The cycling mind: the psychological skills for peak performance on the bike - and in life

Description

This practical and highly accessible guide, written by British Cycling's Lead Psychologist, will explore the importance of psychology in achieving peak cycling performance. The book will transfer the sport psychology strategies used to win Olympic gold and encourage and equip individuals with the psychological skills to pursue performance excellence in cycling and in daily life. For the last three Olympic Games the Great Britain Cycling Team has dominated the Velodrome events and is regarded as one of the most successful elite sporting set-ups in Olympic history. The emergence of sport psychology as a critical aspect of the Great Britain Cycling Team's success has sparked wide interest in the psychological skills required to perform. This book will transfer the sport psychology strategies used to assist elite cyclists to win Olympic gold to individuals seeking to improve their own performance and psychological wellbeing on and off the bike. The Cycling Mind will take the reader through the key stages of an athlete's pathway, from training through to competition, and provide guidelines to developing the psychological skills to compete at their best. Key skill development areas in sport psychology such as planning for success, controlling thought and emotion, developing confidence, competition and recovery strategies will be outlined. The objective of the book is to provide all the information and strategies required to achieve success in cycling, and can be applied across all high-pressure performance environments. Foreword by Joanna Rowsell Shand1. Prepare - Preparing the foundations for performance excellence. 2. Train - Training your mind for optimal performance.3. Control - Controlling your mind to perform at your best. 4. Believe - Believing in your ability to succeed.5. Compete - Competing in the optimal psychological state for peak performance.6. Recover - Recovering to maintain the optimal psychological state in competition. 7. Thrive - Thriving on pressure by enhancing psychological wellbeing8. Excel - Excelling on and off the bike to be the best you can be