Practice to Compete
- Catherine Love
- Mar 29, 2016
- 2 min read
I think one of the main reasons I have been so impassioned by gymnastics is that I am still challenged by performing. I struggle to perform in competition at the level that I perform at in practice. I always thought I just wasn't a strong competitor. However, I realized that I don't train for competition. It is this big ominous thing that I have to deal with every two weeks. I often loose my enjoyment because of the amount of stress that builds around each competition. I "choke" in competition, my nerves get in the way, I panic , go to hard, not hard enough, I am distracted and can't focus. I actually become ill sometimes before competition. I couldn't figure out why the skills and routines were so easy in practice compared to competition. Add my mom or my husband in the audience, and it is a competition of falls, of "I just did that perfect yesterday in practice", of frustration instead of FUN! If it was an occasional bad meet, I wont be so disturbed but the good meets when I am on are the few and far between. These good meets, such so much emotional energy out of me that I usually take a day or two off afterwards. Not mention the added pressure of having to repeat the performance!
I finally realized it was my training and not my inability to compete.
You will compete the way you practice, therefore, practice the way you want to compete. Short version: Practice to win
My practice to win rules
1. I practice a routine from start to finish, don't stop because I wobble or fall. I keep going and make it workout like in competition
2. There is no practice for me without full routines, during competition season at least
3. Whatever skills I have mastered one week before a competition are the skills I will be competing. I don't compete a skill I mastered and incorporated in my routine for what I call "prep week"
4. Prep Week: the week of competition. I enter the gym, warm up events , rotated through events as in competition. Then I go back and repeat routines fixing what I messed up on. However, I CHANGE NOTHING...I have found that changes the week before competition hijacks my focus, increase my stress, and ensures a poor competition performance.
