The Benefits of Relaxation for Athletes

excerpt from The Mindset for Winning by John D. Curtis: In pressure situations, most average athletes tend to get too aroused, or too stressed. This is why they remain average athletes and do not get the maximum from their abilities. To achieve optimum performance on a regular basis, the ability to relax and control this tendency to become over-aroused is necessary....Listed below are some of the major benefits an athlete will derive from the ability to relax:

• Relaxation prepares one for mental imagery.
• Relaxation improves concentration ability.
• Relaxation helps control arousal level.
• Relaxation helps one sleep better.
• Relaxation helps improve body awareness.
• Relaxation reduces recovery time.
• Relaxation decreases minor illnesses and symptoms of illness.
• Relaxation increases sociability.

To learn more the benefits of relaxation for athletes and Dr. Curtis's other work, please visit this link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0961145633/ref=sr_1_olp_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197293100&sr=1-2

Why Don't They Feel Pressure

excerpts from Mental Toughness Training for Sports by James E. Loehr Pressure is something you put on yourself. The only difference between playing a sport competitively and playing it for fun is pressure. For lots of athletes, playing for fun is easy and playing competitively is too much work. For them, competition is hard, threatening, frustrating, and unnerving. But the game is played in exactly the same way in both cases. You keep score the same, the rules don't change, and you are often playing the same people. In most cases, the only difference is the difference you make of it in your head! .....Situations are not nervous or anxious - people are. The sooner you accept that pressure comes from within and not from without, the sooner you can start shutting it down. To learn more about handling and avoiding pressure, and Dr. Loehr's other work, please visit: http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0452267951/ref=pd_bbs_sr_olp_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197293969&sr=1-1

15 Tour Secrets to Playing Your Best Golf

this an excerpt from Good to Great Golf by Rob Gilbert and John Sikes, Jr.

1. Play the round in your mind the night before which gives you an extra practice round.
2. Make a list of things that you do especially well and say them out loud on the way to the course.
3. Get to the course one hour ahead of tee time leaving enough time for personal things so that there is no rushing.
4. Leave all personal problems on the seat of the car. They will be there when you return.
5. Warm up the body and the mind on the practice area. Do not attempt to make mechanical swing changes. These can be worked out later.
6. Practice putting first, then hit balls on the range. Make your last practice shot a good one with the club that you are going to hit on the first tee.
7. Commit to walking, talking and acting like a winner no matter what happens, right down to body language. A good idea might be to think about your favorite golfer and act like he or she would act.
8. Make a good yardage book during the practice round keeping record of clubs hit to different targets.
9. Have a game plan and stick to it.
10. Commit to giving every shot 100%. Perform the best you can on each shot, one at a time.
11. Anchor the good shots. Pause 3 to 5 seconds after making a great shot and remember exactly how it felt. This will put the shot into your muscle memory. When a similar shot is coming up you can "pull it up" out of your memory before taking a swing.
12. Be positive about everything. Negativity will kill your game. Stay absolutely present oriented in your focus.
13. Be totally target oriented for the entire round.
14. Stick to your pre-shot routine on EVERY shot.
15. Play as if the match is being held at your favorite course with your favorite holes, favorite weather and favorite playing partners - no matter what the actual conditions are.

To learn more about the work of Dr. Rob Gilbert and John Sikes, Jr., please visit: http://www.goodtogreatgolf.com/