Your Inner Free Speed For Training & Racing

Free Speed – Your Untapped Potential

As a Triathlete “free speed” is a word I hear a lot. We all invest in clothing, bikes, wetsuits, watches, power meters and indoor training kit and we do this in the search for free speed. We spend thousands (many spend tens of thousands) to get us ready to race at our best. Do you use your inner Free speed? Are you training and racing to your full potential?

It is now common for Triathletes to have coaches to create training plans. This enables them to get them to their race in the best shape possible. Add this to the free speed you can buy in technology and you now arrive at races 100% (well that’s what you are telling yourself).

I believe that free speed should start with yourself through developing inner free speed. Are you doing all you can to get the most free speed from your mind and body? You may have invested in training the body with a coach, equipment and time (anywhere from 6-18hrs each week). How much do you invest in your mental conditioning and your mindset? I would hazard a guess very little (maybe not at all). What is amazing is how often mindset & mental conditioning are overlooked. No matter if you are training or racing everything you achieve will start in your mind. If you think about it, can you really afford to over look it?

The Power Of Visualisation

Below is a little example of just one aspect of the power of training your mind. Dr. Blaslotto, professor at the University of Chicago, did a study with basketball players. The study was based around how many free throws they could make. The players were benchmarked with an initial free throw score and after this was done they were split into 3 groups and set different training programs to follow.

Group 1 – Had to practice their free throw shots for 1hr each day

Group 2 – They could not touch a basketball for 30 days, they couldn’t practice or play at all.

Group 3 – Had to visualise the free throw shots for 1hr each day

The Results:

After the 30 days they re tested and the results are below

Group 1 – Had an increased there free throw score by 24%

Group 2 – Had no significant change

Group 3 – Had an increased there free throw score by 23%

The Takeaway

You can see from these results that the players who used visualisation saw a 23% increase in their performance. Where as players that practiced everyday saw a 24% increase. The question is what could be achieved by combining practice & visualisation together? We all have the ability to visualise and some of you will be utilising this already. However there are many tips and techniques that you can use to strengthen and enhance your personal visualisation skills.

These come from understanding your aspirations for the season & the challenges you face. Once you understand the personal element you will be able to create your own visual storyboard.

This is just one of many studies around the power of visualisation in sport. A study by Erin M Shackell & Lionel G Standing saw a 24% gain in muscle strength (as opposed to 28% for those who physically trained). This was achieved through using guided CDs for visualising.

Using visualisation whilst you are preparing for a race is a great way to enhance your performance. From the moment you sign up for the race you can start seeing the race in your mind. Focus on living it as you want it to go on the day. You can also prepare for any eventualities you think could occur on race day. If they do happen you will already be mentally prepared and will know what you need to do. Find 5 to 10 mins everyday to visualise the race.

Training at 100% through every session

We can add to visualisation, there are other skills you are able to develop to aid performances. It doesn’t matter what event you train for, there will be days where motivation dips and you don’t want to get the session done. By looking deeper into the sessions that athletes miss, it is often caused by external pressures that effect their mindset. You may skip a session or force yourself to get it done but neither of these are good for the end result on race day.

There is mental conditioning training & mindset techniques that you can learn and harness. These skills will minimise the loss of training sessions or a drop in performance whilst doing your sessions. This could be where you haven’t been able to focus or struggled with getting in the right headspace for training. If you can gain 5-15% increase in performance within your training program through developing inner free speed, what could that mean for race day?

The great thing about developing you mindset becomes clear away from the races. You will have developed mental conditioning and a fortified mindset to take it into other aspects of your life. This can lead to get better results at home, work and any other area you want to focus on. If we go back to the start, I would like to ask you again – are you training and racing to your full potential and utilising all your free speed?