Mental Toughness

A while back, I asked readers to suggest some topics for me to write about. I had a request on the great topic of mental strength or what I like to call "Mental Toughness". I actually wrote about this topic in a newsletter last year, so I decided to dig it up. Since then, I have ready many strength and conditioning books that touch on the topic. One quote that stuck out to me came from world renown trainer Alwyn Cosgrove - "Psychology trumps physiology every time." I read this in Mike Boyle's latest book - Advances in Functional Training. Mike was shocked that the college hockey team he worked with was getting stronger with a circuit model that usually does not elicit strength gains. Cosgrove's answer was simply saying that the athletes were responding to the competitive environment the circuit style of training created.

I felt this was great quote because it can work both ways. As in Boyle's case, the team was accomplishing way more than he expected because the guys were mentally tough. On the other hand, it is easy for some athletes to "psych themselves out" of performing well. I always tell my clients that I will never force them to do something I know they cannot do, but I will make them do something that they THINK they cannot do, but I KNOW they can.

I am not an expert on sports psychology, so the article below is more a description about how I feel about the subject and how mental toughness is part of our programs without the clients really knowing it.


When I watch some of the top athletes in the world such as Tiger Woods and Kobe Bryant, the one thing that sticks out to me is how mentally tough they are. Even though they don't win every tournament or game, it seems like they are relentless in their pursuit of success. Kobe might miss 5 shots in a row, but he is going to keep shooting. Tiger might miss a putt or two, but when it comes to the 18th hole, you know he is going to make the putt to get into a playoff or win.

Now obviously we are not trying to turn 12 year old kids into Kobe Bryant over here at SOAR. But I see a lot of high school athletes who are very physically gifted, but lack mental toughness. Its easy for them to back out of a set of pull ups after 6 reps when I know they can get 8 or 10. When they make mistakes, they get rattled and frustrated instead of taking a deep breath and concentrating. I also see the opposite - kids who are not as physically gifted, but very successful because they will stop at nothing to get better. They make mistakes, but they don't let it get in the way of their improvement.

Working on mental toughness is an indirect part of our program. We certainly don't take time away from training to walk over hot coals. But when you have to drag a sled with 200lbs in it 40yds, there is a mental aspect to that. It would be easy to stop at the 35 yard mark when your quads are screaming and your body is telling you to stop. Or for our younger kids, its would be easy to stop a prone bridge or plank at 20 seconds when we are going for 30 seconds. Certain exercises and drills like that can help develop mental toughness in young athletes without them really knowing it.