Sports psychology offers help for triathletes

Sports psychology makes a natural partner for triathlon training. Why? Because getting your feet across the finish line will be mostly a mental accomplishment. It’s mind over matter. Psychology and sports might seem to be an unusual partnership but psychology has been used for the last 20 years in professional sports; helping athletes with anxiety and motivation.

Learn cognitive-behavioral therapy as a strategy

Cognitive-behavioral therapy can help your training. What, you say? I’m not crazy, although my co-workers, friends, and family all say I am to call myself a triathlete. But cognitive-therapy can help you before they have to send you down to the funny farm.

One important aspect of cognitive-behavioral therapy is shaping your core beliefs so that they benefit you. We all know what this is; we just call it positive thinking. It’s especially valid for most triathletes as you’re the ambitious, type-A, perfectionist type of person. You’re especially hard on yourself; harder than others are on you.

Instead of letting negative thoughts wear you down; try this exercise. Keep a Journal. For every negative thought that enters your head regarding your training, come up with the positive version of this. For example, if you write, I should never have thought that I could be a triathlete. Then on the right hand side, write something like this, I can be a triathlete just like anybody else can. You will feel silly doing this but believe me it works.

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