Developing Competitive Endurance Performance Using Mental Skills Training

Thelwell, Richard C.; Greenlees, Iain A.

doi:10.1123/tsp.17.3.318

Cited by 89 publications

(61 citation statements)

References 21 publications

(39 reference statements)

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“…Therefore, and because only one study [54] was classed as strong in quality, it is difficult to draw a strong conclusion about whether one practical psychological intervention should be chosen over others. There was, however, consistent support for PST packages, with five studies finding that PST packages improved endurance performance across three sports, with athletes, in real-life and simulated competition, and in multiple posttests [39–41, 45, 48]. The relative contribution of each intervention component is not known [48], however, and support was also found for goal setting, imagery and self-talk interventions in isolation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Psychological Determinants of Whole-Body Endurance Performance

2015

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BackgroundNo literature reviews have systematically identified and evaluated research on the psychological determinants of endurance performance, and sport psychology performance enhancement guidelines for endurance sports are not founded on a systematic appraisal of endurance-specific research.ObjectiveA systematic literature review was conducted to identify practical psychological interventions that improve endurance performance and to identify additional psychological factors that affect endurance performance. Additional objectives were to evaluate the research practices of the included studies, to suggest theoretical and applied implications, and to guide future research.MethodsElectronic databases, forward-citation searches and manual searches of reference lists were used to locate relevant studies. Peer-reviewed studies were included when they chose an experimental or quasi-experimental research design; a psychological manipulation; endurance performance as the dependent variable; and athletes or physically active, healthy adults as participants.ResultsConsistent support was found for using imagery, self-talk and goal setting to improve endurance performance, but it is unclear whether learning multiple psychological skills is more beneficial than learning one psychological skill. The results also demonstrated that mental fatigue undermines endurance performance, and verbal encouragement and head-to-head competition can have a beneficial effect. Interventions that influenced perception of effort consistently affected endurance performance.ConclusionsPsychological skills training could benefit an endurance athlete. Researchers are encouraged to compare different practical psychological interventions, to examine the effects of these interventions for athletes in competition and to include a placebo control condition or an alternative control treatment. Researchers are also encouraged to explore additional psychological factors that could have a negative effect on endurance performance. Future research should include psychological mediating variables and moderating variables. Implications for theoretical explanations for endurance performance and evidence-based practice are described.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s40279-015-0319-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Psychological Determinants of Whole-Body Endurance Performance

2015

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“…Studies have documented numerous skills and strategies used to regulate emotions (Cohen, Tenenbaum, & English, 2006;Hanton & Jones, 1999;Robazza et al, 2004;Thelwell & Greenlees, 2003;Thelwell, Greenlees, & Weston, 2006). For example, in a study that examined how athletes self-regulate their mood, Stevens and Lane (2001) found that listening to music, seeking social support and reappraising the situation were popular strategies during competition.…”

Section: Emotion Regulationmentioning

confidence: 96%

Emotion in sport: considering interpersonal regulation strategies

Friesen

Lane

Devonport

et al. 2013

International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology

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Research into emotion regulation in sport has predominantly focused on intrapersonal regulation of emotion response systems (i.e. subjective experience, cognitions, behaviours or physiological responses). However, researchers in social psychology have suggested that the emotion regulation process is inherently social and interpersonal. This shift represents a significant change in how emotion regulation is conceptualized and, given the intensity of emotions experienced in sport, represents a potentially productive line of enquiry. This review addresses interpersonal emotion regulation in sport, and draws attention to work in social psychology that might inform future sports research. Specifically, the utility of social-functional approaches will be considered.

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“…For example, it has been demonstrated to be useful in improving athletic ability. More specifically, studies have found that performance endurance, performance motivation, and pain management were enhanced in athletes through the use of imagery (Thelwell & Greenless, 2003). In addition, the use of imagery techniques to imagine performing a specific sports skill has been shown to improve the physical performance of that skill (Eddy & Mellalieu, 2003).…”

Section: Downloaded By [Northeastern University] At 22:00 04 Januarymentioning

confidence: 98%