Just imagine the Commonwealth Games - watching the athletes, swimmers, cyclists, marathon runners and thinking they make it look so easy. Sometimes you might see a grimace as they go through their own pain barrier and a smile as they go on to winning a medal, achieving a personal best or seasons best time. These are dedicated people who prove that looking after yourself mentally, physically and spiritually is the key to success.

When we are young most of us have a sports idol who we look up to, respect and believe they are perhaps the nearest to super human as we can get and many a time we say to ourselves ‘ I’ll never be like them’. This is our first mistake and it something that will hold us back - it is another burden to our overloaded negative belief system. Sports competitors have a strong internal belief system (just listen to them in interviews), the true competitor can take defeat ‘on the chin’ and then has the mental strength to move on to the next competition. This belief system is not just for sports people, it can be used in great effect in everyday ‘competitions’ ie job interviews.

To become the best you must have positive beliefs fuelling the mind and positive foods fuelling the body and a total balance in mind, body and spirit. This cannot be written off as some ‘fad’, or ‘crazy idea’, these aspects have been proved time over and is the ultimate in inner and outer body care. A negative belief system can be overturned by positive beliefs if the individual wants to do so. To get us off the starting blocks we must teach ourselves to think in successful terms before the success becomes real - all achievements begin with thought. A success consciousness has then got to be built - this is our success recipe - a plan.

The success consciousness entails a few steps: 

1) develop an I CAN consciousness - say to yourself ‘I can accomplish anything’. 

2) Develop an I WILL attitude - create enthusiasm for your objective and get moving, don’t wait for it to happen - make it happen - no one else will. 

3) A definite objective is needed so your I CAN and I WILL have an aim. 

4) A DO-IT-NOW attitude - this is a must and your enthusiasm and strong will will make you do-it-now. 

5) You have got to know that you are equal to all challenges.

This is not a five minute wonder prescription - it takes time to get negative beliefs, it will take time to create positive ones. Things such as defeatist thoughts, worries of performance and whether your brainy enough become the dominant thoughts in many a mind - it is strong thought of failure, people then think that if they don’t try then they won’t fail. This is a debilitating state to be in as there is so much in life to try, to experience and go for. Our potentials are only fractionally used, the rest is rotting - just think of what could be achieved if all potential was utilised - think of what talents you have, the information you know and what self-motivation you have - realise what you have and use it.

Emotion is a very strong force. It is an aspect of ourselves that can undermine competitors performances unless handled correctly. Even when things seem to be going right, emotion can be the one harmful thing - whether it be emotions connected to family, angry, fearful, worry over illness, or how you generally feel about yourself on the day can all stack up to against you and decide whether you will win or lose. Emotion is physically draining and therefore can lead to physical injury.

Positive Belief Strategies - "you can if you think you can". PBS are phrases that can be repeated over and over again to yourself - these will in turn, over time, overthrow your negative aspects. You will believe what you are telling yourself. You tell yourself you are a winner and you will be - even if it isn’t on your first try - this is called your ‘Always a Winner Attitude’. A quote to sum this up is from Karl Menninger who said:’ Men do not break down because they are defeated - but only because they think they are.’

Relaxation, in any form ie music, massage, localised ie neck, cue words, which is practiced before and after a performance will help an athlete to stay in control and also to prevent any developing of tension in the muscles. Another way of preparing for competition is Visualisation which always takes place after relaxation. Visualisation is when the competitor can picture the sport setting, experience the atmosphere, it is allowing the person to experience the event as if they are there. They can run the event over in their head ie their start, their perfect technique - you can end this session with a vision of your perfect performance. This skill can also be used to pre-empt any problems ie weather conditions - this then means you can be ready to handle any outcome.

To complete the mental preparation there must be a strategy - it is a routine that a competitor can follow on the day of competition. It gives details of deadlines, travel, times, warm up, practice,. It gives enough details so that if something goes awry at the competition ie delays, then the competitor can still read and follow the strategy plan and more importantly will still feel in control and leaves any doubts at low levels or non existent if it is the perfect strategy.

Athletes do have similar nutritional requirements to the average person but, because of physical exertion, they may have increased carbohydrate needs (perhaps a diet consisting of 70% carbohydrates). Athletes must be aware of manipulating their diet to achieve short term performance at the expense of life long health. There is no one food that can enhance performance, only a good range of foods can enable an athlete to compete in peak condition. To maintain energy and fluid balance when a sports activity demands a high energy expenditure, an adequate intake of calories, carbohydrates, proteins, fats and fibre, vitamins, most minerals and trace elements are essential. Athletes should follow a ‘scaled up’ diet to meet increased energy needs.

Glycogen fuels the muscles when they move, and is produce from glucose which is provided when carbohydrates are digested, it is then stored in the muscles and liver. As only a small amount of glycogen can be stored in the body, this means that athletes need a high carbohydrate diet to make sure glycogen stores are always full before any activity. A high carbohydrate diet is preferred to a high protein diet when training. As to the fluid levels, it is important that during physical exercise an intake of fluids is regular, as breathing out, sweating deplete the body’s’ reserves. Excessive fluid perspiration can lead to a reduced flow of blood to the extremities, a blood volume reduction, and in some cases dehydration, heat stroke and collapse. It is therefore necessary to drink water before, during and after physical exertion. It is worth noting at this point that there are many varieties of commercial ‘isotonic’ sports drinks which contain low levels of salts (which induces thirst and replaces minerals lost through sweating) and sugar for energy. These drinks are designed to prevent dehydration and are not retained by the stomach, it then passes to the small intestine for absorption. It is just as easy to dilute fruit juice 1:1 with water.

The mineral requirements of cells and tissues differ i.e. bone contains a lot of calcium, whereas muscle cells contain large amounts of potassium and magnesium. A shortage of minerals will normally be compensated for by reduced excretion or by the release of some of the minerals stored in the body’s tissues.

Examples include:

Potassium - lost in repeated workouts. Needed for release of energy, regular heartbeat, movement of digested food. Foods such as lean meats, vegetables, nuts, pulses, fruit especially bananas should be included.

Magnesium - a lack of this mineral can cause interference of energy release, fatigue, muscle cramps. Foods such as seafood, dark green leafy vegetables, whole grains, nuts and pulses should be included.

Zinc - a small amount is readily available, mainly in the blood. Lost through urine and sweat. Foods should include, seafood, offal, red meats, eggs, wheat germ, and pulses.

Calcium - Almost all the body's calcium is in the bones and can be lost through sweating. Bones need to constantly absorb and release calcium and when the intake of calcium is low the bones can become weaker (in severe cases can eventually lead to osteoporosis). An athletes diet must contain milk and other dairy products as well as dark green leafy vegetables.

Fat - a dreaded word in some peoples book. Due to the emphasis in an athletes diet is on a high carbohydrate intake fat needs to only make up about 30% of energy consumption. During light exercise muscle uses fat as its preferred fuel, but carbohydrates are used up faster at higher levels of activity.

Carbohydrate - A high carbohydrate intake can improve endurance, but it makes for a very bulky diet. Adding fat to food can double its energy value without adding too much bulk. When adding fat to the diet, unsaturated fats are healthier than saturated.

This is only a sensible way of eating and how to exercise properly by taking in the right amounts of fluid, not hard for people who want to follow it to get and give the maximum. Athletes have shown how focus can become a part of our lives and achievements. A total body, mind, spirit balance can be achieved and even if not all of us use it to go into an sports, perhaps we can use it in life’s’ arena.

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