The next step in competitive sports
And 10 tips to get in the zone
The addition and integration of science in competitive sports over the last 30 years has had a huge impact on how many world records have been bettered in recent decades. The advantage science has brought to the table has been its ability to break down movements in ways that eyes cannot which has led to more efficient technique for athletes. Due to advancements in science and our enhanced understanding of physiology, growth, and maturation, coaches have been able to guide their athletes to optimal physical readiness with greater precision and efficiency than ever before.
All this is great but it makes one wonder: What will be the next great advancement to spur competitive sport to the next level of human performance? It may be possible to answer this question by looking at what is happening in the world of extreme and adventure sports.
In the last 25 years, sports like surfing, sky diving, wingsuits flying, bungee jumping, free-solo climbing, and many more have seen an incredible transformation. The limits of what was believed possible in the mid-90’s have been pushed repetitively beyond what was previously thought possible. For example, In 1996 the biggest wave ever ridden by a surfer was 35 feet. In 2019, the official record is now 80 feet with a 100 foot claim yet to be verified. From the beginning of surfing, some 250 years ago until the mid-90’s, people believed that 25 feet was the highest possible for humans!
The incredible speed at which human limits are being pushed in extreme and adventure sports is often attributed to a very specific state of awareness which scientists are calling: Flow (1).
This mental state often goes by many different names: runner’s high, being in the zone, to be in the pocket, peak performance, the eye of the tiger, to be unconscious, mushin, etc. It has been studied since 1871 when Albert Heim started his research after having the experience himself while falling from a cliff. William James, Walter Bradford Cannon, Abraham Maslow and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (who coined the term Flow) all contributed to our current day understanding of this phenomenon.
Coaches have known about Flow and its importance for a long time. In the past, Flow has been considered a mysterious, almost esoteric phenomenon due to the inherent challenges of consistently reproducing the effect. This is because of the multitude of variables affecting the athlete’s ability to experience Flow reliably. As such, little effort has been dedicated to discovering ways to systematically implement Flow in a daily training program. With the recent advancements in Flow research, Flow has been for the most part demystified and is now at the center of many extreme sports daily training programs.(2)
So what is this state of Flow and how can it propel us into a new era of competitive sport performances?
Csikszentmihalyi describes eight characteristics of flow:
- Complete concentration on the task;
- Clarity of goals and reward in mind and immediate feedback;
- Transformation of time (speeding up/slowing down);
- The experience is intrinsically rewarding;
- Effortlessness and ease;
- There is a balance between challenge and skills;
- Actions and awareness are merged, losing self-conscious rumination;
- There is a feeling of control over the task.
People who have experienced flow, describe the following feelings:
- Completely involved in what we are doing - focused, concentrated.
- A sense of ecstasy - of being outside everyday reality.
- Great inner clarity - knowing what needs to be done, and how well we are doing.
- Knowing that the activity is doable - that our skills are adequate to the task.
- A sense of serenity - no worries about oneself, and a feeling of growing beyond the boundaries of the ego.
- Timelessness - thoroughly focused on the present, hours seem to pass by the minute.
- Intrinsic motivation - whatever produces flow becomes its own reward.
Scientists have recently uncovered even more information on the state of Flow while studying extreme athletes. It is possible to study the mental state of Flow with extreme sports simply because, when one faces risks with high consequences (e.g. one mistake equals certain death), one tends to quickly enter into a state of Flow.
They discovered the types of brainwaves and the hormones produced during flow and found that the old idea -- that we need to use more of our brain to achieve more -- is wrong! In fact, it is when we use less of our brain that we enter the state of Flow. In Neurobiology, this phenomenon is called Transient Hypofrontality, meaning that the prefrontal cortex (the part of our brain which deals with sequential, orderly, systematic thinking as well as planning complex cognitive behavior, personality expression, and moderating social behavior) shuts down to allow other parts of our brains to be more active and connected.
Through these discoveries, scientists have realised that the frequency at which one has these experiences can somewhat be increased. This is achieved by controlling certain factors (called triggers) and by developing certain mental skills and approaches to life such as growth mindset, autotelic personality, grit, and humility to name a few. They also now know that it is possible to learn and teach others how to attain this highly desirable state of being.
Big corporations like Apple and Google, to name only two, have worked with experts in the field to develop this ability in their employees because productivity in Flow has been reported to increase by up to 500%! (3)
In fact, scientists of Flow now believe that Flow sits at the heart of almost every athletic championship, underpins major scientific breakthroughs, and accounts for significant progress in the arts. (4) When we watch shows like American Idols, the performances that inspire us the most virtually always have at their core a performer in the state of Flow.(5) Similarly, in swimming, our champions are experts at getting in that state upon stepping on the block.
When top level athletes like Michael Phelps remind us that it’s “all in the head”, they refer to one’s ability to enter the state of Flow. In 2017, I asked Katie Ledecky’s coach, Bruce Gemmell how many times per week did Katie enter the zone in practice. His answer: at least 3 times. Our ability to enter that state of mind is trainable! It is a skill. A skill that can be learned and taught. Because the experience of Flow is so rewarding, many extreme athletes pursue their activities not to break records but simply to have the experience of Flow. The Flow experience is so rewarding in itself that for some it can almost become addictive. (6)
These recent developments in our understanding of how the human brain affects performance come at a time where it is reported, everywhere in the world, that children are leaving organized competitive sports simply because the emphasis has been placed heavily on medals, records, rankings and championships, which resulted in taking the fun out of the competitive sport for many.(7)
“Only one person wins the gold medal….”
So what if our coaching aimed towards developing the ability to enter the state of Flow through the medium of competitive sports instead of sorting for champions and medal winners?
“But everyone can experience flow.”
Regardless of the level at which they achieve, our young swimmers would become fascinated with what is possible for them to do in Flow. This internal motivation would fuel their quests in the pool and ensure the longevity of their career. (8) Our world records would continue to drop and children would continue to play competitive organised sports. To me it is the solution and the change called forth by many of us coaches around the world.(9)
And what would happen to these athletes when they reach the job market? They would be a generation of highly creative, resourceful and gritty adults. Isn’t this what parents really want? What our world need?
In another article, I’ll delve into how I go about teaching young competitive swimmers the art of entering the state of Flow when needed, but for now I will leave you with a list of 10 things one can do to increase one’s odds at having the experience of Flow.
- Be clear and precise with your goals.
Take your long-term goal and break it
down into very small and specific goals that you can work with in today’s
practice/race. Think of a plan to build a Lego set. Each picture is very
specific in that it adds only a few bricks at a time. If your focus is on the
last picture, it will be very hard to complete the set appropriately, but if
your focus is on one picture at a time, getting to the end result is a piece of
cake.
- Develop a growth mindset. Know that all your abilities (e.g. brain and talents included) can be developed through dedication and hard work, and behave and speak accordingly. When you speak, use the word yet. For example, change saying: “I’m not good at turns” to “I’m not as good yet, at turns, as I would like to become.”
- Be here and now. Wishing
the circumstances were different is useless. Be at your best even in the worst
circumstances possible. If your goggles fill up with water, swim as fast as you
can with filled up goggles, don’t waste time and energy wishing it hadn’t
happened. When you are at practice and think about what’s for dinner or about
your homework, you’re not really present and as such will get less benefit from
your time in the pool. Do you read your times for everything you do in the
pool? Not yet? Learn to do it and then do it all the time. Even read your
splits while swimming. This will keep your attention focused and prevent your
mind from wandering off.
- Ritualize the details surrounding
your race/workouts. By controlling has much as possible
what is within your control, (the music you listen to, clothes you wear, how long
before your race you go behind the blocks, who you talk to or don’t talk to
prior or after your race, looking at the times of previous heats on the board
or not) you will free your mind as it won’t be able to get you to worry about
these so-called details. A more relaxed mind can lead to flow.
- Find your best level of arousal. Flow
happens at a specific range of arousal. Too aroused or not enough, keep the
door to Flow locked. Relaxation and breathing exercises are the best way to
learn to control your arousal level. Race often to test how each arousal level
impact your performance and after each race write notes about how you felt
(leading to, during and after the event). Over time, you’ll become able to
consistently create the perfect arousal level to get the best out of yourself.
- Use repetitive rhythms. Use the rhythm of your stroke to numb your mind. The constant repetition of a mantra and the rhythms of your music, strokes can guide you into transient hypofrontality by numbing your ability to think as you do normally. That’s something really fun to practice within workouts! Can you imagine doing 10 x 400 and at the end feeling like all it took was 15 minutes?
- Visualize. When you do, see and feel often what it is like to push yourself even when all you can hear in your head is that you’re going to die. Plan your responses to all the possible “if” that could happen during your race.
- The flow state is contagious. If one of your mates is in the flow (at a meet or in practice), his/her fire can help you get in flow as well. Just allow yourself to be inspired by their performances and go for it remembering that if they can do it, so can you.
- Make it fun! Always remember, no one is forcing you to do anything. You’re doing this because it’s fun and because you want to find out more than anything just how deep this rabbit hole goes. How good can you really become?
- Take risks. Flow is found just outside our comfort zone. Taking risks, which means taking an action without being sure exactly how it will turn out, is the first thing to do to step out of one’s comfort zone. In workouts, you can practice taking risks by testing yourself with a faster interval, going further underwater off the walls, racing a teammate you feel is too fast for you, etc.
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