psychology – FasterSkier.com

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Wednesday Workout: Mindfulness with Heidi Widmer

FasterSkierSeptember 6, 2017

Swiss-Canadian skier Heidi Widmer found herself on a tough stretch of road, she recently ended up taking several weeks off training. “When I had a concussion (both in the fall of 2010 and again in 2013), I listened to mindfulness videos on YouTube,” Widmer wrote in an email. “Those were stressful and uncertain times for me, because I didn’t know what was causing my symptoms nor how to get better. The videos helped guide a...

General Juniors News Racing

Young Perfectionists are at Risk of Burnout, but Good Parenting Helps

Chelsea LittleOctober 5, 2015

Henrik Gustafsson, a psychology consultant to the Swedish Olympic Committee and its cross-country skiers, published new research showing that junior athletes who were perfectionists were at greater risk of burnout. The worst risk came when parents emphasized winning over having fun, feeding into these perfectionist tendencies.

General News Racing

This Month in Journals: How We Suffer

Chelsea LittleMay 30, 2014

Did you know that “competitive suffering” is a thing, a real phenomenon with a definition and scientists studying it? That’s right, when you’re failing and get discouraged in the middle of a race (perhaps, like Alex Harvey at the Olympics, because your skis don't work), someone wants to ask you how you feel about it. This is what they've found out.

Biathlon General News Olympics Racing

Interview: Psychologist McCann Helps U.S. Biathlon “Prepare for the Good Things to Happen”

Chelsea LittleJanuary 15, 2014

Sean McCann is a sports psychologist who has worked for the USOC for over 20 years - and now he's embedded with the U.S. biathlon team, traveling to over half the World Cups so far this season. We chatted about what it's like to work with the team, and why his biggest push is to let the bad races go and get ready for good races to happen, every day.

General Health Interviews Lifestyle News Training

Despite Women’s Strength, Stereotypes Still Nip Sports Performance – With No End in Sight

Chelsea LittleMay 15, 20133

Nordic sports are pretty egalitarian, as far as athletics go - but women are still confronted, constantly, with stereotypes about what is and is not appropriate or possible for them to do. In southern France, two researchers are focusing on what effects these stereotypes have on women's participation and performance in a wide range of sports, and explained their findings in an interview.