How Athletes Can Fight Fatigue Summed Up in 4 Do’s and 4 Don’ts
Research suggest that fatigue is far more of a mental state than most people realize. The things you do as a habit with your body language and self-talk play an important role in dictating the impact of fatigue on performance.
This is not rocket science either, coaches with experience intuitively know what to tell athletes who visually show signs of fatigue to help them keep pushing. However, this is not “coaches speak” or pseudo-science. Remembering to do those little things every athlete has been told at one time or another does have a real noticeable impact in fighting fatigue.
For example, when you are fighting physical fatigue, don’t:
- Bend over and put your hands on your knees.
- Show signs of distress or discomfort on your face.
- Put your hands on your head to catch your breath.
- Use negative self-talk to constantly remind yourself that you’re tired.
Instead, fight fatigue by behaving with a belief that you can reenergize yourself by:
- “Hustling” with your body language at all times, even during breaks in action.
- Defaulting to a “poker face” but striving to put a genuine smile on your face.
- Laughing off adversity instead of showing signs of frustration.
- Using positive or neutral self-talk. For example, tell yourself that you love the challenge. Or tell yourself that this challenge will only make you better.
By doing these little things, you gain two main advantages. First, you can fake out your opponent. It’s likely your opponent is facing the same physical fatigue as you. If your opponent is fighting fatigue and believes you are not, it will provide you with an edge. Second, research shows that positive body language and self-talk improves performance. In other words, your mind is stronger than your body and in doing this you can use the strength of your mind to help your body persevere.
In short, when you’re fighting physical fatigue when training or competing, even slight improvements in performance and tiny mental edges here and there can have a significant impact to the ultimate outcome. It is in your best interest to use this information to your advantage.