psychology

You want to PR in Boston

Written by on April 11, 2012

boston 2012

If you want to PR in Boston here are some things to think about. I’ve been working with a couple of elite Boston female runners and these are things we’ve been working on and developing into a plan for months. This blog may make it seem like there are a lot of things to focus on but choose a few of these things. Psychological race preparation the day before Sleep close to the event. You don’t want to have to worry about getting there, arriving late, having a flat or getting a ticket. You don’t need that stress the day of the … Continued

How do you approach golf?

Written by on September 30, 2011

Approaching golf

One of my golf clients is also a manager for a large company. Being a manager he works at the macro level. He doesn’t deal with a lot of minutia, he’s very good at what he’s done so he’s been successful and he is not emotionally attached to his work at all. During our conversation this past week we realized that he’s been attacking his personal life and his golf like he does his work. Do you and if so what challenges do you see in that? What are some of the differences There are distinct differences between how one operates at … Continued

Professional athletes deal with mental struggles too

Written by on September 10, 2011

You struggle with mental performance!I am working with some Olympic athletes right now who are struggling with their mental performance. Just because you are a professional athlete does not mean it’s too late to add a mental game plan to your physical training. What things do you struggle with on and off the court, field or course? What skills do you feel you can improve on? You’ve come a long way in your professional sports career otherwise you wouldn’t be a professional but what gets in the way of you getting even better particularly in the most challenging moments: when … Continued

How people view psychology

Written by on September 9, 2011

It doesn't have to be Freudian

One of my clients who has been coming to see me for almost year came in this week and at the end of our session we were talking about how far my client has come since he’s been coming to see me. This led into a brief conversation about this term psychology. My client was saying that he never thought he’d be seeing someone in psychology because of the connotations associated with it. He didn’t specifically mention what connotations he associated with psychology or psychologist but I think we can all assume what he meant. It goes something like this: … Continued

How did food go from being ‘subsistence’ to causing obesity

Written by on August 15, 2011

Bakery

I am NOT a nutritionist. I feel like I know quite a bit about food because I have been working as a personal trainer and triathlon coach for many years and have been on the almighty quest for the ‘right way to eat’ most of my life…as is the case for many of us. My other perspective on food comes from my psychology background. I am NOT certified in nutritional psychology but I’ve taken several courses and feel like I have a fair grasp on how food effects psychology, thinking, emotions, focus, concentration, etc. Some food history Originally food was … Continued

What is Exercise Psychology?

Written by on August 1, 2011

Exercise psychology

You may be thinking that exercise psychology is the same as sports psychology so why would I even bother blogging about it. I am blogging about it because they are pretty different. There are some similarities but there are many differences. Here is the technical definition: exercise psychology is concerned with the application of psychological principles to the promotion of physical activity and exercise, the psychological and emotional consequences of physical activity and exercise and the psychological, emotional and health related consequences of the lack of exercise. Wow what the heck does that mean??? Here is my interpretation and what … Continued

What is Sports Psychology?

Written by on July 29, 2011

Dr-Michelle-Team-in-Training

I’ve often been asked, “What is sports psychology.” The technical answer to this question is this: Sport psychology is the scientific study of people and their behaviors in sports activities and the practical application of that knowledge. In sport psychology it’s important to understand how psychological factors affect an athletes physical performance and to understand how participation in sport affects a person psychological development. The less technical version is this: Everything we do in life takes thought and includes emotion. For example, even once you learned  how to physically drive a car as you continued to get better at driving you developed better … Continued