Do you have any pre-game rituals?
Even if you don’t compete regularly now, think back to when you did compete. What did you do the day before you competed? What did you do the night before you competed?
All that you do in the ‘transition zone’ is just as important as the moments in battle.
The ‘transition zone’ is what I call the week before a competition. It’s the week before a marathon, an Ironman, The CrossFit Games, a gymnastics meet, or even the Olympics. The athlete has done all he or she can do in regards to training. Now it’s time to get the mind right. I believe that the ‘transition zone’ is the perfect opportunity to get your mind right.
There are NFL athletes that will spend every night of the week visualizing their stellar performance before a game on Monday night. There are track and field athletes that will undergo NLP (Neurolinguistic Programming) in order to keep their neurological patterns operating appropriately. There are athletes that go through their event every morning even if they have to wake up an hour earlier.
I relate this transition zone to the nesting phase of pregnancy. A lot of people go the extra mile for the nursery or the cute clothes. Do that ahead of time or get someone to do it for you. Use the nesting phase to get your mind right. If you have not spent time meditating, then now is the time. Do so for 5 a minutes a day. Visualize a happy healthy birth.
Workout
- Walk 4-5 miles or
- Hike 1.5-3 hours