In the mind of an elite athlete: what do sportspeople think when they excel?

Most of us are fascinated by the achievements and successes of elite athletes, who train for years to have the opportunity to reach their goals on the world stage. These sportspeople show us what\u27s possible for the human body - how fast we can move, how far and high we can jump, how strong or graceful we can be. But what goes on in the mind of an elite athlete performing at their peak? Athletes\u27 psychological states - the temporary, brief, subjective experiences that happen during exceptional performance - are often collectively described as the zone . A recent example was British Open winner Henrik Stenson, who was described as not just in the zone … but on a crest of inspiration . But the latest research shows there are two psychological states underlying excellent performances in elite sport - two different zones. Professional golfers describe these as letting it happen and making it happen

Investigating the experience of flow in European Tour golfers

Objectives: This study explored how flow (commonly known as “the zone”) is experienced in elite golf, a sport which may be different to those studied previously due to its slower paced, stop-start nature. Design: In-depth, semi-structured interviews were employed to gain rich insight into the flow experiences of these participants. Method: The participants were 10 male professional golfers (Mean age = 37) who had competed on the European Tour for, on average, 10 full seasons. Five of these had won on the European Tour and two had Ryder Cup experience. The players were asked a range of questions relating to what the experience of flow is like within golf, and the interviews lasted, on average, 53 minutes. Results: Inductive thematic analysis was employed and 14 themes describing flow emerged, of which 11 displayed similarities to Csikszentmihalyi’s dimensions. Notably, however, these golfers reported an additional awareness of being in flow as it occurred, and even attempted to maximise the experience. Two other themes did not clearly fit with the original dimensions either: altered cognitive and kinaesthetic perceptions, and feeling calm and/or relaxed during the experience. Finally, the participants also perceived that they could observe others in flow, e.g., through changes in behaviour. Conclusions: These findings suggest possible revisions to the existing framework to more clearly describe the flow experience within elite golf and possibly other sporting contexts. The seemingly observable nature of flow may also be useful for researchers and, for example, within coaching

Exploring flow occurrence in elite golf

Research on flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975) has traditionally focused on reactive, externally-paced sports (e.g., tennis) without exploring those that are self-paced and stop-start in nature. This study investigated the occurrence of flow in a sample of thirteen elite golfers by conducting semi-structured interviews discussing: (i) their experiences of flow, (ii) factors that influenced flow occurrence, and (iii) the controllability of these experiences. Results shared similarity with existing research in terms of the majority of influencing factors reported, including motivation, preparation, focus, psychological state, environmental and situational conditions, and arousal, and that flow was reported to be at least potentially controllable. Golf-specific influences were also noted, including pre-shot routines, use of psychological interventions, standard of performance, and maintenance of physical state, suggesting that flow may have occurred differently for this sample. Findings are discussed and applied recommendations are made that may help golfers put relevant factors in place to increase the likelihood of experiencing flow

Further examining the relationship between mental toughness and dispositional flow in sport: a mediation analysis

The purpose of the study was to further examine the relationship between mental toughness (MT) and dispositional flow in sport. A sample of 256 athletes (M age = 23.65 years, SD = 5.43), competing at international (n = 59), national (n = 77), and club/university (n = 120) levels completed questionnaires assessing MT and dispositional flow. A significant and positive correlation was found between MT and dispositional flow (r = 0.50, p < 0.001). Mediation analysis revealed that MT had a significant direct effect on the flow dimensions of challenge-skills balance, clear goals, unambiguous feedback, sense of control and concentration on the task at hand, and significant indirect effects on concentration on the task at hand, sense of control, loss of self-consciousness, action-awareness merging and autotelic experience. Findings suggest that MT has direct and indirect effects on the characteristics of flow, offering new insights regarding optimal human functioning

The Thin Line: A Phenomenological Study of Mental Toughness and Decision Making in Elite High-Altitude Mountaineers

Mental toughness (MT) is a key psychological variable related to achievement in performance domains and perseverance in challenging circumstances. We sought to understand the lived-experiences of mentally tough high-altitude mountaineers, focusing primarily upon decisions to persevere or abort summit attempts. Phenomenological interviews were conducted with 14 mountaineers including guides, expedition leaders, and doctors (Mage = 44 years). A content analysis was employed to identify key themes in the data. Participants emphasised the importance of MT in extreme environments and described rational, flexible, and vigilant decision-making. Turning around without summiting was the toughest decision reported, with recognition of the thin line between persevering and over-stretching. In contrast to much MT literature, mountaineers accepted limits, demonstrated restraint, and sacrificed personal goals to aid others. Costly perseverance was also reported with some mountaineers described as “too tough”: over-competitive, goal-obsessed, and biased decision-makers. These findings revealed both benefits and dangers of MT in mountaineering

Flow states in exercise: A systematic review

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to systematically identify, review, synthesise, and appraise current literature on flow in exercise. By doing so, this study aimed to highlight gaps and future research directions that will help to advance understanding and application of flow states in this setting. Design: A systematic review using PRISMA guidelines. Methods: Eight electronic databases were searched in February 2019. Inclusion criteria were peer-reviewed studies focused on the investigation of flow in exercise. Exclusion criteria were studies that did not exclusively include exercise participants, or that focused on instrument development and/or validation. Data from included studies were extracted and reported in a narrative synthesis. Results: A total of 26 studies that were conducted with 4478 participants met the inclusion criteria. Several issues with the conceptualisation and measurement of flow in exercise were identified, which makes it difficult to draw meaningful conclusions about this literature. Nevertheless, there is tentative evidence that exergame design features, music, and virtual stimuli can affect at least some dimensions of flow. While little attention has been directed towards developing an explanatory theory, initial findings concerning the contexts and process underlying flow occurrence could offer a potential avenue for progress. Conclusions: The review advances knowledge by synthesising quantitative and qualitative evidence on flow states in exercise. By doing so, the review also highlights a range of conceptual and methodological issues in the field. Recommendations to address these issues and suggestions for making meaningful progress to develop understanding of flow states in exercise are advanced

Relationships between mental toughness, barriers to exercise, and exercise behaviour in undergraduate students

The present study explored relationships between mental toughness (MT), barriers to exercise, and self-reported exercise behaviour in university students. Perceived barriers to exercise are important since previous work has identified barriers as strong predictors of exercise behaviour. MT was hypothesised to predict exercise barriers and self-reported exercise behaviour. Participants were 173 undergraduate students (45 men, 128 women) from 10 United Kingdom universities. Questionnaires were used to assess MT, exercise levels, and exercise barriers. Path analysis identified that MT predicted barriers to exercise, with higher MT associated with weaker perceived barriers. Regular exercisers were found to have significantly higher MT than non-regular exercisers, with commitment identified as a key difference. These findings support the proposed hypotheses and provide further evidence of the importance of MT in exercise / physical activity contexts. Future research that adopts longitudinal designs and tests targeted interventions to reduce perceptions of barriers and enhance exercise participation are encouraged

Comparing two measures of mental toughness

This paper tested relations between two measures of mental toughness. A sample of 110 male athletes (M age = 20.81 years; SD = 2.76), derived from University sports teams and local sports clubs, gave informed consent before completing two questionnaires to assess mental toughness. It was hypothesized that scales and subscales from the two different instruments, which purported to measure the same or substantially overlapping scales, would be strongly correlated. Predictions concerning the expected relations were made a priori. Pearson correlations revealed a significant and positive relationship between higher order mental toughness scores (r = .75; p <.001). Correlations between similar mental toughness subscales were found to be positive and significant but somewhat lower than expected (r = .49 to .62). Results suggest instrument subscales with similar labels are not measuring the same components of mental toughness

Athlete Perceptions of Flavored, Menthol-enhanced Energy Gels Ingested Prior to Running in the Heat

Thermal perception during exercise is known to influence endurance performance and the onset of fatigue. L-menthol, an organic compound derived from peppermint, evokes a cooling sensation through its action on TRPM8 channels which also respond to cold stimuli. Recent work identified that the internal application of menthol-enhanced fluids can be ergogenic during exercise in the heat. Hence, the addition of menthol to energy gels may be practical and beneficial for athletes. PURPOSE: To determine athlete acceptability and preferences for flavored energy gels with different menthol concentrations. METHODS: With a randomized, crossover, and double-blind placebo-controlled design, 27 endurance athletes (34.8±6.7 y, BMI: 21.7±1.6 kg·m-2, 9 female) ingested an energy gel with a menthol additive at relative concentrations: low (0.1%), medium-low (0.3%), medium-high (0.5%), high (0.7%), or a non-menthol, flavor-matched placebo (CON), on separate days before outdoor running sessions. Athletes rated the gels for cooling sensation, irritation (tingling/burning), flavor, and overall experience on 100-point sensory and hedonic labeled magnitude scales. The duration of any cooling sensation was also reported. Repeated measures ANOVAs with a Bonferroni adjustment for pairwise comparisons were used to determine differences. RESULTS: All menthol gels successfully delivered a greater cooling sensation compared to CON (7.4±8.1 AU) with a significantly greater response for 0.7% (59.9±20.5 AU) and 0.5% (57.7±21.8 AU), compared to all others, which were both rated “moderate-strong” for intensity. Irritation intensity was higher for all menthol gels compared to CON (3.4±7.2 AU), and for 0.7% compared to 0.1% (31.1±31.0 vs 16.3±21.0 AU, p=0.041), with none reported higher than a “mild-moderate” intensity. The menthol gels delivered a significantly longer cooling duration (range: 12.3-19.6 min) compared to CON (2.2±4.8 min) with no significant difference between menthol gels. Ratings of overall experience and flavor were not different between gels (p\u3e.05). CONCLUSION: A flavored energy gel with the addition of menthol at 0.1-0.7% provides a cooling sensation for athletes when ingested before exercise. The 0.5% concentration is recommended to maximize the cooling sensation of the gel whilst minimizing irritation