What is Mental Fitness?

Sports are highly demanding, and some are highly competitive to even participate in. athletes at the top need to be in prime physical and mental shape to be the best in their respective sports. While most of the top players have an around-the-clock team of medical caretakers to make sure they are in prime health, unfortunately, not all have those resources available.

There is a significant misconception that only the body matters and that whatever happens to the body has no effect on the mind. This mindset has led to the decline of perhaps the majority of the world’s talent at some point.

The athlete’s ability to focus on the game and use strategies to win is one of the most critical aspects. Most people don’t understand that while cognitive ability is essential, the athlete also needs to be susceptible to training. If they are highly intellectual yet are unable to meet training criteria, the way the particular sport requires, they will not succeed.

Mental fitness is a term that comprises both the ability to think efficiently and effectively. Mental fitness helps athletes stay disciplined in their training and nutritional regimens. More importantly, it helps in molding better sportsmen.

Brain Training for Sports?

There are different techniques used for the athlete’s cognitive or brain training for sports. The implementation of the techniques depends on the type of sport and its required characteristics. Essentially, these are training methods that help create more efficient associations between sports strategies and solutions for an athlete.

The majority of stadium sports require strategic planning and understanding of the viable options to win. However, the method of brain training for sports is slightly different. It deals with impact, contact, or pure physical strength. The brain controls the entire body, including our ability to balance things and apply force. Brain Training for sports is able to help the athletes make a better association with their ability to produce force.

An excellent example of this would be Shot Put. It is a track and field game in the Olympics as well. The game relies on throwing a spherical ball (made of metal) at a specific difference. While it may seem easy in theory, an athlete has to balance the ball and generate as much force as he can to drive the sphere through the maximum difference. The weight of the ball throws off the athlete and requires significant force.

Cognitive training or Neuro Training will help the athlete understand how to handle the said sphere and, more importantly, where to drive the force from.

Does Neuro Training Really Help?

Athletes can gain immense advantages from Neuro Training. The brain connects with the motor organs through spinal tracts, which can become more efficient through this type of training.

An athlete can experience the following advantages through Neuro Training:

• Increased stamina and energy.
• A better understanding of force generation.
• More awareness and control over musculoskeletal movements.
• Help alleviate recurring issues such as drags in speed and reaction time.

Sources:

1. https://neurogrow.com/neurofeedback-complete-guide/
2. https://brainforestcenters.com/news/everything-you-need-to-know-about-neurofeedback-therapy
3. https://www.tryhealium.com/2021/08/31/can-you-do-neurofeedback-at-home