Exercise Scientists Facing Anxiety-Related Challenges: Essay Sample

Introduction

Coaches and exercise scientists mostly face the challenge of meeting the ideal performance when faced with anxiety issues. Anxiety is normally a healthy emotion common to most individuals. However, for cases where individuals experience disproportionate anxiety levels it might lead to a serious mental disorder. It is this situation that makes exercise scientists face a dynamic dilemma. This paper targets to answer four discussion questions related to sports. However, this first discussion exclusively talks about anxiety and how it can get applied to improve performance.

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According to Brooker, (2018), apart from anxiety being an annoying symptom, individuals can use it as a tool in achieving their best at its moderate levels. Coaches, physical therapists, and exercise scientists can apply the following criteria in dealing with anxiety to achieve optimal performance.

Have a positive attitude towards anxiety – the most important idea, in this case, is to use anxiety as a productive resource. According to research, stress becomes harmful only when one believes in it. Therefore, the belief that one can overcome any level of anxiety helps in building confidence. This confidence helps in fostering success.

Focus optimization – science has shown that anxiety helps in harnessing focus. In this case, attention gets directed to where it is needed most. Therefore, trainers can use this chance to improve their performance by focusing their energy in that direction.

Since anxiety makes one's brain active all through, this will make one focus his/her attention on the most important things at hand. When one is stressed, the neural processes react fast and act swiftly. At this moment, the body is at full efficiency. This scenario implies that the right utilization of anxiety can help to bear great performance results.

Competitiveness of Little League Sports

Just like the super league are important; likewise, the little league sports also are. Sports in the current dynamic world is not only a form of recreation but also a huge revenue generator. Most nations that have embraced sports and absorbed it in their culture have experienced a huge change in sports. The main aim of sports is competition, or in other words, realizing the potential in different individuals. After these competitions, teams get ranked. From these ranks, categories are discovered. For instance, in America, soccer teams have been classified as the USL Championship, USL League One, etc. Being in the lowest category does not mean that the team has failed. All that is needed is an improvement since even those teams in the top leagues graduated from the little leagues.

Sports Rewarding

Every individual who takes part in a sporting competition does so for (1) recognition, (2) get a reward or, (3) unveil his/her potential. But since sports today have become a source of income to many people, the main goal of participating in a competition is to get rewarded. That is why participants exercise tirelessly for a long because they aim at the reward they will get. However, for one to win, he/she must be a champion. All those medalists who are recognized for their excellent work in sports started when they were young. Teachers, parents, and guardians play a crucial role in a child's talent realization. Every talent requires an appraisal. But sometimes participants get over rewarded for their performance. Therefore, instead of only recognizing and rewarding the top performers, young talents should also get rewarded to enhance motivation and zeal.

Overtraining and Burnout

The overtraining syndrome or burnout is a state experienced by an athlete whereby he/she undergoes fatigue and performance decline in sport regardless of training. Overtraining has many negative effects on an athlete as it causes mood changes, frequent injuries, reduced motivation, and to a greater extent, infections. Burnout gets described as a product of emotional and physical stress of training (Winsley, 2017).

Overtraining will happen if an athlete does not adequately recover from competition or training. Overtraining symptoms result from hormonal imbalance and immune system suppression, which leads to reduced athlete's ability to fight infection, psychological changes, and physical fatigue. The risk factors associated with overtraining include; excessive training, single-sport participation, low self-esteem, participating in endurance sports, and coaching or parental pressure to perform. The following symptoms from an athlete will help tell if the individual suffers from overtraining syndrome or burnout.

• Withdrawal from participation
• Joint and chronic muscle pain
• Loss of appetite and weight
• High heart rate even when not training
• Fatigue
• Lack of enthusiasm
• Mood and personality changes
• Prolonged illness
• Sleep disturbance
• Burnout Prevention

To help recover from these symptoms, the only to do is rest. However, one should participate in a sport that is most interesting to him/her (Kallus & Kellmann, 2000). Exercise should be fun. Also, age is a key factor to consider when deciding the type of sport to participate in. Then, avoid participating in hard exercise frequently and observe the diet. For instance, where an individual experiences severe burnout, longer breaks after a few months can help realize a full recovery.

Coaches, parents, and guardians should offer support and educate the athlete about his/her body cues that show the need to change or slow down the training rate (Kallus & Kellmann, 2000). On the other hand, athletes themselves should be cautious of any physical or emotional changes in their bodies. Seeking medical attention in the case of burnout is a good option, but prevention is best. Responsible training ensures good results and maintained performance. For an athlete diagnosed with overtraining syndrome, sport resumption should happen only when the symptoms have completely resolved (including mood changes, physical signs, sleep disturbances, etc.).

Finally, most people exercise to maintain body balance. Others train for purposes of competition. All these are motivating factors for training. Just as important as these factors are, so are our bodies. There is an aspect that needs serious consideration in matters training; diet. The issue has been mentioned briefly above but has not been elaborated further. Not every food is fit for an athlete. Foods rich in carbohydrates are mostly recommended as they give the body energy. Also, proteins are crucial in the repair of worn-out tissues. So, as individuals get advised on the right exercise practices, the diet should be considered the main factor.

References

Brooker, E. (2018). Exploring performance anxiety. Transforming Performance Anxiety Treatment, 3-11. doi:10.4324/9780429463693-1

Kallus, K. W., & Kellmann, M. (2000). Burnout in Athletes and Coaches. Emotions in Sport. doi:10.5040/9781492596233.ch-009

Winsley, R. J. (2017). Overtraining syndrome. Oxford Medicine Online. doi:10.1093/med/9780198757672.003.0038