Race Day Success: Do You Have The Killer Instinct?

Everyone knows that elite athletes have a mental “edge”. Do amateur athletes need a champion mindset to win?

We all have different reasons for doing competitive sport. For some, it’s the personal achievement of getting fitter, losing weight, overcoming personal barriers. For others, it’s the challenge of beating PBs or even winning races and being selected to race overseas.

One thing unites us all: races.

But do amateur athletes need the mental edge, the “killer instinct”, the champion mindset in order to achieve? Or is that what separates elite and Pro athletes from amateurs?

As a coach, it’s my opinion that a “winner’s mindset” is important for every athlete, regardless of your goals. It goes without saying that a talented amateur who is aiming for top 3 in a race needs to have mental strength and self-belief. But what about the weekend warrior, or first timer, who just wants to get round in one piece? Do they really need to work on their mindset and self-development? Isn’t training to swim, bike, and run enough?

7 Ways You Can Benefit From A Champion Mindset

  • Mental strength will help you overcome bumps in the road
    • Whatever your goal, and whatever level you compete at, you are likely to meet challenges along the way. Take a cue from elite athletes and develop mental strength, focus and a “Pro” attitude. This will help you overcome barriers, or get up faster when you meet setbacks.
  • Being focused streamlines your training, nutrition and athlete lifestyle
    • The more seriously you take your training, the easier it is to prioritise the things you need to do. If you tell yourself that training is important to you, it’s easier to tell other people that it matters, too. And once you start believing that your athlete lifestyle matters, you’ll find it easier to slip into a routine.
  • Self-development work benefits other areas of life, too.
    • Sport benefits so much more than our body. By working on your mental state as you train, you’ll discover that the strengths you gain flow over into other areas of your life. Goal setting, time management, organisational skills, focus, stress management, prioritisation…. your career, home life, relationships will all benefit from the things you learn in training. Training your mind helps you take valuable lessons from sport.
  • Mental focus boosts adrenalin and peak performance
    • Working on your mental state actually gets your body into a different state, too. You’ll be able to tap into adrenalin and other useful hormones will which fire you up for training and racing, giving your performance the edge.
  • The mental edge strengthens self-belief
    • By adopting an elite-athlete’s mindset, and seeing yourself as a champion, your self-belief and confidence will grow. It’s not arrogance, and it’s not delusional. It’s confidence in your abilities, skills and talents.
  • Knowing your “why” will make success sweeter
    • Part of a champion attitude is knowing exactly why you are training and racing. What does it mean to you? What do you want to achieve? Knowing your “why” will heighten the happiness you feel when you finish your race.
  • You might achieve even more than you set out to do!
    • Finally, if you adopt a champion mindset, you may find that you are capable of much more than you thought!