Why Tactical Athletes Should Train Their Brains

For years, athletes have used a variety of training methods to harness the full potential of their capabilities, ranging from variations in load and intensity to effective use of diet and supplementation to complex periodization strategies. Much of the focus has been on the body and how to train it effectively. More recently, especially beginning in the 1970’s and 1980’s, athletes began to discover the value of mental training, and coaches, psychologists, and peak performance trainers emerged on the scene touting the value of visualization skills, mind control, ritual development, and much more. Very little science existed at the time to validate or support what worked and how.

Professional athletes, collegiate athletes and even tactical athletes used many of these techniques but, kept them mostly to themselves viewing them as secret skills not to be shared with the competition. Unremarkably athletes often thought of the idea of mental training to be esoteric or abnormal. A total absence of scientific literature on the subject as well as a “show me” attitude (very common among athletes and Tactical Athletes) has created an environment where this type of training has seemed to evolve at glacial speeds.

What has changed in the last twenty years is growing and burgeoning evidence that mental training changes brain function and even the relationship between brain, autonomic functions, and physiology. This ‘changeable brain’ concept, known as neuroplasticity, is a major shift in the traditional views of how our brains work. There is now ample evidence that what you think about, visualize (imagine), feel, focus on, etc. all influence everything from brain chemistry to actual functional pathways of the brain. There is even emerging evidence that certain types of brain training affects us physiologically, including the potential of physical strength gains.

Mental training should be made into an integral part of any athletes training. Special operations personnel and elite athletes alike have understood for years many ways to leverage the use of their brain to elicit the highest levels of output from their bodies. Utilizing mental training one can have a profound affect on both the internal function and exterior performance.

Mental training for tactical athletes can take many forms from specific types of mental rehearsal, to visualization work. Learning the proper techniques in imperative for proper training.

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