Three Types of Routines Athletes Must Establish to be Consistent
It’s a fundamental truth that consistency is a requirement for excellence and routines are a requirement for consistency. Routines require discipline, self-control, and willpower to repeat consistently. This means that routines are not instinctive like habits and require that one pushes themself through some form of friction or pain.
When athletes don’t have routines, the friction and pain of competing at a high level is what stops them from being consistent. On the other hand, when an athlete establishes the right routines excellence becomes the rule, not the exception.
As stated in the text book Applying Sports Psychology, athletes need three types of routines to be consistently excellent:
Routines form the physical, psychological, and environmental foundation on which technical skills, physical conditioning, and mental skills can be optimally developed in training and used in competition. Between-performance routines […] enable athletes to maintain a high level of performance consistency throughout a competition. Post-competition routines allow athletes to evaluate their performances, learn important lessons from the competition, and use that information to prepare for future training and competitions.
In summary, the three routines athletes must have at a minimum are:
- Foundational technical skills routines
- Between- (and pre-) performance routines
- Post-competition routines
Having these routines help athletes think less about what’s the right thing to do next, and focus more on doing the right thing, the right way. Unquestionably, doing the right thing the right way is how an athlete becomes consistently excellent.