Prepared: Unlocking Human Performance with Lessons from Elite Sport

Prepared: Unlocking Human Performance with Lessons from Elite Sport
Author: Paul Gamble
Publisher:
Total Pages: 260
Release: 2020-04-02
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 9781775218661

The pursuit of human performance goes beyond sport. Whilst we might most readily associate sport with the quest to perform at the highest levels of competition, this is not exclusive to sports teams and athletes. Striving for excellence and dedication to continual improvement are hallmarks of high performing organisations, teams, and individuals across all realms. Following this logic, forward thinking individuals have started to explore processes and principles from elite sport and coaching, with the aim of applying high performance practices within their own domain. Just as there are traits that unite high performers across sectors, there are common themes and challenges shared by all those who aspire to excellence in performance. With 'Prepared' we use the lens of elite sport to illuminate universal truths and illustrate the key lessons that we can apply to our chosen domain (including sport): - the critical ingredients for a performance environment, - the dynamics of performance management at the level of the organisation, team, and individual, - the essentials of navigating the complexity of coaching humans, - the key principles and critical lessons from the process of preparing athletes for the crucible of competition, - and finally, the meta-abilities that will allow us to sustain the highest levels of performance, manage ourselves, and navigate the challenges we will inevitably face along the way. This is a book for all those who have an interest or involvement in human performance in the widest sense. Whilst the content remains highly relevant to those in sport, within the text we explore the parallels to other domains, and thereby derive unique insights for leaders, teams, and professionals in all sectors. Throughout the journey the reader is prompted to reflect and connect the dots at the culmination of each chapter to help relate the information presented to their own context.

Understanding Psychological Preparation for Sport

Understanding Psychological Preparation for Sport
Author: Lew Hardy
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 370
Release: 2018-03-05
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 0471957879

This book is designed to advance both theory and practice in the psychological preparation of high-level sports performers. The authors integrate the relevant qualitative and quantitative research literatures with practical knowledge gained via their own personal experience of working with elite athletes. Seven aspects of psychological preparation are considered: basic psychological skills; self-confidence; motivation; arousal and activation; stress and anxiety; concentration; and coping with adversity. Each discussion ends with a summary of the implications for future research and best practice. Elite performers from around the world share their techniques for mentally preparing for competition. The authors then explore the links between the practices that these athletes use and theories which underlie psychological preparation for performance. This book develops a model of psychological preparation for elite sports performers incorporating two unique features: the research-to-practice orientation which is taken to preparation for high-level sports performance; and a global perspective using evidence derived from North American, European, Australian and other research literatures in both general and sport psychology. This is the first book of its kind and should be a valuable resource for sport psychologists, students and professionals with an interest in sport or high-level performance.

The Best

The Best
Author: Mark Williams
Publisher: Nicholas Brealey
Total Pages: 347
Release: 2020-09-15
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1529355788

THE SECRETS OF SUPERHUMAN PERFORMANCE Never have the best sportspeople seemed so far removed from the rest of us, their prowess so unfathomable. So how are these extraordinary athletes made? THE BEST reveals how the most incredible sportspeople in the world get to the top and stay there. It is a unique look at the path to sporting greatness; a story of origins, practice, genetics and psychology. Packed with gripping personal stories and interviews with top athletes including Elena Delle Donne, Pete Sampras, Joey Votto, Steph Curry, Kurt Warner and Premier League superstars Marcus Rashford and Jamie Carragher, it explains how the best athletes develop the extraordinary skills that allow them to perform remarkable feats under extreme pressure. THE BEST uncovers startling truths of athletic greatness-including why younger siblings have more chance of becoming elite, which towns produce the most superstars, the role of informal play and the best time to be born in the school year. It goes inside the minds of champions to understand what makes them perform during high-octane competition, how to hit a baseball or tennis ball in under 0.5 seconds, the secrets of how the best train and what makes a great leader. The book appeals to all lovers of sport, anyone with an interest in psychology and excellence, the parents of budding athletes, and fans of books like Freakonomics, Outliers and Range. It is a deconstruction of what it takes to be the best-and how we can all improve in sport and beyond.

Strong Minds: How to Unlock the Power of Elite Sports Psychology to Accomplish Anything

Strong Minds: How to Unlock the Power of Elite Sports Psychology to Accomplish Anything
Author: Noel Brick
Publisher: The Experiment, LLC
Total Pages: 269
Release: 2023-10-03
Genre: Self-Help
ISBN: 1615196420

“Highlights the mental strategies elite athletes employ to get an edge on their competition.”—The New York Times With an all-new foreword: competition-tested cognitive strategies to help triumph over any obstacle If you ask research psychologist Noel Brick and bestselling fitness writer Scott Douglas, the “dumb jock” stereotype is way out of bounds. No world-class athlete succeeds without a strong mental game, including unique ways of analyzing situations, self-motivating, and even thinking about time. Cutting-edge discoveries (some by Dr. Brick himself) reveal how champions do it—and how we can, too. Brick and Douglas pair groundbreaking science with instructive moments across the sports realm to show how legendary athletes like marathoner Meb Keflezighi, World Cup champion soccer player Megan Rapinoe, and Olympian Michael Phelps stay on top of their game. Whether it’s sticking the landing at a job interview or racing your thesis to the finish line, Strong Minds is a slam-dunk approach for accomplishing anything. Publisher’s note: Strong Minds was previously published in hardcover as The Genius of Athletes.

Comprehensive Strength and Conditioning

Comprehensive Strength and Conditioning
Author: Paul Gamble
Publisher:
Total Pages: 380
Release: 2019-03-24
Genre:
ISBN: 9781775218623

Sport performance and sports injury do not respect boundaries. Strength and conditioning thus in reality encompasses a myriad of different disciplines that span across all areas of sports science and sports medicine. Comprehensive Strength and Conditioning provides the reader with a detailed insight into the theory and practice for each respective element of athletic performance and all components of physical preparation for competition. Each chapter begins with a list of learning outcomes, and concludes with a knowledge review that allows the reader to test their learning. Reflective activities appear throughout the text that help the reader to relate the information presented to their chosen sport. Each section provides a synthesis of the evidence available on the topic and all related training modes, citing the most up to date research literature from all areas of sports science and sports medicine. The first edition of Comprehensive Strength and Conditioning was originally published in 2015. This revised and updated edition features extensive additions, citing over 900 references from the sports science and sports medicine literature. Comprehensive Strength and Conditioning is essential reading for those seeking to acquire real breadth and depth of expertise in physical and athletic preparation. For coaches and practitioners working in all areas of sports performance and sports injury this book provides an ongoing resource to develop knowledge and practical understanding. Comprehensive Strength and Conditioning is an invaluable reference for students of sport science and related topics at undergraduate and postgraduate degree level.

Strength and Conditioning for Team Sports

Strength and Conditioning for Team Sports
Author: Paul Gamble
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2013-01-25
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 1136190430

Strength and Conditioning for Team Sports is designed to help trainers and coaches to devise more effective high-performance training programs for team sports. This remains the only evidence-based study of sport-specific practice to focus on team sports and features all-new chapters covering neuromuscular training, injury prevention and specific injury risks for different team sports. Fully revised and updated throughout, the new edition also includes over two hundred new references from the current research literature. The book introduces the core science underpinning different facets of physical preparation, covering all aspects of training prescription and the key components of any degree-level strength and conditioning course, including: physiological and performance testing strength training metabolic conditioning power training agility and speed development training for core stability training periodisation training for injury prevention Bridging the traditional gap between sports science research and practice, each chapter features guidelines for evidence-based best practice as well as recommendations for approaches to physical preparation to meet the specific needs of team sports players. This new edition also includes an appendix that provides detailed examples of training programmes for a range of team sports. Fully illustrated throughout, it is essential reading for all serious students of strength and conditioning, and for any practitioner seeking to extend their professional practice.

Peak

Peak
Author: Marc Bubbs
Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing
Total Pages: 386
Release: 2019
Genre: Health & Fitness
ISBN: 1603588094

"There is a new revolution happening in sports as more and more athletes are basing their success on this game-changing combination: health, nutrition, training, recovery, and mindset. Unfortunately, the evidence-based techniques that the expert PhDs, academic institutions, and professional performance staffs follow can be in stark contrast to what many athletes actually practice. When combined with the noise of social media, old-school traditions, and bro-science, it can be difficult to separate fact from fiction. Peak is a groundbreaking book exploring the fundamentals of high performance (not the fads), the importance of consistency (not extreme effort), and the value of patience (not rapid transformation). Dr. Marc Bubbs makes deep science easy to understand, and with information from leading experts who are influencing the top performers in sports on how to achieve world-class success, he lays out the record-breaking feats of athleticism and strategies that are rooted in this personalized approach.Dr. Bubbs expertly brings together the worlds of health, nutrition, and exercise and synthesizes the salient science into actionable guidance.

Human Performance for Tactical Athletes

Human Performance for Tactical Athletes
Author: O2X Human Performance
Publisher: Fire Engineering Books
Total Pages: 327
Release: 2019-02-12
Genre: Health & Fitness
ISBN: 1593704763

"A guide to the Eat, Sweat, Thrive curriculum used for Navy Seals intended to enhance training for firefighters, law enforcement officers, EMTs, and other tactical athletes"--

Flow in Sports

Flow in Sports
Author: Susan A. Jackson
Publisher: Human Kinetics
Total Pages: 196
Release: 1999
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9780880118767

With help from sports psychology researcher Jackson, Csikszentmihalyi (human behavior, U. of Chicago) pares down his now-famous concept of flow to basic explanations and self-assessment exercises. Emphasis is on achieving a balance between challenges and skills, setting goals, taking advantage of feedback, focusing on the present, controlling the controllables, and having fun. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Train Your Mind for Athletic Success

Train Your Mind for Athletic Success
Author: Jim Taylor, PhD
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 297
Release: 2017-10-06
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1442277092

Much too often, the mental aspect of sport performance is overlooked. While all top athletes are in outstanding physical condition and technically exceptional, mental preparation is often what separates the best from the rest. This is just as true for young athletes as it is for pros and Olympians. And even though relatively few athletes will ever reach the top of their sport, the attitudes and life lessons learned from mental training—such as motivation, confidence, focus, perseverance, and resilience—will serve them well in all aspects of their lives. In Train Your Mind for Athletic Success: Mental Preparation to Achieve Your Sports Goals, Dr. Jim Taylor uses his own elite athletic experience and decades of working with some of the world’s best athletes to provide competitors of every ability with insights, practical exercises, and tools they can use to be mentally prepared when it really counts. His Prime Sport System explores the attitudes that lay the foundation for athletic success, the mental obstacles that can hold athletes back, the preparations they must take, the mental muscles they should strengthen, and the mental tools they need to fine tune their competitive performances. Most importantly, Dr. Taylor shows athletes practical strategies they can use to become mentally strong so they can perform their best when it matters most. Train Your Mind for Athletic Success goes well beyond the typical mental skills that are discussed in other mental training books. Readers will not only learn why mental preparation is so important to athletic success, but also where they personally are in each area thanks to brief mental assessments in each section of the book. In addition, each chapter includes exercises to show athletes how to incorporate mental training directly into their overall sport training regimen. The most comprehensive and in-depth book on mental preparation for athletes available, Train Your Mind for Athletic Success is an essential read for athletes, coaches, and parents.