| Mental
and Physical Preparation
Thirty-five
seconds is all that counts on each competition 4-way jump. The
entire Nationals is less than six minutes. How do you make sure it’s
the best six minutes skydiving of your life, not your worst?
It’s
all in the preparation, both physical and mental. If you’re fit,
full of energy and approach skydiving as a sport, you’ll get the
best results. If your mind is prepared and you feel great, you’ll
have a good jump.
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| If
you want improvement, if you're a team member and if you're
looking at competitions you'll know you should be acting like
you're a sportsman or sportswoman. We may have lost the word ‘Sport’
from our Mag title, but skydiving is one – ask anyone who's
successful and they'll tell you it's far more than just a hobby
for a few weekends in summer. Top level skydiving takes training
and planning of mind and body; a genuine holistic approach. That's
why they look great, talk sense, and collect the medals. They're
fit and they're not embarrassed to say no to that last beer, that
one more smoke or that big party the night before. They work out,
they warm up and what's more, they think about their skydiving.
Perhaps you
think your skydiving isn't good enough to warrant that early
morning stretch or dedicating your total attention to your
jumping. If you don't put 100 per cent into it, then you can tell
yourself it's not your fault if you don't achieve your goal. If
your warming up is putting on a cardigan, your physical
preparation is downing as many pints as you can and your mental
preparation is staying up as late as possible, you may want to
give yourself a better chance of success.
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| "We
ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented,
fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be."
Nelson Mandela
So go on, have
faith in yourself and prepare properly. You're worth it.
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Physical
Preparation
Pete
said fitness is all relative, you only need to be fit enough to do
what you do. So, if you can already perform physically as well as
you want in skydiving and in life, there is no need to change any
habits. "For me, I like to do yoga daily and cycle for
stamina. I find that I need to maintain a certain level of
strength and suppleness in order to perform well, which includes
making 10-15 jumps a day and staying energised for them." He
cautions "If starting a new exercise program, go easy. Don't
hurt yourself right away as your body, and mind, will not want to
continue. Set goals and track them."
Toby said a
light stretch in the mornings would help the body acclimatise to
opening shocks plus a bit of cardio-vascular stuff for five
minutes can help warm the body and get the oxygen flowing. I don't
think he just means running to the cafe for that first cup
of tea and
jogging on the spot in the queue. "Ensure you have at least
five litres of water and enough light, healthy snacks to keep your
blood sugar level up all day."
John runs,
cycles and surfs to keep fit for jumping but feels the most
important physical preparation is stretching. "I suggest
stretching in the morning lightly to wake up the body, then
continue to stretch throughout the day. If you need it, weight
training may also beneficial for exits and some piece
flying."
Steve said you
don't need to be super-fit but being in decent shape will
definitely enhance performance. "Try doing 15 jumps a day,
packing for yourself in 100 degrees heat – let me know how you
felt during jump number 15 if you're not fit!
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Steve
also advised "Try to include the
four S's - strength, stamina, speed and suppleness - into any
training programme. Remember that most sports injuries occur at
the end of our range of motion for that particular joint or muscle
group. If you don't do anything else, at least do some gentle
stretching before a day's jumping."
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Mental
Preparation
Pete
said, if his mind is prepared and he feels good he will have a
good jump. Other things may happen on the jump that are out of his
control and he can make a mistake but, if he is mentally prepared,
he will be able to re-focus and give the best he has.
"I need
to feel relaxed and calm before a jump and have a clear image of
what is going to happen. In order to relax I focus on my
breathing. I may spend some time on my own virtually meditating
until I feel that I have reached the stage of mental preparation
that I am looking for. Then I spend some time visualising the jump
as I want to see it happen. I include as many sensations as I can
in this mental rehearsal and I like to see the jump a fraction
slower than it actually happens or real time."
Pete varies the
speed of visualisation to address different areas. If he's
learning a new move or the dive has a particularly tricky move, he
uses a slow motion mental run-through. He also visualises at an
almost ridiculously fast rate, in order to check if he really has
the dive and to see if any particular points stand out at high
speed. "Invest in mental preparation before each jump. Learn
to reset your mind when a mistake occurs – mistakes will happen,
the trick is how you deal with them!" Pete says to visualise
clearly what you want to see. Use other senses, feel, smell and
sound. "Know what mindset you need in order to perform
well."
Toby said he
feels mental preparation for a skydive starts when you get to the
DZ and continues
all day. Putting yourself in a positive frame of mind always goes
a long way to your enjoyment and success, he said. "Aim to
find your optimum level regarding energy and comfort then monitor
it through the day to keep it constant. Whenever you prepare for a
skydive, only focus on positive things, like something you will do
to improve a move or maybe a really enjoyable block or random.
Make it easy on our brain, remembering the names of the formations
will help, as will seeing the skydive from the cameraman's
perspective." Toby usually visualises every 20-30 minutes
before a skydive if he is waiting on a call and then runs through
it on take off, half-way and run-in.
John's tips: He
likes to be as relaxed as possible when skydiving and finds yoga
and meditation a useful tool. "Set yourself goals for each
jump, day, week, season. This will help give your skydiving real
purpose. Learn all the randoms and blocks. Read sports psychology
books and see how other sportspeople prepare for their
event."
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Steve said
visualisation imagery should be as detailed as possible.
"Prior to the Nationals I made enquiries regarding the
aircraft; what colour it was, the seating
arrangement, how the door opened. My pre-meet visualisation
started weeks before I was even in the country and, when we climbed
out for round one it was as if
we'd done hundreds of jumps from it. Watch other
skydivers and other teams and picture yourself doing what they do.
If I had a penny for every hour of 4-way footage I've watched I
could retire already."
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Aerial
Photos: Ian Brown
Ground
Photos: Kaz Morley
Article
by: Jo Malone
johomalone@hotmail.com
Compiled
from: Sebastian XL
pete_allum@compuserve.com
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