Part II: Mental Tools To Raise The Bar And Vault To Hit
Part II: Mental Tools To Raise The Bar And Vault To Hit
Just another day in the gym, your first event is the uneven bars. You chalk up, you’re humming Taylor Swift’s newest song, “Blank Space.” Your teammate just dismounted off the bar, missing her release move. You take a deep breath, jump up on high bar, set for your Tkatchev. When suddenly, you’re overcome with fear as you stare down at the pit. You can hear your coach, “let’s go, you got this…” but her voice fades as your mind wanders with negative thoughts. Let’s explore how to keep it cool and how to avoid a blank space in your mind.
Raise the bar
When fear sets in a vital tool is to practice visualization. Feel your body going through the skill and performing it successfully. Give yourself cue words, by saying strong tap, see my toes, throw the bar, reach. Take it a step further and go through these body positions while saying your cue words. And most importantly positive self-talk, words like, breathe, relax, I got this. The goal is to create the feeling of yourself nailing the skill in your mind.
With the aid and supervision of your coach try the following drills and progressions:
Skill and Drill: Tkachev
Take the skill to the floor by working back extensions snap to straddle sit.
Tkachev Drill Video
Try it on the tumble trak for more amplitude
Take the drill into the pool; you will be amazed how working in the water frees your mind and body.
As your confidence builds, utilize drills at the pit bar, a rig or a strap bar to train the skill in some way without the coach’s spot.
Have a teammate take video of your skill and watch and listen to your coaches corrections to learn the timing of when to release.
Vault to hit
When your mind goes blank or negative thoughts start to create fear and frustration you want to hook the mind back to focus. Your hook can include words like, keep it cool, don’t think too much, just do it. The goal is the hook the mind to a more positive place.
With the aid and supervision of your coach try the following drills and progressions:
Skill and Drill: Yurchenko
Utilize the tumble track to help get the feel of the lift onto the horse. We suggest working on the entry. Perform the run, round off with a rebound landing onto a resi mat.
When you become comfortable with that, rebound onto the resi and perform a standing backbend. Get lots of numbers in until you feel comfortable performing the back handspring onto the resi.
If you have a fear of flipping off the table try to think in terms of flipping up. Raising the head and chest off of the table. A great drill is a back handspring onto an elevated stacked mat and instead of bringing your arms up by your ears bring them down to your thighs, allowing your head and chest to lift.
Beginning Yurchenko Drills
In gymnastics you’re not only training your body, your training your mind. By using drills and progressions along with using mental tools, you can train your mind to do anything, that’s the mental edge.
Related:
Part I: Building Mental Toughness-Back tumbling and Beam flight series
Raise the bar
When fear sets in a vital tool is to practice visualization. Feel your body going through the skill and performing it successfully. Give yourself cue words, by saying strong tap, see my toes, throw the bar, reach. Take it a step further and go through these body positions while saying your cue words. And most importantly positive self-talk, words like, breathe, relax, I got this. The goal is to create the feeling of yourself nailing the skill in your mind.
With the aid and supervision of your coach try the following drills and progressions:
Skill and Drill: Tkachev
Take the skill to the floor by working back extensions snap to straddle sit.
Tkachev Drill Video
Try it on the tumble trak for more amplitude
Take the drill into the pool; you will be amazed how working in the water frees your mind and body.
As your confidence builds, utilize drills at the pit bar, a rig or a strap bar to train the skill in some way without the coach’s spot.
Have a teammate take video of your skill and watch and listen to your coaches corrections to learn the timing of when to release.
Vault to hit
When your mind goes blank or negative thoughts start to create fear and frustration you want to hook the mind back to focus. Your hook can include words like, keep it cool, don’t think too much, just do it. The goal is the hook the mind to a more positive place.
With the aid and supervision of your coach try the following drills and progressions:
Skill and Drill: Yurchenko
Utilize the tumble track to help get the feel of the lift onto the horse. We suggest working on the entry. Perform the run, round off with a rebound landing onto a resi mat.
When you become comfortable with that, rebound onto the resi and perform a standing backbend. Get lots of numbers in until you feel comfortable performing the back handspring onto the resi.
If you have a fear of flipping off the table try to think in terms of flipping up. Raising the head and chest off of the table. A great drill is a back handspring onto an elevated stacked mat and instead of bringing your arms up by your ears bring them down to your thighs, allowing your head and chest to lift.
Beginning Yurchenko Drills
In gymnastics you’re not only training your body, your training your mind. By using drills and progressions along with using mental tools, you can train your mind to do anything, that’s the mental edge.
Related:
Part I: Building Mental Toughness-Back tumbling and Beam flight series