A mental block? Relearning and rebuilding skills

A mental block is a psychological hurdle that will stop an individual from performing a skill that they have previously been able to do. The key with a mental block is that it is linked to a skill that has previously been mastered. Remember: if you are still in the process of learning a skill and experience a setback or begin to struggle with it mentally this is different to a block.

Whatever the situation, if you need to relearn or rebuild skills there are lots of steps you can take and areas to focus your energy on. Continue reading for more information...

Setbacks and doubts:

Setbacks in the gym can be linked to doubts that creep in to our mind. These doubts may be due to:

• Time off - even one session off can create doubts or mean that you need to rebuild slightly. The key is that with any break in training you may need to take a few small steps back to help you build your confidence with a skill.

• Tiredness - this can link to physical tiredness and fatigue of mentally feeling drained. Most of us will experience more doubts in our abilities when we are tired.

• Lack of focus or practice - have you made the most of the training hours that you have had, ensuring you are focused and practicing with a purpose helps to maintain confidence in your skills. If you become distracted and have less repetitions then doubts may creep in.

• Pressure in other areas of life - during exam season or when we are experiencing change and transition in other areas of life it can impact on our confidence within the sport environment as the brain has a bigger mental load to navigate.

  
  

As we have said before - Please remember: Not every setback and doubt is a mental block

Navigating doubts:

Helping gymnasts navigate through their doubts (and fears) comes with lots of stages and steps:

• Acknowledge and process thought patterns - what are they focusing on and thinking about?

• Notice the inner critic - Is the inner voice being particularly critical? What is it saying

• Help them to show themselves some compassion and kindness - What can they do to be kind to themselves when they are going through a tough time?

• Reflect on what is going well and what isn’t - It's easy to only focus on the negatives so make sure they celebrate the good stuff they are doing as well.

• Focus on their goals (especially if they are making comparisons with others that are able to do things that they are struggling with) - Be clear on their own personal goals, especially focusing on the processes and the small steps that will help them achieve their bigger goals.

• Let them know you are there to support them - often individuals feel they need to fight these things alone so be clear with them that you are there to help and support in any way you can.

Mental block = a biological response based on the brains fight flight or freeze responses.

I.e. - The stress response

• Fight

  • The body prepares for physical action, increasing heart rate, blood flow to muscles, and adrenaline release. People may react with anger, defiance, or aggression when in fight mode

• Flight

  • The body mobilises energy to flee, often causing rapid breathing, increased heart rate, and heightened alertness. Flight is triggered when the individual perceives that escaping is the safest option

• Freeze

  • The body becomes immobile. It may involve a sense of numbness or inability to act. Freeze can help avoid being noticed or allow time to assess the situation

The brain will see certain skills as unsafe or a threat to safety. That is exactly what we want and need the brain to do for life in general. It is trying to protect you. However, we may need to learn to override the brains default to relearn and rebuild skills following setbacks, doubts and even blocks.

Pause and reflect

Help gymnasts to pause and reflect, use the points below to help you navigate these conversations:

• Do they have any pressure away from gym?

• What can they do to reduce that pressure or navigate it differently when they come in to training?

• Do we need to adjust their training because of that pressure?

• What skills are going well and which ones are you confident in?

• What are your next steps to work through the skills that you are finding difficult? (think conditioning, preps, drills and simpler versions of the same skill)

• What emotions are showing up? It's ok to feel all of these things.

• What are your process goals? i.e. how will you overcome this. Set small process goals for the next few sessions to keep you working on something connected to the skill and strengthen those foundations.

Remember:

• As a coach staying calm and having a patient approach is the best way to help a gymnast navigate a setback.

• As a parent ensure you vary the conversations - it's tempting to focus on the things they are finding difficult to help them solve it (coaches are already doing this with them). Some space to forget about it or to celebrate the good stuff is likely to be more helpful as they are already focusing a lot of energy on it when they are in training.

This content has been developed as part of our #itsmyjourney project with Valleys Gymnastics Academy