4 ms·

What Pressure Does to an Athlete's Body

58 points by bookofjoe 9mo ago

bookofjoe 9mo ago
https://archive.ph/qvnTM https://archive.ph/qvnTM
goodmythical 9mo ago
https://web.archive.org/web/20260226053554/https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026/02/pressure-olympics-malinin-shiffrin/686097/ https://web.archive.org/web/20260226053554/https://www.theat...
djtango 9mo ago
This is a great article that sums up my own (much lower-stakes) life experiences. Athletes live on the frontier so they're excellent subject to study - after all the Olympics are only every 4 years. Before my first Taekwondo fight and Muay Thai fight I had so much adrenaline and cortisol in the build up to the fights and for some reason it seems to all dump in my legs making them all heavy and unresponsive - not a helpful response when you need to kick to win! Before my first Chemistry finals I also momentarily forgot the periodic table despite writing it out several times a day in the run up to it. But as the article states it can be overcome and things like breathing exercises can really drive the needle. The corollary to the mind-body connection is that there is a body-mind connection! Just as the mind can influence the body, the body can influence the mind and performing physical tasks that the body associates with relaxation (breathing exercises, hot spas, forest walks etc) can settle the mind. The other thing I came across on my journey to overcome performance anxiety for us mere mortal non-Olympians is: 1. Some of the jitteryness is a result of being unaccustomed/intolerant of adrenaline. Doing stressful (but safe) activities can build up your own resilience to stressful situations - this is why I find value in Muay Thai/boxing sparring, there aren't many things more stressful than getting punched in the face 2. Presence of mind can be trained and an easy hack I found that is taught in the military is the 3x3 Grounding Technique [1] The general theme of sports psychology reminded me of a BBC article [2] that investigated focus in champion tennis players (and other sports) as measured by their eye movement. [1] https://www.armyresilience.army.mil/ard/r2/Mindfulness.html https://www.armyresilience.army.mil/ard/r2/Mindfulness.html [2] https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20180627-is-quiet-eye-the-secret-to-success-for-athletes https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20180627-is-quiet-eye-the...
- iberator 9mo ago
  That would explain the centuries old folk's tale that soldiers and sports man are generally stupid. (high cortisol). Except water sports, running and golf etc
  - tpoacher 9mo ago
    I highly doubt the veracity of this claim.
  - djtango 9mo ago
    Exercise helps moderate cortisol. Competition can increase cortisol but it's usually a relative thing: When you are world #200 playing against world #50 might be stressful. When you are world #2 playing world #50 is probably another day in the office. Etc I imagine once you win your first Grand Slam in tennis the nerves improve a lot - you kind of saw that in Andy Murray who needed a couple of attempts to break through the psychological barrier of winning Wimbledon, including winning the Olympics. I would posit that the old folk tale is more related to the fact that centuries ago, most people were hyper specialised and standardised widespread education was less of a thing. You'll find plenty of intelligent people in all walks of life depending on how you choose to define intelligence.
    - trillic 9mo ago
      Until very recently, 19 of the last 20 quarterbacks who lost their first Super Bowl never made it back to the title game (Jalen hurts in 2024 is the one). Historically, out of 38 QBs to lose their debut, only 4 eventually won a ring (Dawson, Griese, Elway, and Manning).
      - djtango 9mo ago
        I'm not familiar with the Super Bowl could you help us understand this observation? Is it that people who lose never psychologically recover or that winners go on to become champions?
- 9mo ago
borroka 9mo ago
Autogenic training is a practice that works wonders for your ability to control yourself under pressure, whether in specific situations, in the spotlight, or under more mundane pressures. Only after consistent training (but not gruelling! It doesn't require tedious 10-day meditation retreats) can you finally notice how much mental and physical tension, and fears, real or imagined, are present in your life. In the same way that we practice motor skills (which are also mental skills) separately (think of preparatory running exercises as pedagogical tools for sprints) and then integrate them into performance (soccer players train with specific drills for ball control and one- or two-touch passing), we should practice mental skills first in isolation and then integrate them into performance (Dave Alred, the famous coach who was once the kicking coach for Wilkinson, the fly-half for the English national rugby team, wrote about this in his book “The Pressure Principle”). Similarly, the autogenic training skills we develop must first be developed in isolation and then integrated (but integration begins on day one) into the performance itself. That is, it is not enough to be relaxed in bed, even if this is reflected in “real life,” but relaxation, which does not mean a state of torpor, far from it, must be part of every activity and challenge.

58 points by bookofjoe 9mo ago

https://archive.ph/qvnTM https://archive.ph/qvnTM

https://web.archive.org/web/20260226053554/https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026/02/pressure-olympics-malinin-shiffrin/686097/ https://web.archive.org/web/20260226053554/https://www.theat...

djtango 9mo ago

This is a great article that sums up my own (much lower-stakes) life experiences. Athletes live on the frontier so they're excellent subject to study - after all the Olympics are only every 4 years. Before my first Taekwondo fight and Muay Thai fight I had so much adrenaline and cortisol in the build up to the fights and for some reason it seems to all dump in my legs making them all heavy and unresponsive - not a helpful response when you need to kick to win! Before my first Chemistry finals I also momentarily forgot the periodic table despite writing it out several times a day in the run up to it. But as the article states it can be overcome and things like breathing exercises can really drive the needle. The corollary to the mind-body connection is that there is a body-mind connection! Just as the mind can influence the body, the body can influence the mind and performing physical tasks that the body associates with relaxation (breathing exercises, hot spas, forest walks etc) can settle the mind. The other thing I came across on my journey to overcome performance anxiety for us mere mortal non-Olympians is: 1. Some of the jitteryness is a result of being unaccustomed/intolerant of adrenaline. Doing stressful (but safe) activities can build up your own resilience to stressful situations - this is why I find value in Muay Thai/boxing sparring, there aren't many things more stressful than getting punched in the face 2. Presence of mind can be trained and an easy hack I found that is taught in the military is the 3x3 Grounding Technique [1] The general theme of sports psychology reminded me of a BBC article [2] that investigated focus in champion tennis players (and other sports) as measured by their eye movement. [1] https://www.armyresilience.army.mil/ard/r2/Mindfulness.html https://www.armyresilience.army.mil/ard/r2/Mindfulness.html [2] https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20180627-is-quiet-eye-the-secret-to-success-for-athletes https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20180627-is-quiet-eye-the...

iberator 9mo ago
That would explain the centuries old folk's tale that soldiers and sports man are generally stupid. (high cortisol). Except water sports, running and golf etc
- tpoacher 9mo ago
  I highly doubt the veracity of this claim.
- djtango 9mo ago
  Exercise helps moderate cortisol. Competition can increase cortisol but it's usually a relative thing: When you are world #200 playing against world #50 might be stressful. When you are world #2 playing world #50 is probably another day in the office. Etc I imagine once you win your first Grand Slam in tennis the nerves improve a lot - you kind of saw that in Andy Murray who needed a couple of attempts to break through the psychological barrier of winning Wimbledon, including winning the Olympics. I would posit that the old folk tale is more related to the fact that centuries ago, most people were hyper specialised and standardised widespread education was less of a thing. You'll find plenty of intelligent people in all walks of life depending on how you choose to define intelligence.
  - trillic 9mo ago
    Until very recently, 19 of the last 20 quarterbacks who lost their first Super Bowl never made it back to the title game (Jalen hurts in 2024 is the one). Historically, out of 38 QBs to lose their debut, only 4 eventually won a ring (Dawson, Griese, Elway, and Manning).
    - djtango 9mo ago
      I'm not familiar with the Super Bowl could you help us understand this observation? Is it that people who lose never psychologically recover or that winners go on to become champions?
9mo ago

borroka 9mo ago

Autogenic training is a practice that works wonders for your ability to control yourself under pressure, whether in specific situations, in the spotlight, or under more mundane pressures. Only after consistent training (but not gruelling! It doesn't require tedious 10-day meditation retreats) can you finally notice how much mental and physical tension, and fears, real or imagined, are present in your life. In the same way that we practice motor skills (which are also mental skills) separately (think of preparatory running exercises as pedagogical tools for sprints) and then integrate them into performance (soccer players train with specific drills for ball control and one- or two-touch passing), we should practice mental skills first in isolation and then integrate them into performance (Dave Alred, the famous coach who was once the kicking coach for Wilkinson, the fly-half for the English national rugby team, wrote about this in his book “The Pressure Principle”). Similarly, the autogenic training skills we develop must first be developed in isolation and then integrated (but integration begins on day one) into the performance itself. That is, it is not enough to be relaxed in bed, even if this is reflected in “real life,” but relaxation, which does not mean a state of torpor, far from it, must be part of every activity and challenge.