Sport & performance psychology combines evidence-based mental health care with mental performance training for athletes and performers. It’s the field that sits at the intersection of how you think and how you compete. As a sports therapist and Certified Mental Performance Consultant in Denver, CO, I work with athletes on both sides of that intersection every week, and I want to give you a clear, direct answer to what this work actually involves.

This article will walk you through what sport and performance psychology is, who provides it, and what to expect during sessions. It will also cover who this kind of support helps and the misconceptions that keep people from reaching out.

What is Sport & Performance Psychology?

Sport and performance psychology has two main areas of focus, and most practitioners work in one or both. Mental performance skills are the tools that help you compete at your best. This includes imagery, confidence building, focus techniques, communication strategies, and competition routines.

Mental health support addresses the psychological challenges that show up in and around sport. This includes anxiety, depression, disordered eating, sports trauma, and identity concerns tied to your athletic career. Both matter. Your ability to execute under pressure and your overall mental well-being are deeply connected, which is exactly why this field exists.

Why Both Areas Matter

Both matter, and they’re more connected than most people realize. An athlete dealing with untreated performance anxiety often can’t fully access the mental skills training that would otherwise help them, because the anxiety itself is the barrier. Likewise, an athlete working through a mental health concern often benefits from performance-specific tools.

A grounding routine before competition, for example, can work alongside their clinical care rather than replacing it. This is why so many practitioners in this field are dually trained to move fluidly between both sides rather than treating them as separate lanes. You can read more about the role sport psychology plays in athletic performance and how the field of performance psychology is defined more broadly.

Who Actually Provides This Care?

If you’re searching for a sports psychologist in Denver, CO, this is where title accuracy matters, and it’s worth being direct about it. Anyone can call themselves a “mental coach,” but the actual scope of what someone is qualified to do depends entirely on their license and certification, not the title on their website.

• Licensed sports psychologists hold a doctorate in psychology and a psychology license, which allows them to diagnose and treat mental illness under that specific license.
• Sports therapists and licensed professional counselors are trained in clinical mental health counseling and can also address mental health symptoms, often alongside specialized sport-specific training.
• Certified Mental Performance Consultants (CMPCs), credentialed through the Association for Applied Sport Psychology, focus primarily on the performance side: mental skills training rather than diagnosis or clinical treatment.

Some practitioners hold more than one of these credentials at once, which adds to the confusion. It’s worth asking directly what someone is licensed and certified to do rather than assuming based on their job title alone. A quick question about credentials at the start of a consultation can save you from starting work with the wrong type of provider for what you need, whether that’s clinical treatment for a mental health concern or performance-specific skills training.

My Own Credentials

I hold an EdD in Sport Performance Psychology, I’m a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Colorado, and I’m an AASP Certified Mental Performance Consultant. That combination means I’m trained to support both the mental health and mental performance side of an athlete’s experience, without claiming the specific title of psychologist.

 Whether you’re searching for a sports psychologist, a sports therapist, or a mental performance consultant in Denver, CO, the important thing is finding a provider whose credentials actually match. That match should reflect the specific kind of support you need.

For a deeper look at how this field supports performance, Cune University has a solid overview of the role of sports psychology in athletic performance, and the American Psychological Association outlines the field further in its guide to performance psychology.

What Does This Work Actually Look Like?

A lot of athletes come in expecting something vague, like a Ted Lasso style motivational pep talk or a generic worksheet. That’s not what a sports psychologist in Denver, CO does. Sport and performance psychology is built around specific, teachable mental skills, the same way strength training or footwork drills require technical training and repetition. Instead of talking about your mindset in the abstract, you’re practicing tools you can use the next time you step onto the field, court, or track.

In practical terms, sessions teach specific, learnable skills. Here’s what mental performance consulting sessions look like:

• Imagery and visualization to mentally rehearse performance and prepare for competition
• Confidence and self-talk work to quiet the inner critic and build a supportive internal dialogue
• Team communication and dynamics to strengthen how athletes work with teammates and coaches
• Performance and competition anxiety management to turn nervous energy into focused execution
• Goal setting that goes beyond writing down outcomes and builds an actual roadmap

If you are seeking sports counseling, sessions will also directly address clinical mental health concerns that show up in athletic populations, including depression, anxiety, disordered eating, and sports trauma, which can look like reliving an injury or feeling scared to return to play. This is exactly why sport and performance psychology as a field includes clinically trained providers, not just performance coaches, a distinction Faulkner University breaks down well.

How Do Sessions Work?

Whether you’re working with a sports psychologist in Denver, CO or elsewhere, sessions can happen either in person at an office space, the training environment of the athlete or performer, or virtually. The format feels similar to talk therapy. It’s a confidential, conversational space, not a lecture. You’re not sitting through a presentation. You’re working through the mental barriers you experience in competition, with someone trained to help you build skills and process what’s underneath them. The specific approach is always personalized.

Depending on what you need, sessions might draw from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Internal Family Systems, psychodynamic approaches, or somatic techniques. There’s no single formula because no two athletes need the exact same thing. Team sessions work a little differently from individual sessions. Instead of focusing on one athlete’s internal experience, we focus on group communication, role clarity, conflict resolution and the dynamics between athletes and coaching staff.

How Sport & Performance Psychology Helps Athletes

The specific concerns that bring athletes to a sports psychologist in Denver, CO vary widely but they tend to fall into a handful of common categories. Here’s a direct look at how sessions help with each one.

Returning to Sport After Injury or Trauma

Injury recovery isn’t just physical. Imagery helps athletes mentally rehearse their return to play before they’re physically ready for it. Sessions also help process the traumatic experience of the injury itself, not just the rehab protocol, so athletes can prepare themselves mentally before stepping back onto the field or court.

Building Confidence and Self-Esteem

Real confidence gets built from preparation and process, not just from winning. Athletes who tie their confidence solely to results tend to feel great after a win and shaken after a loss, which makes performance unpredictable. Confidence work includes addressing self-doubt and negative self-talk, directly and replacing it with something instructional and grounding. Sessions help athletes build a more stable foundation, one rooted in effort, preparation, and evidence of their own growth over time.

Managing Performance Anxiety and Stress

Competition day anxiety is one of the most common reasons athletes reach out. Sessions teach specific tools to manage the physical and mental symptoms of stress, both in the moment and in the buildup to competition. This can include breathing techniques, grounding exercises, and pre-competition routines designed to create a sense of control before the pressure sets in. The goal isn’t to eliminate nerves entirely, since some activation can improve performance, but to keep anxiety from tipping into something that gets in the way.

Strengthening Team Dynamics

This includes athlete-to-athlete relationships and athlete-to-coach communication. Teams that communicate well and hold each other accountable tend to perform more consistently under pressure. Sessions can address specific conflicts within a roster, help clarify roles that have become a source of tension, or simply give a team the tools to communicate more directly instead of letting frustration build beneath the surface.

Working Through Perfectionism and Outside Expectations

Parental pressure and self-imposed expectations can quietly erode an athlete’s relationship with their sport. Sessions help athletes separate their own values from the expectations placed on them, so they can compete with more freedom. This often means learning to distinguish between healthy high standards and perfectionism that leaves no room for mistakes, since the two get confused easily and require different approaches.

Preventing and Recovering From Burnout

Mental fatigue is a legitimate, trainable concern. It’s not a personal failing, and it’s not something you just push through. Sessions help athletes build sustainable habits and build a balanced athletic identity before burnout takes hold or recover from it if it already has, including finding balance outside of sport and reconnecting with the parts of competing that felt enjoyable before the pressure took over.

Navigating Retirement and Athletic Identity

For many athletes, sport becomes central to their identity. When that ends, whether by choice or circumstance, it can trigger a real identity crisis and stages of grief. Sessions help athletes process that transition and learn how to translate the skills they built in sport, like discipline, focus, and resilience, into their next chapter. American Public University covers more on this in its piece on how sports psychologists help athletes.

Work With a Sports Therapist in Denver, CO

You don’t have to navigate performance anxiety, burnout, or a difficult return from injury on your own. Sports counseling and mental performance consulting can help you build the mental skills to compete with confidence, process what’s been weighing on you, and reconnect with why you love your sport in the first place. Whether you’re facing a specific challenge or simply want to strengthen a mental game that already feels solid, support is available at every level. As a sports therapist and Certified Mental Performance Consultant in Denver, CO, I’m here to help, whether you’re just starting to notice a pattern or have been carrying this for a while.

To start building your mental game, follow these simple steps:

1. Schedule your complimentary 15-minute consultation to talk through what you’re navigating.
2. Meet with me to begin building a personalized plan, whether that’s individual sports counseling, mental coaching for athletes, or team mental performance workshops.
3. Start training your mind the same way you train your body, with tools that help you compete with confidence and stay connected to your sport long term.

You don’t have to figure this out alone. Reach out to Headstrong Mindset today to take the first step toward a stronger mental game.

Other Services at Headstrong Mindset

Sports counseling and mental performance consulting aren’t the only support we offer at my Denver, CO practice. I understand that athletes, coaches, and performers often navigate more than one concern at a time, and I’m here to help with those as well. Other services offered at Headstrong Mindset include mental coaching for athletes, mental coaching for teams, and individual counseling and therapy.

I also provide LGBTQ counseling in Colorado, offering an affirming, trauma-informed space for clients exploring identity alongside their athletic or personal life.

About the Founder

Dr. Brooke Rundle is the founder of Headstrong Mindset, offering sports counseling and mental performance consulting in Denver, CO. A former NCAA Division I All-American and professional volleyball player, she holds an EdD in Sport Performance Psychology, is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Colorado, and is an AASP Certified Mental Performance Consultant. She works with USA Volleyball’s National Team Development Program and NCAA teams across a range of sports, bringing both her clinical training and her own competitive experience into every session. Dr. Rundle lives in Denver with her wife Hannah and their dog, Stevie Budd, and spends her downtime skiing the Rockies, playing guitar, and catching live music at Red Rocks.

References

American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Performance psychology. https://www.apa.org/education-career/guide/subfields/performance

American Public University. (n.d.). How do sports psychologists help athletes? https://www.amu.apus.edu/area-of-study/health-sciences/resources/how-do-sports-psychologists-help-athletes/

Concordia University Nebraska. (n.d.). The role of sports psychology in athletic performance. https://www.cune.edu/news/role-sports-psychology-athletic-performance

Faulkner University. (n.d.). What does a sports psychologist do? Understanding this exciting career field. https://www.faulkner.edu/news/what-does-a-sports-psychologist-do-understanding-this-exciting-career-field/

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What types of sport psychology techniques can injured runners benefit from the most?

One of the most widely used and powerful sport psychology techniques to support injury recovery is the use of imagery. Imagery is a mental training tool in which athletes use all their senses to mentally rehearse, create, or re-create an experience in the mind.  

The difference between visualization and imagery is that visualization only engages the sense of vision, while imagery is a polysensory experience, meaning all senses are engaged including visual (what do you see?), auditory (what do you hear?), physical touch (what do you feel?), olfactory (what do you smell?), gustatory (what do you taste?) and the kinesthetic (what does the movement in your body feel like?).  

Runners can use imagery to mentally prepare for difficult race conditions, imagine desired race results, or refine your running technique. Injured runners can use imagery techniques to imagine the injured body part healing, reduce muscle tension, manage pain, decrease stress or re-injury anxiety, increase motivation for rehabilitation exercises, and imagine successfully returning to running.

Creating an Imagery Program

Holmes and Collins (2001) created the PETTLEP program to provide a framework for athletes to practice and integrate imagery into training. PETTLEP is an acronym for the model’s following seven key elements: physical, environment, task, timing, learning, emotion, and perspective. When designing and implementing imagery into your recovery program, runners should consider the following PETTLEP guidelines.

Your imagery should reflect the physical movement of running and the exact environment in which you plan to run in the future (i.e.. the New York Marathon). You should imagine the identical movement and task that you want to execute, in addition to the timing of the skill for the exact duration of time it takes to execute that skill. The learning element should be in alignment with your developmental stage of learning. Your imagery should incorporate as many race emotions as possible to make it feel real. Lastly you should engage in imagery using either an external or internal perspective, depending on whichever you find most effective.

External vs Imagery Perspectives

When practicing imagery, there are two different vantage points: external imagery and internal imagery. External imagery is viewing the action from outside of one’s body such as taken from the perspective of a video camera behind, above, or on the side of the runner. Alternatively, internal imagery is viewing the action from inside one’s body through your eyes. There is no right or wrong way to picture it. Both external and internal perspectives are effective. However, if you are having trouble with controllability or vividness, it might be helpful to try an alternative perspective when using imagery.

Controllability & Vividness

When practicing imagery, the two primary factors that impact the effectiveness are controllability and vividness. Controllability is one’s ability to imagine or control exactly what you desire to see in your mind.  Vividness refers to the level of detail and clarity that the image contains. It is important to remember that imagery, like all mental and physical skills, takes time to learn and master. The more you practice, the better you will improve, and the more effective the imagery will become.

Mental Performance Coaching & Consulting

Imagery is just one of many mental skills rooted in sport psychology that can help runners return to running. To learn more mental skills and sport psychology techniques to mitigate injury anxiety, manage stress, overcome injuries and help you achieve your optimal performance level, consult with a sport psychologist or mental performance coach for athletes. Mental performance consulting is a non-clinical alternative to traditional talk therapy using mental skills and sport psychology techniques to enhance performance, overcome obstacles, and increase enjoyment.

Originally published on Custom Performance.

References

Arvinen-Barrow, Monna, & Walker, Natalie (2013). Imagery in Sport Injury Rehabilitation. (1^st ed.). Routledge.

Holmes, P.S., & Collins, D.J. (2001). The PETTLEP approach to motor imagery: A functional equivalence model for sport psychologist. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 13, 60-83.

Vealy, Robin S. & Forlenza, Samuel T. (2015). Understanding and Using Imagery in Sport. In J.M. Williams and V. Krane (Eds.) Applied sport psychology: Personal growth to peak performance. McGraw Hill Education. https://www.mheducation.com/highered/product/applied-sport-psychology-personal-growth-peak-performance-williams-krane/M9780078022708.html

Scott, M. W., Wright, D. J., Smith, D., & Holmes, P. S. (2022). Twenty years of PETTLEP imagery: An update and new direction for simulation-based training. Asia Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 2(2), 70–79. https://doi-org.uws.idm.oclc.org/10.1016/j.ajsep.2022.07.002

Weinberg, Robert S. & Gould, Daniel (2019). Foundations of Sport and Exercise Psychology (7^th ed.). Human Kinetics.

Williams, J. M. & Krane, Vikki (2015). Applied sport psychology: personal growth to peak performance. Seventh edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Education. https://www.mheducation.com/highered/product/applied-sport-psychology-personal-growth-peak-performance-williams-krane/M9780078022708.html

Olympians Use Imagery as Mental Training, https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/23/sports/olympics/olympians-use-imagery-as-mental-training.html

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One of the biggest misconceptions about confidence in sports is that most athletes and coaches think confidence is simply the belief in one’s ability to win or succeed. That definition is too narrow and often leads to a simplified “yes or no”, “you either have it or you don’t” type of thinking, when the reality is that confidence is actually far more complex.

Most athletes experience a spectrum of confidence levels that fluctuate throughout the season based on internal and external factors. When I teach athletes and coaches about confidence, I encourage them to think about this broader concept: a continuum centered on optimal confidence, with underconfidence on one end and overconfidence on the other.

Underconfidence

Underconfidence, also known as low confidence, is marked by an underestimation of one’s ability to perform (APA). Underconfident athletes tend to under estimate their skill level and potential. They’re often overcome with self-doubt and have difficulty recovering from mistakes during practice or competition. They also tend to be underprepared, both physically and mentally, and highly sensitive to feedback from coaches which creates a self-fulfilling prophecy of failing in pressure situations.

Overconfidence

Overconfident athletes believe they are better than their game statistics suggest and carry an inflated sense of their performance history. They also tend to lack physical and mental preparation, and often respond to pressure situations by trying to over perform or hoard the ball. In many cases, overconfident athletes have a history of being pampered by parents, guardians or past coaches.

Optimal Confidence

Athletes with optimal confidence are prepared for pressure situations, both physically and mentally. They set realistic, attainable individual and team goals, and they approach competition with a clear game strategy.

Now that we’ve reframed confidence as a spectrum, how do we help athletes find their way into the zone of optimal confidence?

According to Bandura, high levels of self-efficacy contribute to better performances, or “mastery experiences.” Athletes who receive feedback and assurance that their goals are attainable tend to increase their motivation and effort until they achieve the success they’re after. Here are four strategies I use in mental coaching for athletes to help build confidence in sports before competition, along with free confidence-building worksheets you can use to work through them. I recommend athletes set aside quiet reflection time for each of the four categories: performance accomplishments, vicarious experience, verbal persuasion, and arousal control (emotion regulation).

1. Past Performance Accomplishments & Experience

According to Bandura’s Theory (1997), the strongest predictor of self-efficacy is the athletes’ previous successful experiences (Williams & Krane, 2015). Taking a moment to reflect on all your past accomplishments in your sport, from the beginning of your career through to today, is one of the most effective ways to build your confidence in sports. Bring to mind a mental highlight reel of yourself playing your absolute best: maybe memories of playing in a flow state, big plays you made in critical moments under pressure, or an opponent you shut down. You can also create an actual highlight reel of video footage from your matches to watch before competition or during breaks. Imagery is a highly effective sport psychology strategy for building confidence in sports.

2. Vicarious Experience

You can also build confidence through vicarious experience: identifying a role model or expert in your sport and learning by watching and modeling their approach (Williams & Krane, 2015). This might mean watching college-level or professional competitions. The FIFA World Cup, Olympics and Paralympics are great opportunies to find and learn from a new role model in your sport.

3. Verbal Persuasion

Verbal persuasion is another effective sport psychology technique for building confidence athlete confidence in sports: it’s the positive feedback you’ve received from the people in your life life, most importantly your teammates and coaches. Spend some time reflecting on positive feedback, affirmations, and compliments you’ve received from them, and trust that they mean it. You may also find it helpful to reflect on what it felt like when your coaches recruited you and remind yourself that you were chosen to play for your team because they believed in your ability, talent, and potential.

4. Arousal Control (aka Emotion Regulation)

Arousal control, or the process of recognizing and managing ones optimal arousal state during competition, can also function to increase self-efficacy in athletes (Williams & Krane, 2015). Think about what it feels like when you first start to feel the pressure of a big game, meet, or competition. What does it feel like in your body? Do your muscles feel tight or heavy? Do you feel tension in your jaw, neck, chest or stomach? Picture that tension: what color is it? What is the texture? Next envision the tension leaving your body. Some athletes find it helpful to picture tension existing their body through an exhale of breath. Notice that you are not your anxiety, your worry, or your stress. That tension is separate from you. Externalize it. Let it go. Picture it leaving your body and notice a quiet sense of calm that follows. Learning to regulate your emotions to reach an optimal performance state is one of the most effective sport psychology techniques for increasing confidence in sports.

Ready to put these strategies into practice? Download the free confidence-building worksheets and start working through each category this week.

References

Bandura, Albert. (1990) Perceived self-efficacy in the exercise of personal agency, Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 2:2, 128-163, DOI: 10.1080/10413209008406426 

Bandura, A., & Cervone, D. (1983) Self-evaluative and self-efficacy mechanisms governing the motivation effects of goal systems. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 45, 1017-1028.

Burton, Damon & Raedeke, Thomas, D. (2008). Sport Psychology for Coaches. Human Kinetics.

Hays, K., Thomas, O., Maynard, I., & Bawden, M. (2009). The role of confidence in world-class sport performance. Journal of Sports Sciences, 27(11), 1185–1199.

Williams, J. M. & Krane, Vikki (2015). Applied sport psychology: personal growth to peak performance. Seventh edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Education. https://www.mheducation.com/highered/product/applied-sport-psychology-personal-growth-peak-performance-williams-krane/M9780078022708.html

Vealey, R. S., Hayashi, S. W., Garner-Holman, M., & Giacobbi, P. (1998). Sources of sport confidence: Conceptualization and instrument development. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 20(1), 54.

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Whenever you do imagery it’s important that you are clear on the purpose of the exercise. A survey among teams at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs found that 90% of Olympic athletes use some form of visualization or imagery in their sport.  80% used it to prepare for competition, 48% used it to correct technical errors, 44% used it to learn a new technique or skill and 40% used it for relaxation.

Benefits of Imagery include:

• increased confidence in sport;
• increased concentration in sport;
• arousal control during pressure situations;
• preparedness for specific competition scenarios and matchups;
• extra mental repetitions using perfect technique;
• and error correction.

This is also a great tool for athletes to use when you’re injured. Injured athletes can use imagery while they are sidelined to picture past performances and imagine future performances. Injured athletes can also use imagery to envision their body healing itself and becoming stronger.

Imagery Script

An imagery script is the story you tell yourself when you’re mentally rehearsing. Writing your own, personalized imagery script to prepare for high pressure competition can be extremely powerful. Here’s a customized imagery script for volleyball players that you can modify and make your own. However, first I want to talk to the difference between an internal and external imagery perspective.

Internal vs External Imagery Perspectives

In an internal imagery perspective, you see the action as it would unfold through your own eyes as if you were playing on the court. In contrast, in an external perspective, you view the action from outside of your body as if you were watching yourself perform on tape. There is no right or wrong way to engage in imagery. The goal is to get clearest image of yourself possible, therefore you should use whichever form of imagery (external or internal) that provides you the clearest image.

A Few Final Tips

The use of imagery is different than visualization because visualization only uses the athlete’s sense of vision, while imagery applies multiple senses such as auditory and tactile sensory information. While practicing imagery, it is most effective if you engage as many senses as possible. Ask yourself questions such as: What will it feel like in my body? What will it sound like? What will look like? What will it taste like? What will it smell like?

If at any point while practicing imagery or guided visualization exercises you notice yourself distracted by thoughts that derail you from the intended purpose, don’t beat yourself up.  Just recognize your thoughts and redirect your attention to the visualization.

Resource

Sample Imagery Script

Reference

Burton, Damon & Raedeke, Thomas, D. (2008). Sport Psychology for Coaches. Human Kinetics.

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Athletes and coaches alike experience a fight-or-flight response when their sympathetic nervous system is activated. Physical symptoms of stress can include increased heart rate, stomach nausea, shortness of breath, muscle tension, and unwanted arousal. There are evidence-based muscle-to-mind techniques that you can use to help athletes reduce their levels of performance anxiety and stress.

For starters, it can be helpful to break down the techniques into two distinct categories: muscle-to-mind techniques and mind-to-muscle techniques. Muscle-to-mind relaxation techniques focus on relaxing the body as a means to calming down the mind. Examples of muscle-to-mind techniques include diaphragmatic breathing and progressive muscle relaxation (PMR). On the other contrary, mind-to-muscle techniques such as meditation and imagery, start with calming the mind as a way to relax the body. As a mental coach for athletes, I recommend integrating both types of techniques to improve emotion regulation and manage athletes stress.

There’s a ton of websites and apps boasting about strategies to de-stress however, before implementing any relaxation technique in practice or competition, it’s critical to understand the difference between total relaxation and rapid relaxation techniques. The goal of total relaxation is to help athletes completely relax by achieving maximal relaxation, while the goal of rapid relaxation is to reduce stress quickly without depleting one’s energy level (Burton & Raedeke, 2008).

The process for total relaxation typically between 10 and 20 minutes and can help athletes reduce chronic stress and anxiety (Burton & Raedeke, 2008). Total relaxation techniques are ideally performed after practice or competition to help them recover from intense workouts or just before going to bed to improve sleep. Total relaxation techniques should not be done prior to workouts because they leave players feeling lethargic, sluggish, and passive (Burton & Raedeke, 2008).The benefits of total relaxation techniques include chronic stress reduction, promotion of recovery from workouts, improved sleep, and the development of relaxation skills (Burton & Raedeke, 2008).

On the other hand, rapid relaxation is ideal for athletes and coaches to do prior or during practice and competition for example – during a time-out. Rapid relaxation can be done in any environment in a matter of 3 to 5 seconds and the benefits of rapid relaxation include reduction in muscle tension, arousal control, disruption of the stress spiral, energy conservation, and ultimately increasing athlete enjoyment in sport (Burton & Raedeke, 2008).

One effective muscle-to-mind total relaxation strategy that coaches can teach players to use is called progressive muscle relaxation (PMR). The premises of PMR is to flex individual muscle groups and then passively releasing the muscle group to promote deep muscle relaxation (Burton & Raedeke, 2008). When flexing one’s muscles, the tension should gradually build-up for 5 to 7 seconds and then released abruptly. After releasing the muscle, the athlete should direct their attention towards relaxing that specific muscle group for a minimum of 20 seconds and up to 1 minute (Burton & Raedeke, 2008). The athlete can continue this process of targeted muscle tension, followed by focused muscle relaxation for muscle groups (Burton & Raedeke, 2008).

Cued relaxation is an example of a rapid relaxation technique that can be used before or during competition (Burton & Raedeke, 2008). In cued relaxation, the goal is for athletes to identify a cue word that triggers the desired relaxation response (Burton & Raedeke, 2008). Cued relaxation should be paired with a total relaxation technique such as PMR. Once the athlete gets comfortable achieving a relaxation level of 8 or more on a 10-point scale with 10 being completely relaxed, they should start to repeat their cue word in their mind at each exhalation for 15 or more repetitions. With practice, eventually the athletes will be able to stimulate the relax response within 3 to 4 seconds by combining their cue word with 1 or 2 diaphragmic breaths.

Sometimes athletes need to be fired up and energized, rather than relaxed before competition. The term energization is the opposite of relaxation, it involves intentionally speeding up one’s heart rate to increase blood flow to muscles and stimulate brain activity (Burton & Raedeke, 2008). Energization can help athletes improve concentration, increase their energy level, motivation, and confidence level (Burton & Raedeke, 2008). One example of an energization strategy that athletes can use prior to or during competition is a technique called psych-up breathing. In psych-up breathing, the athlete is instructed to take quick and shallow consecutive breaths to inhale as much as oxygen as possible in a short period of time. During psych-up breathing, the breaths are shallower and taken in with the lungs as opposed to the diaphragm (Burton & Raedeke, 2008).

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