Strength is Never a Weakness: Anxiety

Showing posts with label Anxiety. Show all posts

Monday, 2 September 2019

Psychology of an Athlete

http://www.commandoconditioning.com/sports-psychology/

The training and preparing the psychology of an athlete is equally as important as the physical training for the physiological side of the athlete.

Each of these factors supports the other, for example - if an athlete was physically superior to his/her competitors, but was so nervous when competing that he/she could not perform if the pressure overwhelms them. If an athlete was mentally very strong, he/she can cope with the pressures of a competition but not be able to win because they lacked physical fitness/strength.

Psychology is defined as “Psychology is the scientific study of human and animal behavior with the object of understanding why living beings behave as they do”. This was sourced from http://www.mindfocus.net/nc00100.html.

To be more specific in a sporting context sports psychology is defined as “the study of the psychological and mental factors that influence and are influenced by participation and performance in sport, exercise, and physical activity, and the application of the knowledge gained through this study to everyday settings”. This was researched from http://www.livestrong.com/article/134188-definition-sport-psychology/#ixzz2Dbt2aWJE

The psychology of any athlete can vary and this can affect with how they are motivated and this in turn can affect their training and how they perform in competition.

Short Term Psychology Preparation:

Bandura developed the principle of self efficacy which is defined as the self confidence of an athlete/individual in a specific situation. This was sourced from the Edexcel PE Textbook.

There are four factors that influence an athletes self efficacy which then affects their performance. These are Performance Accomplishments, Vicarious Experience, Social Persuasion and Physiological and Emotional States. Image was sourced from http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol3/issue4/staples1.gif

Performers Accomplishments

I recall past experiences from training and competing to keep me motivated and focused. This makes me want to replicate these moments but performing them at bigger/higher level of competitions. One of these is getting three personal bests at the Irish Championships for Powerlifting.

Vicarious Experiences

I researched my sport by watching other Powerlifters train on the television so I can learn from what they are doing. This ranges from monitoring their technique to what sort of training they are doing to improve their performance.

Social Persuasion

Self reflection and I get advice from my coach and other Powerlifters which helps to improve my technique, training or nutrition. They give me advice on how to prepare for a competition and what to do during it, for example what weight I should start at for my opening lift.

Physiological and Emotional States

When I am training and competing I deliberately focus on not becoming anxious and I remain calm as possible. I just listen to music and I think on the task at hand so I am not losing focus or worrying about what is everyone else doing.

Powerlifting is very much using the Drive Theory which was created by Zajonc (1965). The more aroused you are, the better your performance should be. This theory fails to take into account the individual’s personality and their performance. Powerlifting requires a high arousal level when compared to other sports such as tennis. Image was obtained from http://www.teachpe.com/images/psychology/drive_theory.jpg

However, another theory is more effective to use. This is the Inverted-U Hypothesis which was created by Yearkes and Dodson (1908). Image was sourced from http://www.teachpe.com/images/psychology/drive_theory.jpg

To explain it better I am using the images describing the optimal zone as shown below.

It needs to be said each individual athlete will have their own individual psychological make up and will react differently to pressure. Each athlete has their own zone of optimum performance. These zones will be influenced by their sport. Some athletes are more introverts and others extroverts which again affects their performance in a particular sport.

Hanin describes it well with the ZOF with three different athletes.

A poor performance will occur if arousal levels are either too low, or too high. To produce the best performances the arousal level has to be in between high and low. This is the “zone of optimal functioning” where maximum performance occurs.

When there is a complete loss in performance due to being too over aroused. This is known as choking and it is defined as “the inability to perform to an athlete’s optimum performance – sudden impairment of failure of sports performance due to anxiety”. This was taken from the Edexcel PE Textbook.

The theory for this complete loss in performance is called the Catastrophe Model created by Hardy (1996). This theory is linked with both the Inverted-U Hypothesis and the Drive Theory.

Anxiety is defined as a natural reaction to threat in the environment (this was taken from the Edexcel PE Textbook) – part of our preparation for flight or fight. There are 3 dimensions for anxiety which are:

Cognitive Anxiety

Worry and negative feelings about your own performance

Somatic Anxiety

Physiological symptoms such as raised heart rate, increased perspiration, shortness of breath.

Behavioural Anxiety

Experiencing tension, agitation and restlessness.

Sports performers can suffer from two types of anxiety linked to performance, these are state and trait anxiety.

State Anxiety

This is situation specific and can be linked to a particular role such as taking a penalty kick in football.

Trait Anxiety

This is a general and enduring feeling of apprehension. When I am competing in a Powerlifting competition I am not thinking about what others are lifting or what their score is. I am focusing about my own performance and what goals I have set myself for example, to attain new personal bests. I use relaxation techniques such as listening to music to prepare me for each competition.

I turn up my music really loud so it drowns out all outside noise so the only thing I can hear is my music and my own thoughts. As I am listening to the music, I am thinking through each individual step to lifting the weight. This includes how I approach the bar, where my feet should be, where my grip should be etc. Even though I know how to do all of this, it keeps me focused and prevents me from getting distracted.

When I go to train or compete I am motivated to win. This motivation comes from within me (this is known as intrinsic motivation). I want to improve my own performance and make the national team - that is my motivation. Other athletes are motivated by tangible rewards such as prize money. This is known as external motivation. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/tennis/australianopen/9582630/Record-19.3m-prize-fund-allays-Australian-Open-boycott-fears-as-Andy-Murray-returns-to-action-at-Japan-Open.html

Long Term Psychological Preparation:

When planning my training to improve my physical performance have to also look at improving my psychological performance as well. I have used the SMARTER principle to help plan my goals. The principle is defined as:

S.M.A.R.T.E.R Principle

The S.M.A.R.T.E.R stands for, Specific, Measurable, Agreed, Realistic, Time-Bound, Exciting and Recorded.

Specific; Its goals are specific to the Sport and are challenging to improve performances. In my Development Plan, the training is tough and specific to Powerlifting but will help me achieve my goals.

Measurable; Its concerned with the performer must be prepared to evaluate their progress critically and adjust their goals as necessary. E.g. Maybe after retesting myself I find I am already achieving a goal, I need to reassess my goals again so I am not peaking to early.

Agreed; Goals set should be discussed with others such as your coach. This will help you set realistic goals and achieve them within a set time frame. I sat down with my coach and was designed this programme around me to help develop my muscular strength for Powerlifting.

Realistic; Goals are sensible and can be achieved by the performer. If a coach was to set the target for a 100m sprinter to break the world record when the sprinter is only 15 years of age, it is a pretty unrealistic target. The goals set by the coach and the performer should reflect the performer’s ability. The goals my coach has set me are all doable within the Development Plan.

Time-Bound; All of the goals of any athletes programme should be divided into short and long term goals. These goals should get progressively harder over the programme to challenge the performer.

Exciting; The goals set need to motivate the performer so he/she wants to keep improving their performance. If the training is not exciting the performer will become bored and not want to train.

Recorded; By recording down what I do within the Development Plan I will be able to see my progressive from day 1 to day 216. I will be able to work out percentage improvements for all the exercises and see how much I have improved for my three lifts within Powerlifting.

With the SMARTER principle and my Periodisation I have divided my goals up, these are: -

- Outcome goal: are concerned with the end product e.g. getting onto the Ireland team for Powerlifting.

- Performance goals: relate to the achievement of a performance e.g. getting a personal best lift in the Bench Press.

- Process goals: are centred on the technical elements that underpin performance as a focus for development. E.g. a weak grip caused a foul in the deadlift, this needs to be addressed and fixed so it does not occur again.

- Short Term goals: the building blocks that need to be achieved consistently leading to the successful realisation of long term goal/goals.

- Long Term goals: have a larger objective and only can happen once short term goals have all been completed.

To further enhance my performance I am using the Profile Cycle. The cycle is made up of 4 stages:-

-          Stage 1: Introduction- learn the importance of the programme to you, undertake an honest appraisal, and agree a commitment.

-          Stage 2: Construction- construct a performance profile, and undertake a series of strategies to enhance your desired/optimum profile goals

-          Stage 3: Implementation- make the psychological skills training programme an automatic daily routine and apply it to actual competitive environments

-          Stage 4: Assessment- review and reconstruct your profile.

Below is an example of a Performance Profile.

1/ Set Goals and set areas for Psychological Skills training
2/ achieve optimal motivation
3/ develop decision making
4/ understand the attribution process
5/ evaluate and review
6/ begin performance profiling

Andrew Richardson, Founder of Strength is Never a Weakness Blog

I have a BSc (Hons) in Applied Sport Science and a Merit in my MSc in Sport and Exercise Science and I passed my PGCE at Teesside University.

Now I will be commencing my PhD into "Investigating Sedentary Lifestyles of the Tees Valley" this October 2019.

I am employed by Teesside University Sport and WellBeing Department as a PT/Fitness Instructor.

My long term goal is to become a Sport Science and/or Sport and Exercise Lecturer. I am also keen to contribute to academia via continued research in a quest for new knowledge.

My most recent publications:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1752928X19300216

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1752928X19301076

My passion is for Sport Science which has led to additional interests incorporating Sports Psychology, Body Dysmorphia, AAS, Doping and Strength and Conditioning.

Within these respective fields, I have a passion for Strength Training, Fitness Testing, Periodisation and Tapering.

I write for numerous websites across the UK and Ireland including my own blog Strength is Never a Weakness.

I had my own business for providing training plans for teams and athletes.

I was one of the Irish National Coaches for Powerlifting, and have attained two 3rd places at the first World University Championships,

in Belarus in July 2016.Feel free to email me or call me as I am always looking for the next challenge.

Contact details below;

Facebook: Andrew Richardson (search for)

Facebook Page: @StrengthisNeveraWeakness

Twitter: @arichie17

Instagram: @arichiepowerlifting

Snapchat: @andypowerlifter

Email: a.s.richardson@tees.ac.uk

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-richardson-b0039278

Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Andrew_Richardson7

Tuesday, 28 April 2015

Psychological Effects of PED's & Anabolic Steriods on Body Image & Mental Health

Now the title is quite the grabbing headline don't you think?

The reason's I am writing about this, is as follows;

1/ Most Steroid work/research is done on the physiological effects as that is what the drug's purpose is to increase strength and size. Little has been published in mainstream media about the mental effects. We already know the adverse health effects of steroids, one popular example being the Greg Valentino (used synthol and steroids)case https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPkiRBkSnwg

2/ I did an exam on this at University (so I have all the journals next to me as I write this haha). I personally found it very interesting to write about and learn.

This article is my own views and my own opinion. I am not here to ruffle feathers or cause a massive argument. What I am here to do as an academic studying a science-based degree (Applied Sports Science), is to create a discussion on particular topics. I don't encourage the use of PED's but I have many friends who do use them and I don't treat them any differently. It's their life, let them live it how they choose. They know the risks as it is a drug and all drugs have their safe limits (recommended dosage). We only hear of the dangerous effects of steroids and PED's as people exceed these safe dosages in the pursuit to be World and Olympic Championships. Dave Tate of Elite FTS talks about steroids on how they have advanced sporting performance and are "an athletes ace card". Video is called Human Potential (Dave Tate) Playing your Ace card https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7WUHVA9lqE.

They are banned because they give an unfair advantage, but if everyone is using them in a sport is their use still unfair or do they level the playing field?. Lance Armstrong when told he was a cheater looked up the definition of a cheater which was "to gain an unfair advantage over someone". He then replied "I was not cheating" thereby implying everyone else was too. The most famous drug cheat is probably Ben Johnson Men's 100m won gold then had it stripped from him for the use of anabolic steroids. He was labelled a cheat and failure but many people don't realise is that the person who was given gold (Carl Lewis) he was also caught using a PED months before the event (watch Bigger Stronger Faster documentary link down below explains it all).

We will be touching upon a range of areas within in this piece including;
- Body Image
- Eating Disorders
- Steroidphobia
- Peer Reviewed Paper "Psychological Effects of Endogoenous Testosterone and Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids (50 papers in this). Majority of the article will be centred around this section. The rest will be linked in as all the above ties in with each other.
- Summary

1: Body Image

Body Image is how you view your Physical Self and Self Efficacy is how you value yourself. These two are heavily influenced by intrinsic and extrinsic factors such as the opinions of peers, family, friends, work, social affluence, social class etc. If one isn't happy with how they look or feel they may take "drastic" methods to try and change the way they feel/look. This is linked in with Body Dysmorphia, as it is a disorder that involves the belief that one's own appearance is unusually defective and is not worthy of being shown in public and or it needs fixing.

2: Eating Disorders
These include reducing body weight at an alarming rate

- Anorexia Nervosa/Anorexia Athletica

Intense fear of gaining weight, refusal to maintain bodyweight, excessive exercise in terms of FITT principle (Frequency, Intensity, Type, Time), rarely satisfied with efforts, obsessed with exercise sacrificing relationships and work.

- Bulimia Nervosa

Frequent changes in bodyweight, reoccurring episodes of binge eating, engaging in recurrent inappropriate compensatory behaviour to prevent weight gain.

On the other side increasing size

- Bigorexia (also known as muscle dysmorphia)

Distorted body image, individuals see themselves as being too small, common among bodybuilders. This can lead to athletes taking substances to gain rapid size and or increase in strength (baseball players is one example). This will be discussed heavily in the paper later on.

The paper is by Michel Bahrke of Human Kinetics Publishers (full reference is at end of article)

Now to look at the psychological effects of taking Anabolic Steroids from a range of scenarios (I will only report on the main findings, I will not regurgitate the whole paper);

1/ No human can be ethically allowed to be tested using drugs so we use animals. Studies have found that in monkeys, hormone administration resulted in increases in dominant behaviour in dominant animals and increased submission in subordinate animals. Rats showed less fear or anticipatory anxiety when compared to control animals. Steroids increased aggressiveness in female mice, but not in males.

2/ Human Mood Behaviours when using Anabolic Steroids (non sporting population); Looking at sexual behaviour, men appeared to be more aggressive (both verbal and physical) than women using a self report measuring scale. Men had higher scores on lack of frustration and impulsivity than women. Looking at sexual differences male heterosexuals and homosexuals had no difference on aggression levels. However, female sexual differences showed that heterosexual women were more aggressive than homosexual women. An interesting study done by Booth and Dabbs (1993) showed that men producing a large amounts of testosterone were less likely to marry; if they married were more likely to have a divorce due to extramarital sex and troubled marriage relations.

Socio-economic status is another variable. The high class status seems to correlate with lower testosterone production. Lower class individuals with less money produce more testosterone. in offenders who had done time behind bars there was a noticeable between elevated cortisol levels and reduced violent tendencies.

2.1/ Responses to Winning and Losing; Winners had more testosterone than losers, cortisol levels did not differ between winners and losers. Mood was depressed in losers. If the competition involved high stakes then both teams' testosterone increased pre match and increased only for the winning team post match.

2.2/ Estrogen related Aggression; Estorgen has a significant role in the change in aggression scores during puberty and that testosterone may exert its effect via conversion to estrogen.

2.3/ Male Contraceptive Studies and Mood; Those that used anabolics on a regular basis may of suffered from libido (reduced sex drive). From a study conducted with the World Health Organization, participant's withdrew if they had suffered from increased fatigue, aggressiveness and libido change (10 came under this for their discontinuation of the study)

Steroids may make you stronger but what is happening under all that muscle and strength

2.4/ Effects of Anabolic Steroids on Athletes' Mood and Behaviour; I wont go into detail on this section as it is very "dark" basically there are 8 cases of murder/suicide/homicide/manslaughter all linked in with steroid abuse by athletes/gym users. If you want to read the individual cases see the reference at end of article.

3/ Cross Sectional studies; Out of 138 bodybuilders in a local gym 38% said they had used anabolics , out of these 38, 51% had a change in mood, 34% had an increased libido (testosterone boosters). 22 former elite shot putters,13 of them reported increase in irritability and aggressiveness, distinct feelings of well being reported by 10 and quicker recovery from workouts reported by 5 of them. Out of all the shot putters only 2 believed that elevated levels of aggressiveness and irritability stemmed form their past use of steroid abuse. 20 anabolic using competitive weightlifters were examined and they found that both the steroid group and control where very similar (flamboyant features, no bipolar symptoms). However thee was a significant alcoholic abuse in both groups.

Three are many more studies like these in the report, again see reference end of article. It should be noted that cross sectional studies are also limited in that the only information they provide is an indication of current status, with information regarding previous conditions generally missing

4/ Longitudinal Studies; This part a lot of studies go against one and another. They summarised, while several published reports reveal a pattern of association between use of anabolic steroids by athletes. Increased levels of irritability, aggression, personality disturbance and psychiatric diagnoses, other reports do not. Several reports also document significant alternations in users, moods and at time, violent behaviour. One study indicates a relationship between total weekly steroid dose and the prevalence of mood disorders; several other studies do not.

5/ Effects of Anabolic Steroid's on Body Image; Subjects state that they have suffered from anorexia nervosa or reverse anorexia (bigorexia). All reports of reverse anorexia were by bodybuilders who used steroids and saw themselves as weak and small when in fact they where large and muscular. Those who thought they were small suffered from a form of body dysmorphia known as muscle dysmorphia in sporting circles. It was also found that steroid users scored higher on dimensions of pathological narcissism and significantly lower on clinical ratings of empathy

6/ Effects of Anabolic Steroids on Psychological Dependence and Withdrawal; Looking at a group of weightlifters all of whom use anabolic steroids they reported the following. 94% reported some form of dependence on steroids, 57% reported 3 or more symptoms of dependence.

7/ Methodological Issues; Case studies are limited in their representativeness. They do not necessarily allow valid generalizations to the population from which they came, and they are vulnerable to subjective biases. Causes may be selected because of their dramatic, rather than typical, attributes, or because they neatly fit an observer's preconceptions. Additionally methodological problems that have arisen recently include;

- the impurity and content of anabolic steroids, especially those available at the black market level
- not differentiating between anabolic steroids and corticosteroids in prevalence surveys with adolescents participants. And
- the failure to consider weight training as a confounding variable when examining the psychological and behavioural effects of anabolic steroids.

8/ Weight Training as a Confounding Variable; The fact that many steroid users also dedicated weight trainers has been overlooked in most studies examining the relationship between steroid use and behavioural changes. A triad may exist between steroid us, weight training as part of a "lifestyle", or commitment and behavioural change (including dependence). Weight training and related practices mist be considered potential confounding factors in future studies designed to examine the psychological and behavioural effects of steroids.

9/ Distinguishing Between Anabolic Steroids and Corticosteroids; With steroids being labelled as a "negative" many athletes worry about taking their prescribed medication to treat illness or injury. This has created Steroidphobia; The fear that taking anything with the word "steroid" in it will get them banned from sport. Steroids are heavily used in medicine and many live shave been saved through their use. Bigger, Stronger Faster documentary highlights this point very well. I recommend watching it all if you get the chance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O77cVVOFqbE

Summary of Above Information

After participating in many sports at a range of levels from regional to international, working with beginner to elite athletes, sitting in lectures and reading books on enhancing sports performance. I have come to the conclusion that there is an increasing number of people whom are just cheats and will do what it takes for a piece of metal at the end of the day. There are no drug free sports only drug tested as the idea of fair play has left sports due to human nature striving to be number one no matter the cost.

This, to some of you may be a culture shock but I honestly believe that the Olympics is becoming more and more of a joke as it is not staying true to its Olympic Charter and ideas of fair play.
I use this simple analogy to describe why the Olympics in recent years is breeding more cheaters than winners.

You have an athlete training to be the best in the world at one event, e.g. the men's 100m. This event attracts a large viewing audience (more viewers means more money), viewers will see sponsors' names attached to said athlete (sponsor's net worth grows due to sales of being publicised). The TV companies and sponsors will work together to generate more revenue to only show their athlete on their links. If athlete keeps winning his/her profile grows along with that of the sponsors and TV companies. If athlete is accused of cheating these companies will come in and protect said athlete.

Few Examples of this

Tyson Gay

Has had his suspension lowered from being caught doping. There are numerous reasons why this was lowered, the most obvious one is he is a very marketable athlete and the only one whom can challenge Bolt. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/othersports/article-3053233/Usain-Bolt-says-Tyson-Gay-kicked-sport-caught-doping-ahead-sprinter-s-return.html

Lance Armstrong

I'm sure everyone has watched all the Lance Armstrong documentaries and is now clued up on what he did. He is the most tested athlete in history and has passed every test he has been subjected to. His cycling federation protected him along with significant others he even had an FBI case dropped because he held that much power. Why did he have this much power it is because he is a very marketable athlete, he raised millions for charity and brought other cheaters into the media light to be cut down (could say scapegoat tactics). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cq0QWQ5A7WQ

And the reason why they are protected it is because the athletes are not athletes they are valuable commercial products. Sport isn't a sport anymore it is a business and as a business it will do some shady deals to make more money. Businesses don't mid if they hurt one or two peoples feelings to make more money. People want to see world records get smashed and to do this athletes usually have to turn to PEDs. They will get protected by their sponsors if they are worth the revenue they bring in.

As an athlete if they had a shot to taking the gold medal and they believed everyone as on PED's the would see themselves at a disadvantage to the rest of the competitors. This becomes a circle, those at the top take the drugs and those at the bottom only see reaching the top possible with the use of steroids.

Link all what I have said, back to the mental health of taking these drugs. What happened if the same athlete gets dropped by their TV company and or sponsors? They don't generate the same amount of revenue, they aren't protected they become angry, depressed, annoyed. Marion Jones career is an example of this. She was the first women at an Olympic games to win 5 gold medals to then be caught and lose everything. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/athletics/7184067.stm

Their mental health takes a nose dive as their career is affected so badly, their relationships with others are changed for the worst due to their behaviour as shown from the studies. Their health declines they develop mental health disorders such as depression that can even lead to suicide.

The most famous case of this was Chris Benoit whom committed suicide and killed his entire family. http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Video/playerIndex?id=3320981 Can we blame steroids exclusively? No. However, it was one of the many contributing factors.

Steroids will always be a matter of debate, as Date Tate said "they are already part of the sport" in the video linked earlier in this article. Are steroids the main cause for depression, aggressive tendencies, abuse, etc. Nope but they will facilitate those factors if contributed to any individual with these. People will use steroids for the fame and glory knowing full well the adverse side effects in the long term. As humans' we will do what it takes to win and if that means degrading our mental and physical health for wealth and fame then the majority of people will do that.

Thanks for reading

Reference

M.S. Bahrke. (2000). Psychological Effects of Endogenous Testosterone and Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids. In Anabolic Steroids in Sport and Exercise, Edited by C.E. Yesalis (Champaign, IL; Human Kinetics), 247-278).