Our aim is to educate this generation of New Zealand roller skaters to make faster, better, stronger athletes. A wealth of knowledge brought to you by skaters for skaters.
So it has been a long time since my last post on this topic... I could say that I’ve been busy which is true but the truth is that I have procrastinated this topic because I believe it is SO important and has made such a huge impact on my skating throughout pretty much my whole life that I really wanted to get it right.
As always, I had so much to say that I didn’t even know where to start and the task seemed huge in my head and a little overwhelming! Mental training is so important to me that I felt like I needed to get it perfect and the thought sort of paralysed me. It has taken a while for me to reach the conclusion that the best way to start is to just start. As obvious as it seems, sometimes I just need to remind myself that I am one person. And as much as I want to achieve, success will not happen overnight.
So on that note, I decided that the best place to start is actually the very, very beginning and keep it as simple as possible. You might be thinking “duh” at this point but where to even begin...
G O A L S
Not often thought of as a powerful mental tool but it is. Everywhere you look on social media right now goals is sort of a new catchphrase and everything is “goals”. You can have goals about pretty much anything from relationship goals to body goals to brunch goals (yea... that’s a thing). But I’m talking about a slightly different type of goals.
Remember SMART?
S= Specific
M= Measurable
A= Attainable
R= Realistic
T= Time frame
Yea, I hated it too. Ever since it got introduced to me at school and then again at uni, I hate it. It may work for some, but for me it was just a pain (sorry, coach!). I have a different mindset when it comes to goals. I always hated writing them down. To me, writing them down didn’t really help define them because that piece of paper was thrown away and never looked at again. Just because you wrote them down doesn’t mean you feel it in your soul. I always defined them in my head because I found that to be so much more powerful and personal to me. So here’s how I set goals:
1. Have a clear vision (kind of like my version of a long term goal)
I may not know what I wanna do with my life but I always know where I want to get to with skating. Your vision may not necessarily be results based (eg getting first at Nationals) or even performance based. It can simply be a feeling. If you’re an overly anxious person at competitions, your vision for skating may be to enjoy competitions. If you hate trainings but love competitions, your goal may be to simply enjoy every aspect of skating. Defining your vision may take some soul searching so I’ve written a few key questions to ask yourself that may help you get in touch with what you want.
- Why do you skate?
- Who do you skate for? If it’s anyone other than yourself, why not yourself?
- What would make you the happiest in general?
- What do you hope to gain from your skating?
Yea, that got deep and meaningful pretty fast (sorrynotsorry).
2. What are you going to do to make that happen?
It really is that simple. You want to win at Nationals? Then what do you need to work on to get there? You want to stop being anxious before competitions? What needs to be done to get you there? You want to learn to do an axel? Great! What do you need to do?
But it’s not just about what you’re going to do but also the who, where, when and how.
Who is going to help you make your vision a reality, how are they going to help you, who will support you, where can you find the support you need, when will you practise more, how will you get stronger, where will you find people or resources to help you get there...
3. What are you going to do today to make your goal a reality?
This is the most important. “Today” does not have to be just the day. It can be this month, this training session, this next hour, this minute, this second... The beauty of this method of thinking about goals is it’s PROACTIVE and unique to YOU. You decide how little or how big of a chunk out of your goal you want to take. It might be that today, you’re not even training but doing that piece of homework will mean that tomorrow you can go to training worry free. It might be that you’re at work with nothing to eat but you know you’ll have a crap rest of the day if you don’t get something nutritious to fill you up.
For me, I deal with lots of things in my head. My head is an interesting place. Sometimes it can get quite hostile. I have to constantly remind myself to take everything in small steps. So for me, it will always be this one question:
What can I do in this next hour that will get me closer to where I want to be tomorrow?
4. Celebrate each and every step. No matter how big or how small
Everyone thinks medals are the reward. That standing on the podium is somehow representative of how much work you put in. The reality is, only you know how much work you have put in. Of course medals and trophies are amazing. But they’re the icing on the cake. The cake is the blood sweat and tears that got you there. So why would you wait until months from now to celebrate your hard work?
You learned your straight line? Have a dance party! You learned how to three turn? Post it on social media! You managed to get through the day without breaking down? Eat some chocolate! You managed to make a healthy eating choice? Reward yourself with new clothes!
I hate the saying “don’t sweat the small stuff” because it’s the positive small stuff that counts! Everyone forgets that in order to build a freedance or to learn a jump you first had to learn each section of the jump or dance. So don’t forget to give yourself a break and truly celebrate every step of the way.
5. Your goal will look 100% different to everyone else’s.
For this section, I’m going to leave you with this quote:
“Don’t compare your chapter 1 to someone else’s chapter 20″
Confession TIme: I'm more than a little bit obsessed with having hot oats in the morning.
The other day, me and my sister were starving in the afternoon and decided to add quinoa cereal. I didn't know quinoa cereal existed until we saw it in the cupboard! But hey, if I have it, I'm gonna use it. If you don't have quinoa cereal, just skip it. I make it without it every morning. The oats turned out delicious! The quinoa cereal gave it a subtle nutty taste which we loved.
Why quinoa?
It is a low fat, high carb, high protein gluten free grain. Perfect for those vegetarians worried about their protein intake or those meat eaters worried about their cholesterol. It is low in the glycemic index which means it is high energy but releases it slowly to keep you going for longer and doesn't produce a blood sugar spike. The high protein content also keeps you fuller for longer. The quinoa grain is a great substitute for rice or pasta. It has a bit of a nutty flavour (in my opinion).
Why dates?
They're naturally high in sugar and have a high rating on the glycemic index. 1 date has around 60 calories! But don't freak out! Calories are not the enemy as we've been brought up to believe. A calorie represents how much energy is needed to raise the temperature of water by 1 degree. Just because something is high calorie doesn't mean it's unhealthy and just because something is low calorie doesn't mean it's healthy. It's the quality of the calories that's important. Dates are a great way to add sweetness without using white processed sugar. Another great alternative is coconut sugar or bananas.
What you'll need (1 serving):
1/2c whole grain oats
1/4c quinoa cereal
1c water (use 3/4c if you're skipping quinoa)
1/4c choice of milk (I use almond and coconut)
Handful of dates
Toppings:
cacao powder for chocolate flavoured oats
banana
nuts and seeds
cinnamon
Method
1. Add oats, quinoa, dates and liquid to a pot on the stove top
2. Boil over a medium heat
3. Just wait for the liquid to evaporate until they’re at your preferred consistency. I like mine quite thick.
4. Mash the dates into it and top with whatever you want
Pro tip: leave the liquid, oats and dates in the pot over night so all you have to do is turn the heat on in the morning to save time. Makes the oats cook quicker too.
DISCLAIMER: before embarking on your new healthy fitness lifestyle, consult your doctor or a professional. I'm not a personal trainer. The content of this post is based on my sport science degree and own experience. Please ask your fitness instructor at your gym to show you the proper way to perform the exercises before hitting the gym. Stay safe!
As mentioned in a previous post, I'm working on my general strength right now. This is great news because the workouts I'm gonna be sharing with you are perfect for everyone from skaters to coaches, to judges to everyone in between!
For this one you'll need a gym. 3x10 means 3 sets of 10 reps with 30-1min rest depending on your goal. If your goal is strength/toning up, you should be failing at 8-10reps and you should rest for 1min. Ss means super set which means you rest after you've finished both exercises not between exercises.
Warm up:15min moderate pace cardio
3x10 assisted pull ups
My idea for this blog was to have lots of different voices and ideas from lots of different people in different areas of skating. Kate Spencer has written some awesome blog posts for us and Mercedes Carrascosa has also given us her input about her first Oceanias (find them here). If you have something you would like to share with us, feel free to contact me on Facebook.
Today, Anna Harris (2014 senior solo dance representative at Worlds) brings us her energy ball recipe! I love these. They’re the perfect post or pre training snack. Their high sugar and high protein content will keep you feeling satisfied and full of energy for your trainings as well as being a good recovery food post training. I’m so excited to share these with you!
By Anna
Good as a chewy, nutty snack for a burst of energy before/during skating. Highly nutritious and healthy.
The main ingredients are dates, the rest are optional.
Ingredients
Dates – a couple of handfuls
Dried figs – a couple of handfuls If you have any also add other dried fruit: A few dried apricots and a handful of raisins
1/3 cup of cacao powder (recipe says ½ but with the cacao nibs and chocolate coating there would be plenty in these)
1/3 cup coconut
¼ cup cocao nibs (delicious nutrient rich chocolate taste without sugar)
¼ cup chia seeds
About ¼ sunflower seeds
If you have any can add ¼ cup LSA - ground linseed sunflower and almond
can add any of: walnuts, cashew pieces pistachio nuts
Method
1. Combine all ingredients and mix in food processor. The mixture should be sticky enough to roll into balls. Otherwise add a Tblsp of water or fruit juice to mixture, then roll.
2. They are ready to eat! Variation: roll the formed balls in melted dark chocolate. Then leave on tray in fridge until chocolate sets.
DISCLAIMER: I’m not a personal trainer, nor am I saying I am. This is just what I’m doing on top of my own skating. Most of this is science based (graduating at the end of the year) and based on my own experience. Please contact your doctor/physio someone qualified before starting a new exercise regime.
For the next few weeks, I'm going to be sharing some of my workouts with you. They will be an example of the sort of thing I'm doing at the moment so if you're a beginner or you've never been to the gym before, I would definitely get some help with learning the proper form for all new exercises and starting really light. I would also check with your doctor before starting any new exercise regime especially if you have diabetes, are over weight, smoke, any chronic illness or have an injury.
For new exercises, I make sure to YouTube how to do it or ask one of the trainers at the gym to help me. Another useful tool to use is the mirrors! Believe it or not, they're not just there to check yourself out while you workout! I check my form all the time on them to avoid injuries.
Today I'm going to talk you through how I like to structure my programmes.
Strength phase
At the moment, I'm concentrating a lot on building strength. I'm doing hardly any cardio (hiit maybe once or twice a week. Check previous post on how to do this), I'm skating twice or 3 times a week and I'm trying to lift heavy at least 4 times a week. My goal for the next little while is to get strong (for example, I really want to hit 80kg back squat by the end of the year. I'm at 60kg at the moment). It is the same goal I have after every competition. This is the time to settle into new dances, make up new style/free dances and nail the new steps. It's kind of the "building blocks phase" with not much emphasis on aerobic fitness.
General aerobic fitness +strength
The next phase is where I build general aerobic fitness. I will probably be skating more by the time I hit this phase. This is the time where you've finished your programmes, you're starting to get confident in your new content but you feel like you're struggling when you get near the end of the programmes. After focusing for so long on strength, you get aerobically unfit pretty fast! What I like to do is start off with a few weeks of steady state cardio (no more than 20min on the bike 2-3 times a week + skating training) and then move on to some interval based training. Remember that when you're on skates, this counts as interval training (as long as you don't sit around doing nothing for too long) so you can't follow usual guidelines of trying to do hiit 3 times a week if you're also skating 3 times a week. If you're still going to do strength training during this time (which I do) that would leave you absolutely exhausted and do the opposite of helping your skating. Remember, the gym/off skate training is there to enhance your skating. Not make it worse. I would aim to do 3-4 interval sessions total (including your skating) plus 3-4 strength training sessions concentrating on all major body groups and maintaining/building on the strength you built before this. This phase is just to prepare you for what comes next... Which is the hardest stage of training (in my opinion)
Power + specific sport related exercise
This is where I do my plyometric work to develop power. For this you need strength and anaerobic fitness (interval training-start stop type stuff). This is the phase where you get fast and jump higher. It is the most specific to skating. This involves jump lunges, sprints, box jumps, squat jumps, plyo push ups, off skate jumps (although you can be doing these right from the start if you're a free skater- give the other gym goers a show) or lifting lighter than usual weights at a faster pace. It is important that prior to this type of training that you build a base of strength and anaerobic fitness in order to get through power workouts.
Taper phase
People often forget this even though it's the most important! 2-3 weeks prior to competition you should reduce the VOLUME of your training (less training sessions) but keep the intensity as high as your last phase. So if you followed this type of programme, you would keep doing power/plyo training and back to back routines but maybe skate only 2-3 times a week. Keep the intensity high, for less amount of time. I like to take 2-3 days completely off before travelling to competition and concentrate on stretching and breathing/mental practise.
So here's a summary of what a programme would include (I have the luxury of a long break so I can come back stronger than ever. Time lines are only a rough guide):
Strength training phase 3-4+ months prior to competition
4-5times a week 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps You should fail on the last rep
1-3 cardio sessions including skating
General aerobic fitness +strength 2-3 months prior
3-4 sets of 8-12 reps Weight should make you fail on the last rep
Add in 2-3 extra general cardio sessions on top of skating
1-2 hiit sessions (on or off skates)
Power + specific sport related exercise 1-2 months prior
2-3 power/plyo sessions a week
1-2 strength sessions a week
3-4 skating sessions
Taper (depends on what you built up to in previous phase. weights should stay the same. Don’t start anything new)
1-2 power/plyo
1-2 cardio
2-3 skating sessions (high intensity)
As you can see, most of the work is happening 2-3 months prior to competitions. This is the ideal but not always possible. There are a million ways to structure programmes. This is the way I've chose to structure mine this time because of all the time I have on my hands. This doesn't mean you can't do it any other way. Different trainers will have different techniques/philosophies/experiences. Trainers learn through trial and error. I haven't always kept to this because sometimes life happens and this isn't realistic. Sometimes I skip phases or I don't even have phases and just do whatever. Sometimes I only skate and that's it!
What I'm trying to say is this is only 1 way out of a million ways to train for skating. Maybe this isn't even the best but this is what I'm going to follow for now based on what I've learnt from ice skating books, my sport science degree and my own experience.
Next week I'll be sharing a workout with you so look out for that!
As you may know by now, I believe in mental training. I have used visual imagery, mantras, meditation, positive self talk and keyword repetition pretty much at every competition. My personal experience with mental training is a positive one and I use it for my own skating and life and also teach my skaters how to use it. I believe that your mind can either make you or break you. How many times have you seen a talented athlete not perform their best because they fall victim to their own anxieties? How do you think they would have performed had they been taught how to regulate their emotions, thoughts, feelings? How many times has your coach (or you’ve stood there as the coach) told you to do the jump/step/sequence/spin again because you’re still making the same mistake and no matter how hard you try, you just can’t do it? If you’ve been in this situation, keep reading and you might just find out something you didn’t know before.
I think it’s important that we as coaches educate ourselves in mental techniques to help our athletes over come their own mental struggles and teach the skater to talk to themselves in a positive and encouraging way. No matter what you say to your athlete, it means nothing if they don’t actually believe you. You can be saying the best things in the world but if they are going to talk to themselves negatively before a competition, they won’t perform their best. Often it feels like there’s nothing you can do as a coach and a skater. You begin to feel like the skater is doing it to themselves but a negative head space is not something you can simply “snap out of”. Anxiety and stress have very real mental and physical consequences and it is important to understand this as a skater and a coach. I have been there both as a skater and as a coach. Some times I have let my head run away with me and allowed it to ruin my competition. But I have also been there and over come these thoughts as a skater and helped my skaters over come them as well. Skaters: It is not as hopeless as you may think. A negative head space is just that, a head space.You got yourself into it and you are capable of getting yourself out with the right tools. You do not have to suffer and succumb to your negative thoughts. You don’t have to accept them as fact. They are just thoughts. And coaches, just because you watch a skater “self destruct” before a competition, does not mean this has to be the reality forever. Not all is lost. I have never known of a skater who puts themselves down on purpose. They just need your help to learn how to regain control over their own head. It is possible with time and effort to turn it around. It won’t happen overnight but with perseverance, it is possible. I am here to educate you on how to get yourself (or your skater) out of it and hopefully convince you that it is worth learning about.
Just to back up my point of view, we’ve been over this in one of my neuroscience classes (shoutout to sportsci 305). One study stood out to me and really illustrated what I already knew to be true. I’ll quickly summarise it here so you don’t have to read boring articles. They gathered people who had never played the piano before and were asked to play a piece. Then they were given time to physically practise, mentally practise or not practise at all. They were tested before and after and the number of errors were counted. Obviously, the group who didn’t practise did the worst and the group that physically practised did the best. However the mental practise group still improved even though they’d done no physical training. So mental practise is beneficial but not the absolute best by itself. The best part of this study was that they didn’t stop there. They then combined physical and mental practise and the group that did both made even fewer errors and performed better than the physical practise group! When they said this I was sitting in class like duh! Of course it worked! I do this every day! But now I know I’m not just some hippie with this weird idea because it’s been scientifically proven.
Just to quickly explain how, when you do a movement and you practise, your brain gets more efficient and your nerves will “fire” faster and quicker the next time you do it until it becomes so fast that you stop thinking about it. This is what’s happening when you feel something becomes easier (and the reason why you must practise), your brain is becoming more efficient at performing the skill. It’s essentially building a “map” of how to do the skill. With mental practise, it is sort of like you’re preparing (priming) your map of the skill without even doing it physically. So when you go to practise, your brain already has a map of which pathways and nerves it wants to activate in order to perform the skill. If you were to look at brain activity during mental practise and physical practise, the same pathways and areas of the brain woul light up because they follow the same map. (Message me if you want more info cos this could get really sciencey really quickly)
Now that the boring stuff is out of the way, I want to bring up an example of how I use this mysterious mental practise to make myself and my athletes mentally stronger and therefore better performers. Today I just want to focus on why I think this is important and give you the evidence to convince you that this is worth spending time on to develop your skating. Later on I’ll go more into the “how”.
So I want to talk about my sister Mercedes. I’ve been coaching Mercedes in free skating for a while now and I’ve been mentored by Senior coaches (shout out to Anna, Jacqui and Clare for all their help with Mercedes) in this area because obviously I’m a dance skater (but did you know I started off as a free skater?!). At nationals, I was in the marshalling area before Cadet free skating with Anna and we both knew it just wasn’t going to be a good free skating day. In my opinion, free skating is so temperamental. You’re either on or you’re off. You have to be so mentally strong to pull yourself out of bad free skating day and into a good one. It takes a lot of mental strength to pull off a perfect routine and I take my hat off to free skaters cos I really don’t know how they hold that amount of concentration for so long.
Anyway, the warm up had not gone well. Being a coach in the marshalling area and watching your skater fall during their warm up and beating themselves up about it, sucks. Lucky for me, Mercedes was the last skater in her group and it was long programme which meant I had 15 minutes to turn it all around. I knew she could do the stuff, all she needed was a new head space. Also lucky for me, Mercedes knows how I am about mental training and trusts that it works because she’s done it a million times. This is another important point. In order for this to work, you also have to work. Don’t think that a few breathing exercises will turn you into a super skater. You have to actively work at this every training session and every competition. You have to build your mind just like you build your body. You don’t just wake up and suddenly you’re mentally strong because you’ve learnt how to breathe. The exercises are easier said than done.They take up concentration, discipline and practise to master.
So here’s what I did. I took Mercedes away from the marshalling into the toilets and played some calming music through headphones and guided her through the following:
- with eyes closed, breathe into your belly through your nose as slowly and deeply as you can, hold for a few seconds then let it out as slowly and lightly as possible through your mouth. Repeat 5 times or more. Concentrate on breathing and nothing else. Forget where you are.
- Come back to normal deep breaths and feel your body on the seat (grounding yourself in the moment). Feel where your body is touching the seat and “scan” your body. Start at the top of your head and work your way down feeling every part of of your body. Notice how it feels but don’t react. There is no right or wrong way to feel. Thoughts will come and go because that’s what brains do but you don’t have to explore any thoughts. You just think. You simply notice the feeling or thought and move on. This takes a lot of practise to master. It is a combination of grounding yourself in the present and mindfulness.
- when she’d scanned her whole body, I got her to go through her routine in her head. This is motor imagery. You have to try and feel every single muscle and really concentrate on every movement. She went through her routine with music as well.
- then I got her to go through her routine off skates with her music but I re-focused her mind. I gave her a character to focus on. Since this is a Frozen routine, I told her that Elsa was going to do her long programme. I told her to let Mercedes worry about her long programme later. “Let Elsa take over and really become the character (Also a trick to making free skating more enjoyable to watch). Mercedes can have a bad free skating day but Elsa is a queen and she’s here to slay this programme.”
This may sound hilarious and almost too far but it works! It takes pressure off “Mercedes” because she’s not the one going out there, it’s Elsa. Your body knows the routine and what to do. You just have to take your mind on a break and let your body do the skating. After all the practise you have done leading up to a competition, your mind can just take a break. Trust your body.
Often what keeps us from enjoying our sport is the fear of letting yourself down. By giving yourself a character, you take that fear away because it’s no longer you that does the routine. I use this trick all the time when I’m feeling anxious.
And it worked! After falling on almost every element in the warm up, Mercedes managed an almost clean long programme with only 1 fall. It may have worked a little too well though cos she got a little too far into the character and started doing a spin instead of a double loop! (Elsa just wanted to do that spin again cos it worked so well the first time haha!)
I fully believe that if she had been the first skater in her group, things would have gone very differently. I’m looking forward to writing more about mental training because it’s something that I’ve used countless times and something I’m very passionate about so stay tuned!
I've stopped skating now but I went to the gym today and trained back and chest. Was pretty chill. This of you wondering, I went to the YMCA for $5 for the whole week so pretty happy with that!
Breakfast: oats again cos I'm boring. Check previous post for the recipe.
Lunch: falafel pita pit in a whole grain wrap! I like mine with lettuce, tomato, avocado, hummus, mushroom, capsicum, onion, carrot, corn, salt and pepper. So delicious!
Snack: avocado on rye bread and slice of pineapple
Snack: chilli lime corn chips that I used for the nachos
Dinner 1: nachos with beans, veges and guacamole
Dinner 2: nachos with beans, veges, spinach and guacamole Yep so I had two dinners tonight... Cos why not. It's nachos. It'd be rude not to.
Sweated buckets during cadet long programmes. I love intense grades!! Nothing more exciting than watching so many good skaters all at once.
Today Mercedes had dance and short programme and I had freedance. Keep reading to find out who Serena is....
Breakfast: too cold for a green smoothie so oats again. Yes I'm obsessed. No I'm not going to stop. 1/2c oats with dates and 2 kiwi fruit and coffee.
Snack: cashews almonds and dates in marshalling with Mercedes between her solo dance skates.
Snack 2: 2 mandarins and more dates
Lunch: guacamole on ryvita crackers. We found a lemon tree in our motel so you'll be seeing a lot of this. 1 1/2 avos, juice from 1 lemon, salt and pepper topped with spinach leaves. Mercedes had some as well and she also had brown rice and ravioli that was leftover from last night's dinner
Snack 3: green smoothie with 2 1/2 bananas, spinach leaves, coconut almond milk, water, peanut butter. Some more dates and mandarins too.
Dinner: Mum found some spelt flour pasta at the supermarket so had that with veges, tomato pasta sauce and lentils
Snack 4: chocolate after freedance competition!
I had such a good time performing my freedance. It was so much fun. I always name my characters and I make a story up for them. For example in my Irish freedance, my name was Philly from Ireland and I had a whole story built up that would help me get in the zone. I can’t remember it exactly but for every music change I would picture a different scene with different emotions. For this one, my name was Serena. My inspiration for the name is Serena Van Der Woodsen from gossip girl because you're not going to find a show where the girls are more catty than they are! So yea, thought that was interesting to share and maybe you guys can start naming your alter egos as well! The idea is to make your story as detailed and as personal as you can. You don’t have to share it with anyone, it just has to mean something to you. It’s one of my many tricks I use to get “in the zone”.
Official practice went well! A bit sleepy but just wanted to relax into the floor and not stress so mission accomplished! Today was busy so I’m pretty happy with how I kept it together. Definitely thankful I don’t have more than one event. Lots of food was eaten!
Breakfast: A bit of a fail since I thought I was having green tea but was actually chamomile and I ended up all sleepy for training. Oops! Still had 1/2c oats cooked in water with dates and topped with banana. Dates are a great snack I have all the time! Full of energy and are super sweet. Mercedes had the peanut butter on gluten free toast with a banana and a hot chocolate.
Post training snack: coffee with almond and coconut milk (cos I feel so asleep after chamomile tea), a kumara cookie, 2 mandarins and a handful of cashew nuts (more than pictured.. Started eating them before I took a photo).
Post freedance training snack: provided by Anna Harris: I had a fig and cacao bliss ball. Absolutely delicious and just the right amount of energy needed for after training. I'm going to get Anna to give us the recipe so keep a look out for that!
Lunch after second training: Pumpkin and feta spinach pasta salad from new world deli. I give it a 3/10. I don't really like cheese and this was very cheesy so I had to pick it out... But if you like cheese, have this! They have lots of other quick healthy-ish options at the new world too! Mercedes had the same but there's lasagne and spaghetti bolognese too!
Another snack: I brought our new blender with us so I can have some yum smoothies! Green smoothie with 2 1/2 bananas, spinach leaves, 1tbsp peanut butter, almond and coconut milk and water. Big handful of dates dipped in peanut butter.
Dinner: Thanks to mum for providing the goods! She had time to go shopping today so she cooked up a stir fry and brown rice. The veges come already cut up in a bag and even have their own sauces! The brown rice also comes pre cooked in those sachets so it just goes in the microwave. So mum cooked this before we left for opening and then I had it after my competition!
Another snack: Avocado on a ryvita cracker, green tea and a square of lindt almond chocolate.
Pretty happy with my compulsories tonight! For me, it's all about how I feel and how well I think I did and I'm proud of what I put out there on the floor. Can't wait for freedance tomorrow!!
Road trip and unofficial training day! I believe in keeping it simple and eating as many "real" ingredients as possible. Yes it's a struggle to keep 100% healthy 100% of the time but that's not what I'm about. I'm not here to show you how to get rock hard abs and by reading these posts you're not going to suddenly have the perfect diet and never have to go to the doctor again. It's unrealistic and restricting and may be detrimental to your overall health to worry about every single bite of food you eat. It'd be wonderful to be able to have a chef on hand feeding you organic, locally sourced, unprocessed foods 24/7 but let's be honest, that's unrealistic and most of us don't have the time to make that type of food. My goal is to share what I've learnt about food and what works for me whilst showing you that even though I preach healthy food, I'm definitely not 100% healthy. Nutrition is so personal and what works for me, may not work for you but in saying that. I won't be eating as much of my normal food while I'm away, I'll have to make choices that sometimes aren't that healthy but I'm not going to exclude them from the blog. I'm going to be 100% honest about what I eat throughout the week. I think you'll be surprised at the amount of food I eat and the fact that yea I encourage whole clean foods but balance between the healthy and unhealthy is what I strive for.
Breakfast: This is a favourite of mine! You'll be seeing a lot more oat combinations throughout the week. Oats cooked on stove top (1/2c oats, 1c liquid-water and/or milk, frozen berries, 5 dates, 1/2 banana) and coffee (cacao powder, coffee and coconut almond milk)
Snack: banana and 2 kumara cookies. (Recipe is in a previous post) delicious and the perfect combination of bitter and sweet. Shout out to Mercedes for making it happen so we have snacks for the week!
Lunch: On the way down, we stopped at a cafe and they had nothing I wanted to eat. So had to wait a bit but then we stopped at the next cafe and found this roast vege salad! I don't really like real salads so disguising them as a roast is the perfect compromise for me. Look at how colourful it is! Mercedes got the same thing but in a wrap and with pesto.
Snack: another cookie, another banana and shared a wrap that was leftover from lunch with Mercedes. Same filling as my salad above but with pesto.
Dinner: burger fuel! Yes I eat fast food but I make it as healthy as possible! I had a v dub vege burger (which has pumpkin, carrot and ginger as a patty) without cheese and without aioli. I added avocado and left the rest as is! Burger fuel is a great option when you don't have time to go to the supermarket during a competition and need something quick. Their ingredients are of higher quality than normal fast food places. Other good fast options are salads from cafes or deli supermarkets, sushi, smoothies (but watch the ingredients). All it takes is a little mindful eating and trying to make the best choice out of the things available.
Congratulations if you've made it this far! Thanks for keeping up with me today. I'll be back tomorrow with my next food/nationals update and some more delicious food ideas.
Tomorrow we're starting nationals in New Plymouth! I'm very excited for this competition and to see everyone down there. I’m going to be busy coaching as well as competing. We have a long but rewarding week ahead of us...
I had an idea the other day, I thought I would share what I eat during competitions! My idea for this is to share healthy quick and easy meals and some easy recipes that I use during competitions. I'm not doing this because I think I have the perfect diet and that everyone should eat like I do. This is not by any means exactly what you should eat because everyone has different nutrient and energy needs. This is only an example of what I personally eat.
I don't believe I'm perfect or that the perfect diet even exists but I thought maybe by recording what I eat, it'll give some of you ideas and quick and healthy recipes that I use during competitions. So everyday this week, I'm gonna be taking photos of my meals and posting them on here (and hopefully with some recipes as well). I'll try my best to get as many meals as I can during this busy week and also record some of what Mercedes eats cos she's skating twice as much and has different tastes to me.
So starting off with one of mine and Mercedes' favourite competition snacks, my mum's kumara cookies with dark chocolate!
Kumara Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
1 cooked medium orange kumara/sweet potato
200g coconut sugar
2 eggs 120ml organic coconut oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
250g wholewheat flour
1½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground nutmeg
Pinch of salt
100g Lindt 85% dark choc block chopped up
Directions
1. Cook the kumara until soft and then mash.
2. Whisk eggs and coconut sugar together until pale then add vanilla and melted coconut oil. Fold in the kumara.
3. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder and soda, spices and salt.
4. Add kumara mixture in then mix it in. Fold in the choc chunks.
Finally got around to uploading part 2 of Kate’s write up! Aside from skating, Kate has been a competitive runner so she knows a thing or two about proper nutrition before and after competitions.
I’m gonna be starting a challenge to get everyone in shape for nationals so look out for that in the next few days!
Macarena
By Kate Spencer
An athletes performance depends more on long term dietary practices than the food consumption just before or after an event. What an athlete eats before and after a training session and competition, however, can have both physiological and psychological effects on performance.
Precompetition Food Consumption
Although there are a few absolute guidelines for the specific foods that should constitute a precompetition meal, for many athletes precompetition eating is ritualistic. It is important to appreciate an athletes concerns and beliefs about precompetition eating while at the same time understanding the physiological aspects. There are numerous reccommendations on timing, amount, and types of food for precompetition meals that appear in sport nutrition publications; however, many recommendations are not supported by scientific data and may not be appropriate for all athletes. There are a few points to consider when planning your precompetition meal.
Purpose
The primary purpose of the precompetition meal is to provide fluid and energy to the athlete during the performance. Foods and beverages consumed should not interfere with the physiological aspects of the athletes performance.
Timing
The most common recommendation is to eat 3 to 4 hours prior to the event to avoid becoming nauseated or uncomfortable during competition. This time frame is probably more appropriate for aerobic endurance athletes, such as runners, who often experience abdominal discomfort. Experience shows that the optimal timing of precompetition eating varies greatly from athlete to athlete, however, some athletes can eat a meal just minutes before an event; others can eat virtually nothing for up to 12 hours before competition.
The following are athletes who should allow at least 3 to 4 hours between a meal and practice or competition:
- Athletes who participate in contact sports with high risk of injury or likelihood of being hit in the stomach.
- Athletes who lose appetite or feel nauseated shortly before training or competition. Eating before gastric distress occurs allows the athlete to get the calories needed and can prevent vomiting related to nervousness.
- Athletes who get diarrhea shortly before the event. Anxiety increases gastric peristalsis (contractions that move food through the gastrointestinal tract). Eating can stimulate the bowels even more. Consuming food well ahead of the event helps prevent an untimely trip to the rest room.
- Athletes who exercise in the heat. Dehydration increases the likelihood of stomach aches, gas or stomach cramping.
- Athletes who participate in a high-intensity sport with a lot of running or jumping. While some athletes can handle a full stomach, the jarring taken by the body increases risk of stomach discomfort.
The following athletes should time food consumption to as close as 30mins before competition as possible and should eat during competition:
- Athletes who feel uncomfortably hungry during the event. Hunger can be distracting.
- Athletes who have a tendency to feel shaky or weak. These sensations can be symptoms of low blood sugar.
- Athletes who participate in an aerobic endurance event and want to maximise carbohydrate stores.
Some athletes who participate in long events (tournaments, all- day meets) like to eat shortly beforehand and continue snacking during competition to keep energy high and prevent hunger.
Practical Considerations
Eating foods that you don’t like at a time when nervous tension is high can cause nausea and vomiting. Therefore, personal preference and food tolerance must be considered. It is important for athletes to consume food and beverages
- That they like
- That they tolerate well,
- That they are used to consuming, and
- That they believe result in a winning performance.
Record keeping can be useful in helping athletes determine their best precompetition regimen. Recording the types and amounts of foods eaten, when in relation to the competition they were eaten (e.g 2 hours prior), how the athlete felt at the time of the event, and performance outcome can serve as a guide for fine-tuning the precompetition meal.
I was once told by my running coach to have a good meal of pasta the night before a race. I won the race the next day. From then on I always had pasta the night before any running or skating competition.
Carbohydrate Loading
Carb loading is not essential however it is a technique used to enhance muscle glycogen prior to long-term aerobic exercise. The most effective regimen with the fewest side effects is three days of a high-carbohydrate diet in concert with tapering exercise the week before the competition and complete rest the day before the event. The degree of benefit from carb loading varies among individuals, even among aerobic endurance athletes, and therefore athletes should determine the value of this regimen before competition. Some athletes will experience side effects of this diet such as water retention and weight gain, flatulence and diarrhea on very high carb diets.
Post Exercise Food Consumption
It is suggested that high-GI foods consumed after exercise replenish glycogen faster than low-GI foods. For athletes who are training two or three times a day or who do not have long periods of time to recover, immediate consumption of carbohydrate in the form of foods or supplements may be beneficial. Consuming a well-balanced meal of every day foods such as fruit, vegetables and lean meat or fish ensures the availability of all substrates for adequate recovery, including amino acids.
If you think that a meal from Maccas, KFC, Carls Jr or BK will do the trick you need to get real and have a serious think about whether you should continue calling yourself an athlete.
Food consumption is such an important part of any athletes performance, eating balanced meals can do so much more for your health and performance than most people think. The amount of energy and calories that food possesses is crucial to performance. The number of calories an athlete needs depends on body size, demand of the sport, length of training, training conditions and age. Maintaining adequate caloric intake to support your training and competitive schedule is imperative if you want to be a successful athlete!
Just got back from competing at Oceanias and it was so fun! It was my first international competition in senior but more importantly, my first competition after taking some time off to recover from my injuries. Lately I've been dealing with stress and anxiety so I couldn't be happier that I didn't let that get in the way of competing.
This post is aimed at those who just got back from Oceanias but also I felt like doing a bit of a personal update on what I'm planning on doing.
Rest
First thing I'm doing, is resting. I'm taking 2 complete weeks off from the gym and skating to help the swelling in my ankles go down. This is gonna be great for me as I have a million assignments and tests coming up for uni so it's perfect timing. I'm only going to be on my skates if I'm coaching. Mentally, taking breaks is a great idea. Even if you don't want to. It's so mentally exhausting to be on the go 24/7. It's better to force some time off so you can come back with excitement and enthusiasm to your trainings rather than being forced to take a break at an inconvenient time because you’re too stressed out and can’t handle it any more. Trust me, I’m speaking from experience here. Taking a week off close to Oceanias is not something I recommend. This is a great way to avoid burning out or getting bored with the sport. Everyone hates skating at some stage but it sucks when good skaters hate it just because they did not take the time off they needed to come back fresh.
Refuel
This is going to be a bit different to what you expect. Before competing, I know me and a few others cut out "treats" from their diet so they could feel their best on competition day. Well guess what, this is the perfect time to have all the things you missed! Yep! I'm telling you you're allowed to have some sugar and alcohol (if you're over 18)! Not in excess but some. (This only goes for those who leading up to competition deliberately cut out fast food, sugar and other stuff). However, don't make this an excuse for continuing with your bad eating habits. Have your treats and then get back to healthy eating asap so you can feel your best when you start training again. Do you think your diet needs some adjusting? Now is the time to start thinking about what foods are going to allow you to train and compete at your absolute best. Need help? Nutritionists are a great way to get you on track.
Recover/rehab
So if you're taking a break, what will you do to recover? If you have injuries or pain, now is the time to visit the physio/doctor/osteopath/naturopath/chiropractor. First thing I did Monday morning was get a neuromuscular massage from the naturopath I’ve been visiting about my tendinitis. But, just because you're not training doesn't mean you do nothing. Even though I won't be training, I may still fit in a few walks and I'll still be coaching so I'll be fairly active. I’m definitely going to concentrate on stretching everything out and making sure I improve my flexibility before I go back to training. Nutrition is a huge part of recovery and your muscles and injuries will not thank you if you're eating crappy food.
Re-think/plan
It’s not common that skaters get time off. so if you are taking some off, this is the perfect time to start planning ahead. Now is the time to set new goals, plan your trainings and re think your routine (is it working? Do I want a new one? do I have time for a new one?). Maybe you know your off skate training needs some work but you don't know where the start (hello, I'm right here). Do you need to work on being a mentally stronger skater? Now is the time to start thinking about and practising arousal regulation techniques. Whatever it is you want to improve on, now is the time to plan it. It doesn’t have to be formal planning but having a think about what you want to achieve, who can help you achieve it and communicating that with your coach is a good idea. I'm already planning my first gym workout, what I'm skating to next and what I have to work on!
Hope this was interesting and helped you consider taking a break at some point!
There’s 2 weeks left until Oceanias. There’s lots going on in everyone’s lives with work, uni or school not to mention trainings! Stress is at an all time high right now and some of you may feel like you’re running out of time! If this sounds like you, what should you be doing? Or more importantly, what shouldn’t you be doing?
What not to do:
First off, what you SHOULDN’T be doing is training harder than you have for the past few weeks. I get that it’s frustrating when you have only limited time and you haven’t got anything nailed and you feel like you’re about to breakdown every training because you can’t get anything right and so you train harder because that’s how you’ll get that routine perfect, right? WRONG. By doing this not only will you be tiring yourself out and draining yourself before a big competition, but you will increase the risk of injury. The more stressed we are, the higher the risk because the less careful we become. This is the time to taper off to save yourself for Oceanias. What you don’t have nailed by now, you won’t have nailed by Oceanias. This is the time for tidying things up not putting things together.
What you SHOULD do:
-Rehab: BIG part of the weeks leading up to Oceanias. Educate yourself on foam rolling for sore muscles. Get yourself some arnica cream, visit a physio, get a massage, STRETCH the sore muscles, SLEEP, get some good nutritious food in you (lots of fruit, lots of VEGETABLES, whole grains and complex carbs like brown rice/pasta/kumara and some high quality protein such as beans, spinach, kale, chicken, lean beef, no processed stuff. If it’s in a box and has lots of ingredients, it’s probably not good for you) cut the fast food and junk (no athlete should ever be eating fast food on a regular basis in the first place anyway), drink plenty of water and concentrate on getting a good warm up and warm down routine that you can repeat every time you come to training, official trainings and competition.
-Routines: if you’re not already, only do routines. Stick to this as much as you can. After a warm up, go straight into your routines with music. Pretend you’re performing every time. Do NOT tire yourself out every training. This is your recovery time.
-Mental training: Huge part of this crucial time. Imagine competition day in your head. Do your hair and make up in your head, put on your leo, warm up, imagine the crowd and the other skaters, what you will do at the marshalling area, then especially concentrate on your performance. Imagine coming off the floor and feeling good. Do this every time before you fall asleep, on the bus, in the car on the way to school/training, when you wake up or when warming up or down for skating. Practise your breathing when imagining the moment before you’re just about to go on the floor. Picture your routines in as much detail as possible. Listen to your music. Practise difficult steps/jumps/spins in your head if they’re not working. This is a great way to avoid getting tired/injured but still getting training in. I’ve relied almost entirely on visualisation this year because of lack of time and dealing with injuries and stress.
Off skate training: Concentrate on rehab. Lots of gentle stretching, lots of visualisation. The idea is to maintain your fitness, not improve it. If you’re unfit now, you’re gonna be unfit for oceas. It’s now too late to start anything new so keep doing what you’ve been doing cos there’s no point in risking an injury. If you’ve been doing some training at the gym, take it easy, be smart, don’t try new things/weights. The week right before we leave, do not do off skate. Only stretch and concentrate on getting your performance together.
This is definitely what I’m feeling right now so this post is as much directed at me as it is to you. I often find I know all the right things but I don’t necessarily do them. If this is you as well, take this as a reminder that you should be slowing down. So let’s take some deep breaths and trust that your training up until now will come together right when you need it. You have done everything you can. Now let’s just enjoy it! And if you don't feel ready, fake it till you make it
This topic is just as important as our last post on discipline and motivation. It is important to know when to push through the pain and laziness and when to stop before we do some real damage to our bodies! First off, we have to get in touch with our body so that we are aware of when to go for it and when to back off. I touched on this at the squad and I want to expand on what I mean and also fill in those skaters who missed out.
Photography by Laurelle Jones
Mindfulness
Paola Fraschini wrote an amazing piece on mindfulness. What I took from her article was that it is important to just be in the moment. Right now. The past is gone and the future you can't help. Being in the moment will mean something different to everyone. For me, it is about taking the time to close my eyes, lay down and just breathe while I concentrate on moving around my body with my mind to relax every body part. For others, in times of stress, it is as simple as closing your eyes and taking a few breaths, attending a yoga class, walking outside, spending time with your pet and just really ground yourself in the moment. Some people may call this Meditation. But don't be scared off by the name, meditation isn't only for experts and it doesn't have to mean you lay there for hours repeating "om" in your head. It is simply just about being. At the squad, I did this with the skaters by getting them to close their eyes, breathe and try focus on and answer the following few questions:
Worst performance: what happened before/during/after. Pick out details/feelings/rituals of the competition. Sigh and let it go
Best performance:what happened before/during/after. Spend sometime reliving the glory. Pick out details/feelings/rituals of the competition. Sigh and let it go
Come back to the present and think of what you want to achieve today. Think of some people who can help you achieve it. Think of some ways you can achieve it. After a few breaths, evaluate how you feel. How does your body feel, what is going through your mind? This is not about positive or negative feelings. It is not about stopping thinking altogether, it is just noticing that you're having these thoughts and then watching them pass you by in your mind. I like this little ritual because it can be done anywhere at any time and it acknowledges the past (the good and the bad) and then you can move forward.
Self awareness
With mindfulness, comes self awareness. They can be roped into one but self I like to separate them. To me, self awareness is more about being in touch with how your body is feeling and operating physically and emotionally. Once you master this through mindful practise, you will realise instantly when something is off. You will learn to recognise the difference between an off day and something being seriously wrong in order to avoid injury.
When to stop
This is where the honesty comes in. Knowing the difference between muscular pain because you're working hard and pain because you're doing damage is important. The next step is to be honest with yourself and your coach. Don't think that I'm telling you that just because you're a little sore, you can tell your coach and they have to let you off. Be honest. when your body is telling you to stop, you have to stop.
Signs that mean you should probably stop:
-Dizziness/nausea at mild exertion
-restrictive, painful feelings in joints that you can usually move through a bigger range of motion
-feeling like your mind is foggy and you're making mistakes even after a proper warm up and getting your heart rate up (you can sometimes wake right up if you push yourself through the first few minutes thanks to endorphins)
-old injuries flaring due to stress
What does stopping mean?
When I say stop, it's a matter of reassessing the situation. Take a step back and say ok I'm sore here when I do this. What do I do? If this is the case, stop doing the thing that hurts. Communicate this to your coach. Do something else instead. Stopping doesn't necessarily mean you get to go home and skip training just because your wrist hurts when you twist it. You can still keep going but just avoid doing that certain movement. It's about looking after your body and being true and honest with yourself.
That's all I have to say for now on this topic for now. I will just leave you with this thought that always helps me decide whether I should stop or whether I'm just being lazy. Remember that goal/dream/mantra we had in the last mental training post? Is stopping right now going to help you achieve that? Are you going to go to bed knowing you did the absolute best you could today? Will you be satisfied?
Nutrition is a huge topic. There is so much to know, so many contradicting theories that sometimes it can be overwhelming and hard to find your own truth. Luckily, here we have a perfect introduction to this huge topic. Kate Spencer is starting us off with the most important thing, FLUIDS.
This post is beautifully written from a science based point of view and is aimed at those going to the Oceania squad this weekend. Some amazing information is included in here and I think you should all be takingnote of this!
Kate is a former Oceania and National champion and has attended three World Championships (2011-2013) competing in the combined event (figures and free). Now she’s working towards achieving a degree in Bachelor in Sport and Exercise Science.
If you can’t get enough of this post, don’t worry! There’s a second part! Kate will be back with a piece about pre competition and post exercise nutrition.
-Macarena
By Kate Spencer
Water plays a crucial role in exercise, especially for thermoregulation (automatic regulation of one's temperature). Dehydration not only affects performance, but also causes serious complications, even death, if not managed properly. Electrolytes play a fundamental role in the regulation of water distribution in various fluid compartments in the body. Sodium in particular has a major influence on fluid regulation. The electrolytes potassium, chloride, and magnesium are essential to muscle contraction and nerve conduction. Any disturbance in the balance of electrolytes in the body fluids could interfere with performance.
Under optimal conditions the body can survive 30 days without food but only 4 to 10 days without water. Water is the largest component of the body, representing from 45% to 75% of a person’s body weight. Water affects athletic performance more than any other nutrient. Consuming fluids in sufficient amounts is essential for normal cellular function and, of particular importance to athletes, thermal regulation. Ironically during physiological and thermal stress, humans do not adequately replace sweat losses when fluids are consumed at will. Most athletes only replace about two-thirds of the water they sweat off during exercise.
Following is a rough guide to fluid replacement:
Fluid replacement occurs in three general time frames: before, during and after exercise. The ultimate goal is to start exercise in a hydrated state, avoid dehydration during exercise, and re-hydrate before the next training session.
Before Activity
Consuming at least 0.5L of fluid 2 hours before activity provides the fluid needed to achieve optimal hydration and allows enough time of urination of excess fluids. Because rapid absorption is not critical athletes can choose to drink water or any other nonalcoholic beverages: milk, juice, carbonated or un-carbonated soft drinks, sports drinks, and so on. The fluid can be consumed with or without a meal.
During Activity
Many athletes do not voluntarily drink enough fluid to replace sweat losses during exercise. Inadequate fluid intake is compounded when athletes are not given time to drink and are not given free access to fluids.
The goal of fluid replacement during exercise is to move the fluid from the mouth, through the gut, and into circulation rapidly and to provide a volume that matches sweat loss. This is achieved by providing fluids that are absorbed rapidly and that the athlete finds palatable, and by providing time for drinking. Athletes should start drinking before sensing thirst and continue to drink at regular intervals.
A variety of fluids can serve as effective fluid replacements during exercise. Cool water is an ideal fluid replacement. Other options for fluid replacement include commercial sports drinks or homemade sports drink such as diluted juice (Diluted Raro and a small amount of salt is perfect!). Carbohydrate consumption is not required for athletes participating in events less than one hour. Sports drinks or solid food such as fruit, sports bars, cereal bars, cookies, etc provide carbohydrates for athletes in aerobic endurance activities lasting more than an hour.
After Activity
The goal after a training session is to prepare the body for the next workout. Monitoring body weight and replacing each 0.45kg loss with 0.5L of fluid is a helpful guideline to ensure adequate fluid intake. Urination occurs before complete fluid balance is achieved. Weight should be regained, indicating that rehydration has occurred before the next workout. Water is an ideal fluid replacement however flavoured beverages may be more effective at promoting drinking. The ideal fluid replacement beverage depends on the duration and intensity of exercise, environmental temperature and the athlete.
When significant sweating has occurred, consumption of sodium chloride (salt) in beverages or food minimizes urine output and hastens recovery of water and electrolyte balance. In practical terms, that means that the athlete should consume a wide variety of beverages and foods after training. Most fluid consumption comes at meal times, the water comes from both food and beverages. If rapid rehydration without significant food intake is required, as in a tournament situation, consumption of a beverage containing sodium chloride is recommended to reduce urinary output and maximize water retention.
The best advice is to drink plenty of fluids, often, between bouts of training or practice and not to rely on thirst to guide fluid intake.
After my workout the other day, something caught my attention. During my workout, I had wanted to stop several times but I didn't. I could hardly breathe and yet I just had to finish the workout. The same happened the next night at training. There was something that kept saying I needed another round even when I wanted to stop. What kept me going? What is that voice that says "one more round/rep"?
Motivation or discipline?
It certainly wasn't motivation. I'm often not motivated at all to keep going or even start. I want to give up just like everyone else. It dawned on me that it was discipline. When motivation has deserted me, I rely on the way I have disciplined my mind and body to keep pushing. So what's the difference? And how can you learn to be disciplined? Here are my ideas on this topic:
Goals
Don't be scared off by the title! No I'm not going to make you write down your SMART short and long term goals (just so you can throw them away the next day. Come on, I'm not the only one who has done this!). Goals do not have to be that specific. But you do have to know what you want out of yourself in order to be motivated in the first place (and your coach needs to know these goals too!).
The type of goals im talking about can be as simple as, "I wanna be Better than I was yesterday" or "I want to go to bed satisfied every day". You can even turn them into your own little mantra you can repeat in your head to get in the "zone". I know that has helped me in the past. Above all, this goal has to mean something to you. If you don't want to be the world champion, if you have no interest in going to Oceanias or if your goal is simply that you want to enjoy skating for the rest of your life, that's fine! You must have a goal that is appropriate to you. It has to be something that makes you want to move and that speaks to you. It's ok if you have no idea right now. It just means you have to think harder over the next few days.
Motivation
Motivation can be extrinsic or intrinsic. Extrinsic sources of motivation is when something outside of yourself pushes you to skate. For example, you skate because your coach/mum/friend wants you to, you skate because you want that trophy at the end of the year, you skate because your mum said she'd give you chocolate at the end of training. These are usually found in younger skaters and while they're very effective and may motivate you sometimes, they're an unreliable source. (What happens after you get the trophy/chocolate? Will you just stop skating?)Intrinsic motivation comes from within. For example, I skate because I love the feeling of performing, I skate because love working hard to reach my goals, I skate because I love the feeling of spinning. These are much more reliable because you will always have that drive within you to want to keep skating. But day to day, this can falter too. I know I'm not the only person here that sometimes just does not want to skate at all. Who cares if I love spinning? Today, I just wanna lay down and go to sleep. It's a love hate relationship. On days like this, we can just give up and not go and just wait untill the next time we feel motivated to skate. But is that going to enable you to reach that goal you set at the start? Will you go to bed satisfied if you skip training?
Discipline
This is where I think discipline comes in. I'm going to use ballerinas as an example. Ballet is brutal. Most ballerinas have calloused, blistered feet constantly. Not to mention the unbelievable demand on the rest of the body that ballet requires. It's hard. So why the hell do they put themselves through so much pain?! It's simple, they want it. They need it. They have a goal and they're not afraid to chase it with everything they've got. Professional ballerinas, want to get signed up with a company, travel the world doing what they love. They compete amongst the best for 1 or 2 spots in a company. That's their extrinsic motivation. To be able to put yourself through that much pain, you have love and believe in the process. That's their intrinsic motivation. But They also know that if they skip a class, don't show up to an audition, they're out. They discipline their bodies and minds by pushing past the feeling of tiredness and laziness. They know their future self will thank them later.I'm usually not motivated to skate but I do it anyway cos I'm disciplined. I know that if I don't do it, no one else is going to do it for me. For athletes, It's not about motivation. It's being disciplined during the days that you're lacking motivation. That's the difference between a champion and a competitor. Sure, motivation helps. But it's unreliable. If you're relying on motivation to get to that training or getting that footwork ready for your next lesson, you're setting yourself up for failure. What if you're tired? What if you haven't had enough to eat and you're running low? Discipline pushes you through tiredness. Discipline demands that you treat your body with respect so you have to be disciplined in everything you eat. The way you eat, the amount you drink, what you drink and how much all come into this idea of "being an athlete". Just like any other athlete would. You have to be able to push yourself regardless of your motivation. Your coach is there to help, but they can only do so much. At some point, you will have to take responsibility for yourself and what you want achieve. They are not you. They don't know your innermost desires unless you tell them. The coach's job is to help you get to your goals (along with being your therapist, teacher, second mum, best friend etc, am I right?) but it is 90% in your hands.
Hope you enjoyed this blog post, next one will be about something that I think is just as important as pushing yourself to the limit. It will be about listening to your body and knowing when to stop. It includes being honest and at one with yourself, self awareness and knowing your limits.
_If you have any interesting ideas on this topic or others, write us an email by clicking the contact us tab. We'd love to hear from you. _
