The Power of Positive Self-Talk
When Kindness Leads to Greatness
The idea of speaking kindly to yourself isn’t anything new, but it’s worth revisiting now and again to remind us of how we complete training and racing successfully.
Endurance events are pretty unique and they get more unique the longer they go on. Most amateur athletes will essentially be against themselves and their own weight of expectation – developed through training and their perception of what makes an event a success.
As a result, the way we talk to ourselves during a race is very important.
What is self-talk?
Self-talk is defined as ‘what people say to themselves either silently in their head or aloud, automatically or strategically, to stimulate, direct, react, and evaluate events and actions’ (Hatzigeorgiadis, Zourbanos, Latinjak, & Theodorakis, 2014).
What are the effects of positive self-talk?
Research has shown self-talk to be an effective tool to enhance performance through rewiring the brain – effectively replacing potential negative talk with positive talk. A group of recreational cyclists who improved their cycling time to exhaustion by 18% when they were coached to use positive self-talk (Blanchfield, Hardy, de Morree, Staiano, & Marcora, 2014).
Put into practice, it could be as simple as replacing “my legs are really hurting” with “you’re almost there”.
There are a lot more intricacies of this which I won’t go into, however the results of positive self-talk have generally been shown to improve endurance performance.
How do you implement positive self-talk?
There are many tactics of retraining your internal monologue with positives over negatives and creating mantras to race by. This usually creates awareness around the strength of positivity and using our internal chatter to our advantage.
My personal theory on positive self-talk: it’s more than just the race
I think it all starts with training. Anxiety, expectation and potential negativity builds up from here and is waiting as soon as we enter the training block or start the race.
If we look at the purpose of the training as a means to an end, i.e. hitting your personal best, then we create a bar at which we feel we have to meet. We allow no place for our bar to move, therefore the pressure builds. It doesn’t allow for life events, illness or things beyond our control to be accounted for.
If we take the training seriously, which we should, but accept that it’s the best we can do ‘in that moment’ – then we automatically create a positive situation around exercise and the results become a by-product.
This positive self-talk for me doesn’t apply to a single race or training session, it’s the approach, kindness and awareness of one’s self during the whole journey.
Final thoughts
The next time you go into a training session and don’t hit the perfect pace, or if you replace a hard run with a shake out because half way into the warm up you feel terrible, don’t be hard on yourself – instead, be kind and reflect kindly. Carry the positives and any numerical misfires become possibilities and not limitations.
Fun - HONESTY - Simplicity - Smash Life - Mental Toughness - Hard Work
ENGINE
40 minutes of continuous engine work. Bring your running shoes, we will do a machine waterfall format with a run at the end of each round.
GYMNASTICS
We focus on the infamous bar muscle and the Handstand push-up in gymnastics. As always, we break down the skills, and these sessions are for all levels!
HYROX
Working on your efficiency during the 8 stations: how to save energy and when to push. No running this week.
MOBILITY
We continue with thoracic & overhead mobility but are now moving it into more exercises that can replicate the positions, such as an overhead squat.
PURE STRENGTH
This week in pure strength, we have a new block of training focused on single-leg lower body strength and hip thrusts as our accessory. Wednesday, we begin our DB press progressions along with some shoulder hypertrophy.
WEIGHTLIFTING
This week in weightlifting, we are focused on some Tall variations of the clean and Jerk. Then, hitting a heavy clean push press and jerk complex followed by a tough EMOM
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Track Tuesday
A threshold workout today, 400m all the way up to 1.2km. Great for all runners.
Start time: 05:59 am
Session Length: 1.5 hour
Location: Sport City Track
Entrance fee: https://isddubai.com/athletics-venuehire/
Wednesday Ride
A prep ride for T100, steady power into surges!
Start time: 05:59 am
Session Length: 1.5 hour
Location: BOTS, Al Qudra
Coffee Run
Supersets! A hard surge of speed super set with a longer but lower intensity block. A good run to build run IQ and do with friends.
Brief time: 05:54 am Start time: 05:59 am
Session Length: 1.5 hour
Location: Start Location (Common Grounds)
Monday
Time: 5:59am & 5:59pm
Location: InnerFight
Session: Ladies Only Tempo
This Monday we will be holding that Tempo pace (7/10 effort) for 8 mins blocks, off 3 min recovery. The efforts are slightly longer in duration this week, but only 3x instead of 4x, so that we can maintain great quality.
Tuesday
Time: 5:59am
Location: Sports City
Session: Track Tuesday
Yes, we are back on the track! Today we will be running 400s up to 1200s at 3km pace. A chance to work hard with the wider endurance community and coaches.
Wednesday
Time: 5:59am & 5:59pm
Location: InnerFight
Session: Ladies Only Intervals
Todays intervals shuttle runs through the park behind InnerFight (approx 100m). This is a short and explosive session with plenty of rest (300m). Aim for 8, 10 or 12 reps.
Friday
Time: 5:59am
Location: Kite Beach
Session: The Coffee Run
This week you are running hard for 1 minute into a tempo hold of 5 mins. Following a 3 min recovery, you will repeat this sequence 5x.
Friday - Sunday
All weekend
Location: Khorfakkan
Session: LRC Training Camp
This weekend we will host our first ever LRC Training Camp. There will be a combination of running and relaxing. We look forward to training with you.
Monday:
Strength:
Building to a 1 Rep Max Bench Press
Conditioning:
50 wall balls
12 Push up Renegade
row (2 x 50/30)
30 DU
40 wall balls
12 Push up Renegade
row (2 x 50/30)
30 DU
30 wall balls
12 Push up Renegade
row (2 x 50/30)
30 DU
Tuesday:
Strength:
Barbell Tempo RDLs
Conditioning:
5 min AMRAP
6 Deadlift (120/80)
9 Box jump over
12/9 cal Row
rest 3 mins
x3
Wednesday:
Strength:
A) Handstand Push Ups
B) Weighted Pull Ups
Conditioning:
2 rounds
Park Run
12 pull-ups
rest 3 mins
2 rounds
half park run
12 Pull-ups
3 wall walks
rest 3 mins
2 rounds
Pool Run
12 pull-ups
3 wall walks
20 push press (2 x 50/30)
Thursday:
Strength:
A) Clean Complex
B) Build to a Max Power Clean
Conditioning:
5 Rounds for time
10 Power clean (60/40)
10 burpee over the bar
14 Min TC
Friday:
Strength:
Build to a heavy Thruster!
Conditioning:
8 Rounds of fun with a KB, The Ski and Sandbags!
The idea of speaking kindly to yourself isn’t anything new, but it’s worth revisiting now and again to remind us of how we complete training and racing successfully.
Endurance events are pretty unique and they get more unique the longer they go on. Most amateur athletes will essentially be against themselves and their own weight of expectation – developed through training and their perception of what makes an event a success.
As a result, the way we talk to ourselves during a race is very important.
What is self-talk?
Self-talk is defined as ‘what people say to themselves either silently in their head or aloud, automatically or strategically, to stimulate, direct, react, and evaluate events and actions’ (Hatzigeorgiadis, Zourbanos, Latinjak, & Theodorakis, 2014).
What are the effects of positive self-talk?
Research has shown self-talk to be an effective tool to enhance performance through rewiring the brain – effectively replacing potential negative talk with positive talk. A group of recreational cyclists who improved their cycling time to exhaustion by 18% when they were coached to use positive self-talk (Blanchfield, Hardy, de Morree, Staiano, & Marcora, 2014).
Put into practice, it could be as simple as replacing “my legs are really hurting” with “you’re almost there”.
There are a lot more intricacies of this which I won’t go into, however the results of positive self-talk have generally been shown to improve endurance performance.
How do you implement positive self-talk?
There are many tactics of retraining your internal monologue with positives over negatives and creating mantras to race by. This usually creates awareness around the strength of positivity and using our internal chatter to our advantage.
My personal theory on positive self-talk: it’s more than just the race
I think it all starts with training. Anxiety, expectation and potential negativity builds up from here and is waiting as soon as we enter the training block or start the race.
If we look at the purpose of the training as a means to an end, i.e. hitting your personal best, then we create a bar at which we feel we have to meet. We allow no place for our bar to move, therefore the pressure builds. It doesn’t allow for life events, illness or things beyond our control to be accounted for.
If we take the training seriously, which we should, but accept that it’s the best we can do ‘in that moment’ – then we automatically create a positive situation around exercise and the results become a by-product.
This positive self-talk for me doesn’t apply to a single race or training session, it’s the approach, kindness and awareness of one’s self during the whole journey.
Final thoughts
The next time you go into a training session and don’t hit the perfect pace, or if you replace a hard run with a shake out because half way into the warm up you feel terrible, don’t be hard on yourself – instead, be kind and reflect kindly. Carry the positives and any numerical misfires become possibilities and not limitations.
Fun - HONESTY - Simplicity - Smash Life - Mental Toughness - Hard Work
Track Tuesday
A threshold workout today, 400m all the way up to 1.2km. Great for all runners.
Start time: 05:59 am
Session Length: 1.5 hour
Location: Sport City Track
Entrance fee: https://isddubai.com/athletics-venuehire/
Wednesday Ride
A prep ride for T100, steady power into surges!
Start time: 05:59 am
Session Length: 1.5 hour
Location: BOTS, Al Qudra
Coffee Run
Supersets! A hard surge of speed super set with a longer but lower intensity block. A good run to build run IQ and do with friends.
Brief time: 05:54 am Start time: 05:59 am
Session Length: 1.5 hour
Location: Start Location (Common Grounds)
Monday
Time: 5:59am & 5:59pm
Location: InnerFight
Session: Ladies Only Tempo
This Monday we will be holding that Tempo pace (7/10 effort) for 8 mins blocks, off 3 min recovery. The efforts are slightly longer in duration this week, but only 3x instead of 4x, so that we can maintain great quality.
Tuesday
Time: 5:59am
Location: Sports City
Session: Track Tuesday
Yes, we are back on the track! Today we will be running 400s up to 1200s at 3km pace. A chance to work hard with the wider endurance community and coaches.
Wednesday
Time: 5:59am & 5:59pm
Location: InnerFight
Session: Ladies Only Intervals
Todays intervals shuttle runs through the park behind InnerFight (approx 100m). This is a short and explosive session with plenty of rest (300m). Aim for 8, 10 or 12 reps.
Friday
Time: 5:59am
Location: Kite Beach
Session: The Coffee Run
This week you are running hard for 1 minute into a tempo hold of 5 mins. Following a 3 min recovery, you will repeat this sequence 5x.
Friday - Sunday
All weekend
Location: Khorfakkan
Session: LRC Training Camp
This weekend we will host our first ever LRC Training Camp. There will be a combination of running and relaxing. We look forward to training with you.
Monday:
Strength:
Building to a 1 Rep Max Bench Press
Conditioning:
50 wall balls
12 Push up Renegade
row (2 x 50/30)
30 DU
40 wall balls
12 Push up Renegade
row (2 x 50/30)
30 DU
30 wall balls
12 Push up Renegade
row (2 x 50/30)
30 DU
Tuesday:
Strength:
Barbell Tempo RDLs
Conditioning:
5 min AMRAP
6 Deadlift (120/80)
9 Box jump over
12/9 cal Row
rest 3 mins
x3
Wednesday:
Strength:
A) Handstand Push Ups
B) Weighted Pull Ups
Conditioning:
2 rounds
Park Run
12 pull-ups
rest 3 mins
2 rounds
half park run
12 Pull-ups
3 wall walks
rest 3 mins
2 rounds
Pool Run
12 pull-ups
3 wall walks
20 push press (2 x 50/30)
Thursday:
Strength:
A) Clean Complex
B) Build to a Max Power Clean
Conditioning:
5 Rounds for time
10 Power clean (60/40)
10 burpee over the bar
14 Min TC
Friday:
Strength:
Build to a heavy Thruster!
Conditioning:
8 Rounds of fun with a KB, The Ski and Sandbags!
ENGINE
40 minutes of continuous engine work. Bring your running shoes, we will do a machine waterfall format with a run at the end of each round.
GYMNASTICS
We focus on the infamous bar muscle and the Handstand push-up in gymnastics. As always, we break down the skills, and these sessions are for all levels!
HYROX
Working on your efficiency during the 8 stations: how to save energy and when to push. No running this week.
MOBILITY
We continue with thoracic & overhead mobility but are now moving it into more exercises that can replicate the positions, such as an overhead squat.
PURE STRENGTH
This week in pure strength, we have a new block of training focused on single-leg lower body strength and hip thrusts as our accessory. Wednesday, we begin our DB press progressions along with some shoulder hypertrophy.
WEIGHTLIFTING
This week in weightlifting, we are focused on some Tall variations of the clean and Jerk. Then, hitting a heavy clean push press and jerk complex followed by a tough EMOM
The idea of speaking kindly to yourself isn’t anything new, but it’s worth revisiting now and again to remind us of how we complete training and racing successfully.
Endurance events are pretty unique and they get more unique the longer they go on. Most amateur athletes will essentially be against themselves and their own weight of expectation – developed through training and their perception of what makes an event a success.
As a result, the way we talk to ourselves during a race is very important.
What is self-talk?
Self-talk is defined as ‘what people say to themselves either silently in their head or aloud, automatically or strategically, to stimulate, direct, react, and evaluate events and actions’ (Hatzigeorgiadis, Zourbanos, Latinjak, & Theodorakis, 2014).
What are the effects of positive self-talk?
Research has shown self-talk to be an effective tool to enhance performance through rewiring the brain – effectively replacing potential negative talk with positive talk. A group of recreational cyclists who improved their cycling time to exhaustion by 18% when they were coached to use positive self-talk (Blanchfield, Hardy, de Morree, Staiano, & Marcora, 2014).
Put into practice, it could be as simple as replacing “my legs are really hurting” with “you’re almost there”.
There are a lot more intricacies of this which I won’t go into, however the results of positive self-talk have generally been shown to improve endurance performance.
How do you implement positive self-talk?
There are many tactics of retraining your internal monologue with positives over negatives and creating mantras to race by. This usually creates awareness around the strength of positivity and using our internal chatter to our advantage.
My personal theory on positive self-talk: it’s more than just the race
I think it all starts with training. Anxiety, expectation and potential negativity builds up from here and is waiting as soon as we enter the training block or start the race.
If we look at the purpose of the training as a means to an end, i.e. hitting your personal best, then we create a bar at which we feel we have to meet. We allow no place for our bar to move, therefore the pressure builds. It doesn’t allow for life events, illness or things beyond our control to be accounted for.
If we take the training seriously, which we should, but accept that it’s the best we can do ‘in that moment’ – then we automatically create a positive situation around exercise and the results become a by-product.
This positive self-talk for me doesn’t apply to a single race or training session, it’s the approach, kindness and awareness of one’s self during the whole journey.
Final thoughts
The next time you go into a training session and don’t hit the perfect pace, or if you replace a hard run with a shake out because half way into the warm up you feel terrible, don’t be hard on yourself – instead, be kind and reflect kindly. Carry the positives and any numerical misfires become possibilities and not limitations.
Fun - HONESTY - Simplicity - Smash Life - Mental Toughness - Hard Work
Monday
Time: 5:59am & 5:59pm
Location: InnerFight
Session: Ladies Only Tempo
This Monday we will be holding that Tempo pace (7/10 effort) for 8 mins blocks, off 3 min recovery. The efforts are slightly longer in duration this week, but only 3x instead of 4x, so that we can maintain great quality.
Tuesday
Time: 5:59am
Location: Sports City
Session: Track Tuesday
Yes, we are back on the track! Today we will be running 400s up to 1200s at 3km pace. A chance to work hard with the wider endurance community and coaches.
Wednesday
Time: 5:59am & 5:59pm
Location: InnerFight
Session: Ladies Only Intervals
Todays intervals shuttle runs through the park behind InnerFight (approx 100m). This is a short and explosive session with plenty of rest (300m). Aim for 8, 10 or 12 reps.
Friday
Time: 5:59am
Location: Kite Beach
Session: The Coffee Run
This week you are running hard for 1 minute into a tempo hold of 5 mins. Following a 3 min recovery, you will repeat this sequence 5x.
Friday - Sunday
All weekend
Location: Khorfakkan
Session: LRC Training Camp
This weekend we will host our first ever LRC Training Camp. There will be a combination of running and relaxing. We look forward to training with you.
Monday:
Strength:
Building to a 1 Rep Max Bench Press
Conditioning:
50 wall balls
12 Push up Renegade
row (2 x 50/30)
30 DU
40 wall balls
12 Push up Renegade
row (2 x 50/30)
30 DU
30 wall balls
12 Push up Renegade
row (2 x 50/30)
30 DU
Tuesday:
Strength:
Barbell Tempo RDLs
Conditioning:
5 min AMRAP
6 Deadlift (120/80)
9 Box jump over
12/9 cal Row
rest 3 mins
x3
Wednesday:
Strength:
A) Handstand Push Ups
B) Weighted Pull Ups
Conditioning:
2 rounds
Park Run
12 pull-ups
rest 3 mins
2 rounds
half park run
12 Pull-ups
3 wall walks
rest 3 mins
2 rounds
Pool Run
12 pull-ups
3 wall walks
20 push press (2 x 50/30)
Thursday:
Strength:
A) Clean Complex
B) Build to a Max Power Clean
Conditioning:
5 Rounds for time
10 Power clean (60/40)
10 burpee over the bar
14 Min TC
Friday:
Strength:
Build to a heavy Thruster!
Conditioning:
8 Rounds of fun with a KB, The Ski and Sandbags!
ENGINE
40 minutes of continuous engine work. Bring your running shoes, we will do a machine waterfall format with a run at the end of each round.
GYMNASTICS
We focus on the infamous bar muscle and the Handstand push-up in gymnastics. As always, we break down the skills, and these sessions are for all levels!
HYROX
Working on your efficiency during the 8 stations: how to save energy and when to push. No running this week.
MOBILITY
We continue with thoracic & overhead mobility but are now moving it into more exercises that can replicate the positions, such as an overhead squat.
PURE STRENGTH
This week in pure strength, we have a new block of training focused on single-leg lower body strength and hip thrusts as our accessory. Wednesday, we begin our DB press progressions along with some shoulder hypertrophy.
WEIGHTLIFTING
This week in weightlifting, we are focused on some Tall variations of the clean and Jerk. Then, hitting a heavy clean push press and jerk complex followed by a tough EMOM
Track Tuesday
A threshold workout today, 400m all the way up to 1.2km. Great for all runners.
Start time: 05:59 am
Session Length: 1.5 hour
Location: Sport City Track
Entrance fee: https://isddubai.com/athletics-venuehire/
Wednesday Ride
A prep ride for T100, steady power into surges!
Start time: 05:59 am
Session Length: 1.5 hour
Location: BOTS, Al Qudra
Coffee Run
Supersets! A hard surge of speed super set with a longer but lower intensity block. A good run to build run IQ and do with friends.
Brief time: 05:54 am Start time: 05:59 am
Session Length: 1.5 hour
Location: Start Location (Common Grounds)
The idea of speaking kindly to yourself isn’t anything new, but it’s worth revisiting now and again to remind us of how we complete training and racing successfully.
Endurance events are pretty unique and they get more unique the longer they go on. Most amateur athletes will essentially be against themselves and their own weight of expectation – developed through training and their perception of what makes an event a success.
As a result, the way we talk to ourselves during a race is very important.
What is self-talk?
Self-talk is defined as ‘what people say to themselves either silently in their head or aloud, automatically or strategically, to stimulate, direct, react, and evaluate events and actions’ (Hatzigeorgiadis, Zourbanos, Latinjak, & Theodorakis, 2014).
What are the effects of positive self-talk?
Research has shown self-talk to be an effective tool to enhance performance through rewiring the brain – effectively replacing potential negative talk with positive talk. A group of recreational cyclists who improved their cycling time to exhaustion by 18% when they were coached to use positive self-talk (Blanchfield, Hardy, de Morree, Staiano, & Marcora, 2014).
Put into practice, it could be as simple as replacing “my legs are really hurting” with “you’re almost there”.
There are a lot more intricacies of this which I won’t go into, however the results of positive self-talk have generally been shown to improve endurance performance.
How do you implement positive self-talk?
There are many tactics of retraining your internal monologue with positives over negatives and creating mantras to race by. This usually creates awareness around the strength of positivity and using our internal chatter to our advantage.
My personal theory on positive self-talk: it’s more than just the race
I think it all starts with training. Anxiety, expectation and potential negativity builds up from here and is waiting as soon as we enter the training block or start the race.
If we look at the purpose of the training as a means to an end, i.e. hitting your personal best, then we create a bar at which we feel we have to meet. We allow no place for our bar to move, therefore the pressure builds. It doesn’t allow for life events, illness or things beyond our control to be accounted for.
If we take the training seriously, which we should, but accept that it’s the best we can do ‘in that moment’ – then we automatically create a positive situation around exercise and the results become a by-product.
This positive self-talk for me doesn’t apply to a single race or training session, it’s the approach, kindness and awareness of one’s self during the whole journey.
Final thoughts
The next time you go into a training session and don’t hit the perfect pace, or if you replace a hard run with a shake out because half way into the warm up you feel terrible, don’t be hard on yourself – instead, be kind and reflect kindly. Carry the positives and any numerical misfires become possibilities and not limitations.
Fun - HONESTY - Simplicity - Smash Life - Mental Toughness - Hard Work
The idea of speaking kindly to yourself isn’t anything new, but it’s worth revisiting now and again to remind us of how we complete training and racing successfully.
Endurance events are pretty unique and they get more unique the longer they go on. Most amateur athletes will essentially be against themselves and their own weight of expectation – developed through training and their perception of what makes an event a success.
As a result, the way we talk to ourselves during a race is very important.
What is self-talk?
Self-talk is defined as ‘what people say to themselves either silently in their head or aloud, automatically or strategically, to stimulate, direct, react, and evaluate events and actions’ (Hatzigeorgiadis, Zourbanos, Latinjak, & Theodorakis, 2014).
What are the effects of positive self-talk?
Research has shown self-talk to be an effective tool to enhance performance through rewiring the brain – effectively replacing potential negative talk with positive talk. A group of recreational cyclists who improved their cycling time to exhaustion by 18% when they were coached to use positive self-talk (Blanchfield, Hardy, de Morree, Staiano, & Marcora, 2014).
Put into practice, it could be as simple as replacing “my legs are really hurting” with “you’re almost there”.
There are a lot more intricacies of this which I won’t go into, however the results of positive self-talk have generally been shown to improve endurance performance.
How do you implement positive self-talk?
There are many tactics of retraining your internal monologue with positives over negatives and creating mantras to race by. This usually creates awareness around the strength of positivity and using our internal chatter to our advantage.
My personal theory on positive self-talk: it’s more than just the race
I think it all starts with training. Anxiety, expectation and potential negativity builds up from here and is waiting as soon as we enter the training block or start the race.
If we look at the purpose of the training as a means to an end, i.e. hitting your personal best, then we create a bar at which we feel we have to meet. We allow no place for our bar to move, therefore the pressure builds. It doesn’t allow for life events, illness or things beyond our control to be accounted for.
If we take the training seriously, which we should, but accept that it’s the best we can do ‘in that moment’ – then we automatically create a positive situation around exercise and the results become a by-product.
This positive self-talk for me doesn’t apply to a single race or training session, it’s the approach, kindness and awareness of one’s self during the whole journey.
Final thoughts
The next time you go into a training session and don’t hit the perfect pace, or if you replace a hard run with a shake out because half way into the warm up you feel terrible, don’t be hard on yourself – instead, be kind and reflect kindly. Carry the positives and any numerical misfires become possibilities and not limitations.
Fun - HONESTY - Simplicity - Smash Life - Mental Toughness - Hard Work
One-Hour Workout: Revving Your Swim Engine
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