Sports Psychology

“Sports Psychology is a scientific study of the mind, mental state and processes and behaviour in sporting context.” (Brain Mac, 1996) The use of psychological strategies is to improve sports performance has increased significantly in recent years. “Coaches have realised that, particularly at elite level, psychology plays a key role in determining the level of performance. The ability of the mind to generate thought patterns, influence emotions, stimulate or diminish arousal and create images of a desired action is now better understood and has changed the way that many athletes approach their events.” (Neals,2007) Though aerobics, sports psychology plays a major role in having the right mental state and behaviour for undergoing our performance

“Arousal refers to the activation of the sympathetic nervous system. This physiological state is associated with many emotions. Athletes can either be over-aroused or under-aroused”.(Clark,2004) The two recommendations which will ensure my performance improves in year 12 is making my goal setting more specific, and increasing my arousals levels in preparation coming to class. My attitude towards aerobics has most definitely changed over the term into having a positive and fun experience from not knowing what to expect or how to do some of the moves in the first couple of weeks to having a go at all the instructor would throw at

“Goal setting is a powerful process for thinking about your ideal future, and for motivating yourself to turn your vision of this future into reality. The process of setting goals helps you choose where you want to go.” (Mind Tools,1996) By knowing precisely what your wanting to achieve in aerobics, you will be able to concentrate all of your efforts and energy on that skill. Specifically it will enhance your overall performance. Goals can be broken down into three categories; outcome goals, performance goals and process goals. Outcome goals focuses on the result of a particular event. When focusing on this type of goal, the performer usually compares themselves with other performers. An example where this was implemented into my journal was in week 5, Thursday which stated “Finish the final movements and make sure each group members know’s the exact moves”. Secondly, Performance goals concentrate solely on the individuals performance and not the other competitors a clear example in my journal was week 5 on Tuesday where I mentioned “Practise keeping leg straight for the high leg kicks”. Lastly, Process goals include on technique or how the athlete performs, rather than the overall result. In week 4 on Thursday are group made sure that we wrote the routine down on paper so we wouldn’t forget”. Thought out my journal I seemed to use three different