Chris Mance II - Mental Skills Coach

The mental side of fatigue starts with body language and self-talk. If you don’t work on the mental side of conditioning against fatigue, the physical side is less effective. This is not to say that the physical capacity of one’s muscles and lungs matter less. Unquestionably, athletes must be physically capable of enduring the stress of fatigue. However, research suggest that fatigue is far more of a mental state than most people realize.

Fatigue as a Mental State = Effort Feels Harder When Your Mind is Weak

To be specific, what it means to say fatigue is mental is that effort feels harder when your mind is weak. Moreover, your mind is weak when you make it a habit of having negative body language and self-talk. Therefore, 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. When a coach tells athletes things like “one play at a time”, “focus”, “relax”, “you got this”, or “keep your head up” it’s not coaches’ speak or pseudo-science.

These mental reminders matter. Remembering the little things to do and not to do in these areas can have a real noticeable impact in fighting fatigue. For example, when you are fighting physical fatigue, don’t:

1. Slump over with your head down.
2. Show signs of distress or discomfort on your face.
3. Get angry, complain, or ruminate about bad calls.
4. 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:

1. “Hustling” with your body language when in front of the competition.
2. Defaulting to a “poker face” but striving to put a genuine smile on your face when appropriate.
3. Laughing off adversity instead of showing signs of frustration.
4. 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 stronger.

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. Secondly, your mind is capable of being stronger than your body. So, if you can use your mind to maintain positive body language and self-talk, you can overcome feelings of fatigue. In other words, you can use the strength of your mind to help your body persevere.

This is not to say you can’t take a mental break in the midst of competition to compose yourself. Taking moments to “reset” is absolutely part of this process. Particularly during time-outs or breaks in action, things like sipping water, re-tying shoes, replacing or adjusting gear, as well as practicing a moment of mindfulness breathing are all helpful mental resets. The key is to not repeat behaviors mindlessly that reinforce the idea that you’re losing the fight against fatigue.

To conclude, when you’re fighting physical fatigue when training or competing, even a slight improvement in performance or a tiny mental edge here and there can have a significant impact to the ultimate outcome. Unquestionably, it’s in your best interest to use your self-talk and body language to help you instead of hurt you.