Benefits of using a diary for all sports individuals and athletes
All athletes (all sports participants) should record all their activities during their season and also begin planning for the coming season. The sporttracker diary was developed to assist all athletes to manage and monitor themselves over a given season. An example of what should be monitored is
- Studies
- Work
- Training
- Performance
- Fitness
- Health
- Set and develop goals
The Diary provides a holistic approach to training and life balance and serves the dual functions of an athlete and daily diary. A training diary is one of the most valuable tools for an athlete who is intent on high performance. If used effectively, the sporttracker diary will help the athlete monitor the following
- Develop their skills
- Increase their performance
- Balance their life with sport
- Monitor their fitness
- Achieve their goals
The use of the Diary over time will develop habits that are essential for success including increasing performance, vision, focus, discipline and application, self-management, planning and achieve their goals.
“Measurement is the first step that leads to control and
eventually to improvement. If you can’t measure something, you
can’t understand it. If you can’t understand it, you can’t control it.
If you can’t control it, you can’t improve it.”
- H. James Harrington
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
WHY DO I NEED TO MONITOR MYSELF?
The SPORTTRACKER DIARY is designed to help you record and monitor your progress, allowing you to reach your training goals and aspirations. Athletes should know exactly what they are trying to achieve in their sporting careers. They need to record every training session, result, performance and competition.
For full time professional athletes this is usually organised by the coach or trainer.
If you don’t begin recording this information then you will end up ‘training blind’.
WHAT IS 'TRAINING BLIND' AND HOW DO I AVOID IT?
‘Training blind’ means going from one training session to the next without knowing what you have to work on and without clear-cut goals.
The sporttracker diary will allow you to monitor your training performance and will enable you to figure out the most efficient way to organise your training and life balance to take you to the next level of your chosen sport.
WHY CANT I JUST USE A NORMAL DIARY?
The difference between the sporttracker diary and normal diaries is that it has been designed with information from sports psychology which is researching sport and athlete’s since 1898. This research has covered motivation, goal setting, team cohesion and in the 1970’s the flow state.
WHAT'S INSIDE THE SPORTTRACKER SPORTS DIARY?
The Sporttracker diary is divided into Weeks and Days. However, unlike a normal diary each page is subdivided into sections to keep track of your Technique Training, Strength and Conditioning work, Diet and Mental Skills training. There are also pages especially designed for competition training, technique notes, goal setting and monitoring your performance.
CAN’T I JUST REMEMBER EVERYTHING IN MY HEAD?
The more accurately you can record information relating to your training, the more useful it will be. For example, if you wrote down that your maximum lift was 92.5kg then you will have an exact target to improve upon rather than trying to remember that you lifted around 90kg’s. In training, you run through numerous techniques per night, and its impossible to try and memorise every little detail and how you feel in relation to the performance. Setting your goals and also monitoring your goals is all part of the procedures needed to increase the athlete’s performance and also to reach that flow state. Accurate information leads to clear goals, which leads to results.
ISN'T IT TO MUCH EFFORT TO FILL IN THE DIARY?
Writing down the information should take less than five to ten minutes each day however once you get started you will see the benefits almost straight away. This exercise encourages you to think about your training and your goals and will force you to make your training and goals much more focused and efficient.
I'VE NEVER WRITTEN IN A DIARY BEFORE, HOW WILL I KNOW WHAT TO WRITE?
The Sporttracker Diary is divided into sections that indicate what information to record.
There is also a detailed instructions page that explains how to use the Diary so that you will know exactly what you should be writing down
WHAT IS YOUR RETURN POLICY?
Sporttracker will accept all goods that are returned within 14 days of receipt and are in like new condition. Before any goods are sent back please contact us.
WHAT IS THE FLOW STATE AND DIARIES GOT IN COMMON
The flow state occurs when the athlete’s abilities match their opportunities for action or when the challenge and skill balance is operating. This is all about focus and the better you can recall before and during a moment of flow then it will be easier to have that flow moment again. In this research a topic which is continually being researched is the flow in sport “Flow in Sports” Susan A Jackson and Mihalyi Csikszentmihaly (1999).
The way people describe their state of mind when consciousness is harmoniously ordered and they want to pursue whatever they are doing for its own sake” Mihalyi Csikszentmihaly (1991).
To reach the flow in sport is basically when an athlete can do no wrong during the competition on that specific day which they are involved in. When the flow is reached in the competition their individual performance is top class in all areas of the chosen sport. Research is still ongoing to find out how this flow can be continuously reached and one factor in this is for the athlete to record all their personal information on a weekly basis so that it can be viewed by the athlete after the flow happens during that competition. When this information is recorded in the diary the athlete can then follow the same procedures in the next competition and this increases the chance of that the flow will continue to happen. Without recording in the diary the athlete leaves everything up to chance and this will increase stress and anxiety for the athlete.
The diary has been designed with this in mind and will help to create that flow which is searched for in sport by all athletes. The diary makes it easier to record and monitor all this information and is designed for efficiency and convenience so you can take it to the gym; to competitions and anywhere else you need it.
The Flow Experience in Sport
The experience of flow is still one of the least understood phenomena in sport. And yet it is one of the richest, most memorable experiences an athlete will ever know.
Some call it a natural "high." Others refer to it as being "in a zone." Whatever it’s called, flow is an elusive and very sought-after psychological state that athletes, coaches, and sport psychologists have tried to understand, harness, and employ to their benefit since Mihaly Csikszentmihaly first coined the term back in the early 1970s.
Now, in the first book devoted exclusively to flow in sports, the pioneering legend Csikszentmihalyi and sport psychology researcher Susan Jackson attempt not only to explain the phenomenon but also to identify the key conditions associated with its occurrence.
The book begins with a description of what flow is and is not. Flow is defined as a person’s total absorption into an activity. While it is always a peak, satisfying experience, it is not necessarily associated with peak performance on every occasion.
Most of the book delves deeply into the key factors leading up to and accompanying the flow experience. The authors also recommend certain actions on the part of the athlete or coach to optimize the conditions in training and performance that allow flow to occur. The book is full of vivid examples, captivating quotes, and revealing research findings that enhance the authors` clear and insightful text.
The sport setting is rife with opportunities to experience flow-be it in pick-up games or the Olympics. But until now, flow has been an infrequent, accidental, and even mysterious phenomenon to most athletes. With Flow in Sports, this optimal experience becomes both more familiar and more achievable. Get to know flow, and get into it. Find out what you’ve been missing “Flow in Sports” Susan A Jackson and Mihalyi Csikszentmihaly (1999).
To purchase the book “Flow in Sports” Susan A Jackson and Mihalyi Csikszentmihaly (1999) you can log on to http://www.humankinetics.com/products/all-products/flow-in-sports or through any bookstore.
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