio programs produced specifically for young athletes. Learn how to boost sports kids' success...

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Locker Room Talk

Feature Mental Game Article

Michael Phelps' Secret To Prerace Mental Preparation
By Patrick J. Cohn, Ph.D.

More and more athletes use music before competition as part of their pregame warm up routine. Music helps many athletes to prepare mentally and focus for the upcoming game. If you feel pressure before you compete, music may be a great tool to help you relax. The stress of competition can cause some athletes to become distracted by worry. They focus too much on pregame jitters because they are worried about performing well for teammates, coach, or fans.

Olympic athletes, more than others, feel the pressure to win because they are representing their country. Many Olympians use music to help them stay composed and get ready for the upcoming game or race. The most popular 2008 Olympian being Michael Phelps…

Michael Phelps is one example of well-known athletes who listen to music before a race. Music was a big part of his pre-race routine at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. You can see him before the race with iPods headphones dangling from his ears. A few minutes prior to the start of a race, Phelps removes his headphones and strips down for the race.

I’m sure you want to know what’s his favorite prerace music? Phelps uses hip-hop music to boost his motivation for a race. Most of the songs he’s loaded on his mind-pumping IPods include artists  such as Jay-Z, Lil' Wayne, Young Jeezy, Eminem and Outkast.

Whether it’s fast paced music to pump you up or slow paced music to help you relax before competition, you can use music as a performance booster.

Using music before a race is really not about superstition. Keep in mind that it’s part of Phelps (and many other athletes) normal prerace routine. A pre-race routine is a series of actions and thoughts to mentally prepare athletes for competition. Not only do you need to warm up physically, but you also need to feel prepared mentally. A warm up routine helps you focus on performing well as you review your game plan and visualize a successful performance.

When I played high school football and hockey, we often would listen to fast-paced music to help us get psyched or pumped for a game. We did not have iPods when I was in high school, but no one told us to use music to get pumped for the game – we found out on our own. We had to use he old fashion stereo player. With the advent of iPods and MP3 players, it makes things a lot easier.

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Music can positively affect your pregame mindset by: 

1. Giving you a boost in intensity or energy before you perform
2. Helping to boost your focus and get your game face on
3. Controlling your mood prior to competition
4. Providing a positive background for your pregame mental rehearsal

If music works for Phelps, it might work for you too. Many other athletes use music to help them get into the zone and establish the right intensity. “If you play certain songs enough before games, it gets you in the right mindset,” said Cornell Men’s Lacrosse team captain Matt McMonagle.

I think the biggest benefit of listening to music is to control your level of intensity before a game. What music should you listen to? The type of music you listen to is influenced both by your personal preferences and what you want to accomplish. Do you want to get pumped up or relax and cool down?

“I like to have maybe 15, 20 minutes just by myself to listen to iPod, just some music. Depends on the mood I'm in. And then it's important, too, to have a good warmup, to sweat a little bit. That helps me also with the nerves.”
~Ana Ivanovic

Some athletes become anxious before competition and can use music to help them relax. Not all athletes, such as many golfers, need to get pumped up prior to competition. They might want to relax and calm down. In this case you’ll want to use soothing, slower-paced music.

Most athletes will use music to help them boost their energy and increase excitement. If you compete in football, hockey, baseball, or basketball, you might want fast-paced music that can help boost your intensity. I liked inspirational music that helped me get excited to play ball.

Another big benefit of using pregame music is that it can help reduce unwanted distractions and help you escape into your own world. Music might even help you get in the zone and focus on your role in the game. What can be more powerful than listening to your favorite music while mentally rehearsing your performance? Maybe a video highlight reel with your favorite music in the background?

I have another option to boost your focus before competition. Check out my Confident Athlete Sports Psychology CD programs - they'll give you the mental game edge and boost your confidence, composure, focus, and trust before competition!

Sports Specific Mental Training Tip

"Tennis is a Mental Game"

What you think is what you get. If you feel tired in a match or game, you can either use it as an excuse to lose or think you are not tired. You have many opportunities to come up with excuses to lose during a game. The top players push through or ignore minor challenges during competition, so they can perform their best.

"I think more than anything, tennis is a mental game. If you tell yourself you're not tired, lo and behold, you aren't."

~Venus Williams, WTA

Podcasts of the Month

The Racing Psychology Podcast of the Month!
In this racing psychology session, I help a racer refocus after mistakes. I answer a mental game of racing question. Learn the mental game strategies to improve your racing focus. Many racers get frustrated with mistakes and then lose their focus. Learn how to refocus your mind on the next section...

Show me the Racing Psychology Podcast of the Month!

The Golf Psychology Podcast of the Month!
In this week's golf psychology session, mental game of golf expert and author of The Mental Game of Golf and Mental Art of Putting, Dr. Cohn, helps golfers balance their life with golf. Many golfers focus 24/7 on their golf game and don't have any balance in their lives. Learn how to balance golf with other areas of your life.

Show me the Golf Psychology Podcast of the Month!

Golfers: Download a free golf psychology report and improve your preshot routine overnight!

Pro Athlete Quote of the Month

Ask Doc Cohn

"After Mistakes, My Son Reacts Like He's Been Shot!"

Baseball Parent:

"My son does not seem to lack confidence in his performance, but he loses control whenever he fails to reach base or make a play. Worse yet, he has a fit whenever other players fail to make an easy play. He is the best player on his team and cannot stand to lose, but he seems to get down easily. These things seem contradictory to me. He wants to pitch when the bases are loaded and more often than not gets his team out of a jamb in tight spots. But if he gets an RBI single and gets thrown out at first, he reacts like he has been shot."

Jump to Dr. Cohn's answer now!

Most Valuable Product (MVP)

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The Relaxed Athlete: A 14-Day Plan for Optimal Mental Preparation!"The Relaxed Athlete," our 5th CD program in the confident athlete series teaches you Dr. Cohn's top mental strategies for complete mental preparation for competition. Two programs combined into one, you not only learn how to develop a focused and confident pre-competition routine, but you also learn the secrets to a poised and relaxed mindset. The program includes 14 days of mental preparation exercises that can be tailored to your specific sport. Each copy comes with 3 premium bonuses that you can download immediately!

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Dr. Patrick J. Cohn is the President and founder of Peak Performance Sports of Orlando, Florida. He earned his Ph.D. in Education from the University of Virginia in 1991, and founded Peak Performance Sports in 1994. Dr. Cohn is an author, speaker and one of the nation's leading mental game experts. His coaching programs instill confidence, composure and effective mental strategies that enable athletes and teams to reach their performance goals. Dr. Cohn has helped athletes from a variety of sports backgrounds (both amateurs and professionals) identify and develop the mindset needed to achieve peak performance. World-class golfers, runners, shooters and auto racers, as well as motocross, tennis, baseball, softball, football and hockey players, are among those who have benefited from his mental game coaching and training.

Boost Your Success with The Confident Athlete Series!

NEW! The Confident Athlete Series by Peak Performance Sports brings you the latest cutting-edge mental training strategies in a practical step-by-step 14-day achievement plan. Each program consists of 2 Audio CDs and an easy to follow workbook to help you apply the mental strategies. Perfect for any competitive athlete or team coach! Read more... Buy All 4 Programs and Get "The Relaxed Athlete" FREE! (**Plus Free Shipping!**)

Peaksports.com Quick Links

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