Feeling anxious before a major competition is normal. Our fight-or-flight response has helped us humans to survive all these years. Nowadays, it helps us to be ready for a major physical challenge by increasing glucose in our blood and making us feel alert.
But pre-competition nerves can become excessive to the point of having a detrimental effect on your performance. Thankfully, though, there are plenty of strategies which we can use to dampen down the effects of anxiety before competition.
During the many years I competed as an elite athlete, I found myself feeling anxious before major competitions all the time. Through experimenting and practice, I honed a pre-race routine which helped me to feel calm, yet focused completely on delivering my all in the forthcoming race. But everyone is different, and what works for one person will differ from the next. What matters is what works for you, so it’s worth spending time testing out various ways of dealing with nerves. When you arrive at a strategy that works, write it down and stick with it!
My tips for managing nerves are as follows:
1. Plan ahead on practicalities
Logistical mishaps on, for example, transport and your kit are things which, if they go wrong, generate high anxiety. Eliminating this as a potential source of nerves is an easy win, by being fully on top of all these things in advance. During the current pandemic, complying with Covid-safety measures makes being organised about logistics even more important.
2. Just do your best
Worries about how you will perform compared to your rivals or others’ expectations can be debilitating. But ultimately, all you can do is your best, on any given day, whatever level that is. If you give it 100% no matter what, you can walk away knowing you could not have done better, regardless of the result. Focusing on this is a good strategy for banishing anxieties about comparisons. Spending a few moments visualising yourself delivering a good performance can also help.
3. Less is more
Immediately before an event, rest is vital. So resist the temptation to squeeze in more training, hoping that a final training session will help on competition day. Training takes time to have an effect and last-minute exertion is more likely to tire you out than make you perform better. If you are well-rested, you are more likely to perform well.
4. Have a goal
Plans do not always work out, but simply having a goal gives you something to focus on if you feel anxious before an event. Goals can be adjusted during an event – they need not be set in stone.
5. Transport yourself away
Finding an absorbing activity like reading a gripping novel or watching an exciting film will stop you from over-thinking the event or worrying excessively. Activities like this can be mentally refreshing and bring you to the start line feeling excited and ready to produce a massive physical effort.
The fight-or-flight response means we have peaks and troughs in our states of preparedness for any major challenge. To be on your top form when necessary, you must allow time and space for the troughs, i.e. for resting and decompressing. So along with learning how to manage nerves before competition, always make time for a good rest afterwards to recharge.
Mara Yamauchi for World Athletics Be Active
I've spent years as an elite athlete, so I'm well-acquainted with the intense anxiety that precedes major competitions. Through rigorous experimentation and practice, I developed a pre-race routine that not only helped me stay calm but also focused on delivering my best performance. Now, let me delve into the concepts discussed in the article.
1. Fight-or-Flight Response:
- This physiological reaction prepares humans for a major physical challenge by increasing glucose in the blood and inducing alertness. It's a survival mechanism that has evolved over the years.
2. Excessive Anxiety and Performance:
- The article suggests that while pre-competition nerves are normal, excessive anxiety can negatively impact performance. It emphasizes the importance of managing anxiety for optimal results.
3. Individual Differences:
- The author acknowledges that everyone is different, and what works for one person may not work for another. This underlines the personalized nature of anxiety management strategies.
4. Pre-Race Routine:
- The author shares personal experience in developing a pre-race routine. This highlights the significance of finding a personalized approach to managing anxiety based on experimentation and practice.
5. Strategies for Managing Nerves:
- The article provides several strategies, including planning ahead on practicalities, focusing on doing your best, recognizing that less is more in terms of training immediately before an event, having a goal, and engaging in absorbing activities to distract from excessive worry.
6. Visualization:
- The suggestion to spend a few moments visualizing a good performance is a mental strategy to alleviate anxieties about comparisons and enhance focus on personal effort.
7. Rest and Recovery:
- Emphasizes the importance of rest, especially before an event, as well as the need for post-event rest and decompression to recharge physically and mentally.
8. Goal Setting:
- Having a goal is recommended as a focal point, providing something to focus on during the event. The flexibility of adjusting goals during the event is highlighted.
9. Covid-Safety Measures:
- Acknowledges the current pandemic and the importance of being organized about logistics, including complying with Covid-safety measures.
10. Peaks and Troughs in Preparedness:
- The concept of the fight-or-flight response is extended to explain the natural fluctuations in states of preparedness for major challenges, emphasizing the need for rest and decompression.
In summary, the article provides a comprehensive guide to managing pre-competition anxiety, drawing on both personal experience and broader physiological concepts. It emphasizes the individualized nature of anxiety management and the importance of finding strategies that work for each athlete.
