Mental strength training is the edge on the competition you're looking for.
December 22, 2020 by Guest Author in Sponsored with 0 comments
This post is sponsored by UltyResults, the creator of the Ultimate Athlete Project and the Ultimate Skills Project. It was written by founder Melissa Witmer.
Ten years ago when I started the Ultimate Athlete Project (UAP), not many ultimate athletes were doing strength training. Even fewer were on any type of organized plan.
Ten years ago, few ultimate players were doing any strength training. And even fewer were following a professionally designed program created with ultimate in mind. So if you were doing focused athletic performance training you had a tremendous advantage in the ultimate world.
Now, thousands of athletes have been through the UAP strength & conditioning program. And several other options popped up after the UAP proved to be so successful for so many players.
The state of play of S&C in ultimate ten years ago: resources for other sports, but not for us. So few ultimate players were doing organized athletic performance training that if you were, you had a tremendous advantage over those who were not. Now many of the same factors are in place for the ultimate players considering mental strength training.
The truth is that our thoughts – our subconscious thoughts – and our actions are all tightly intertwined. And if we want to perform at our best, we need to train our minds to focus on what matters in the same way we train our muscles. These principles are not sci-fi; they are already in use in other sports. Most Olympic programs employ several sports psychologists to help athletes cope with pressure and perform their best when it counts.
As with strength training ten years ago, many players are dabbling. But almost no one (other than teams coached by Anna Rogacki, Tina Booth, and Guylaine Girard) are practicing mental training habits with regularity in a systemized way.
What’s on the Horizon
When I created a systemized approach to ultimate-specific athletic performance, the beginning was cloudy. So many factors! I had to account for different training schedules, different levels of expertise, different body types, and all on top of trying to develop a maze of sometimes complementary and sometimes contradictory athletic qualities. But, in the end, I was able to simplify the complex into its essence. And we created a practical, easy to use highly effective system of athletic performance training.
And as I am in the middle of the process of doing the same for mental training, I am confident we’ll get to an easy to use system of mental training development.
In fact, I’ve already started a few of my processes with former UAP Premium clients and with the athletes who recently finished a first round of my mental training mini-course. Here is what a few of them have said about the mental work we’ve been doing thus far:
UAP Mental Strength Testimonial
Work With Me!
It may seem counterintuitive, but now is actually a great time to embark on a mental training program. You don’t have competing demands of team practices. Mental training can be done indoors, does not require access to a gym, and does not require personal contact with others.
What you can expect to get:
- A system in place that sustains your motivation to work on the things that matter to you, even when times get difficult
- Habits that will support and amplify all of the other training you’ll do in your ultimate career
- Results on the field – whenever you get there – that will show up from day one, even if you’re not able to practice on the field right now
How It Works
I’ve come to see three components of a complete mental training approach:
- Building foundational mental strength training habits
- Visualization work which gets real, specific, and practical results on the field
- Coaching and mentorship to ensure it goes beyond vague “self improvement” to actual results on the field. In doing mental work, it helps to have another perspective outside of your own head.
We will address these three components using a combination of training videos, homework, and one-on-one coaching sessions.
How To Apply
This winter I want to work closely with just six athletes. Two spots are currently available.
This is what I’m looking for:
- A willingness to try a different approach in the quest for different results
- Ability to trust in our system for 8-12 weeks to give habits and mental shifts time to take hold
- Desire for a large improvement in performance
- A goal that will sustain you through this program
- Examples would be wanting to make a higher level team or wanting to step up in your current team – either with the goal of earning more playing time or helping your team advance to the next level of performance.
- You are ready to invest both time (1-3 hours per week) and financial resources (about the cost of a full ultimate season) into your ultimate career development.
If this describes you, then please go here to learn more!
If it seems like a good fit, we’ll jump on a call to clarify any remaining questions, and get started!
Second Option: Mental Training Course
I will soon be starting a second intake into our Mental Training Habits course.
The purpose of this course is to:
- Develop one everyday mental training habit
- Set one goal
- Create one plan to help you get there
This program will be shorter and less in depth than our Premium option described above, but is a great place to begin your mental training journey.
To learn more about our mental training philosophy, get a few tips, and be notified when we’re open, sign up here!
