The athletic lifestyle can often be quite stressful. It is filled with intense training sessions and constant demands for improvement imposed by the environment, but also by the athletes themselves. Furthermore, an athlete’s schedule is frequently overloaded with obligations from various segments of life. For the purpose of preventing and managing both cognitive and physical fatigue, athletes need high-quality, proven methods to release accumulated tension.
Relaxation Exercises
As part of mental preparation, athletes practice deep relaxation exercises, one of which will be presented here.
To begin, we will start by explaining the difference between “deep” and “shallow” relaxation exercises. To make it easier to understand, imagine your body as a glass or a container for stress. Stress accumulates in this container bit by bit. Of course, like all other containers, this one has its capacity—a limit to how much stress can build up.
When Stress Takes Center Stage
Once the container is full and just one more drop of stress falls onto the top, it overflows. Remember what happens when we drop just a single drop into an already full glass. Does only that single drop overflow, or is it a bit more than that?
This is precisely the situation athletes want to avoid, because an overflowing stress container leads to a reduced ability to focus on tasks, lower motivation, faster burnout, and ultimately, a lack of progress or poorer results.
With shallow relaxation exercises, such as breathing exercises, we prevent the accumulation of new stress or temporarily relieve our tension; we use them in situations where we want to control our emotions, arousal levels, or focus on a task. They are definitely an excellent aid, and every athlete should practice and use them as needed. Through deep relaxation exercises, we achieve another important benefit for the athlete. By practicing and regularly using them, we rid ourselves of the built-up, residual stress in our container, thereby freeing our body and mind from all the tensions and challenges of this lifestyle.
Deep Relaxation Exercises (PMR)
There are several types of deep relaxation exercises; self-hypnosis, autogenic training, and various forms of meditation are just a few.
In this article, we will present an exercise called Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) or the Jacobson method. This method was developed back in 1938 and has since undergone multiple modifications and adaptations, but it remains one of the most scientifically validated relaxation methods. PMR works on the principle of the relaxation reflex, which occurs when we contract a muscle and then release it.
When we relax a contracted (tensed) muscle, we will feel that the muscle has achieved an even deeper state of relaxation than before the contraction. PMR is used in working with almost all types of anxiety disorders, but it has also found its application in working with athletes. The method shows exceptional results in reducing accumulated stress when used regularly 1–2 times a day over several weeks.
The goal of PMR is to notice and learn the difference between the states of muscle relaxation and tension, and to achieve full-body relaxation. The typical duration of PMR is between 15 and 20 minutes, during which almost all major muscle groups are covered.
- The exercise is performed by having the athlete contract and release (relax) the muscles of their body, progressing systematically from one group to the next.
- During muscle contraction, three-quarters of maximum strength should be used to avoid cramping or muscle pain. The progression moves from the feet up to the head, or vice versa.
- To start, the exercise is performed in a lying or semi-reclined position on a semi-firm surface (ideally a mat), and later, the athlete is encouraged to practice relaxation in sitting and standing positions.
- Initially, the athlete practices PMR with their eyes closed to reduce the impact of visual information and to be able to focus more on the instructions and the execution of the exercise itself.
- During the muscle contraction phase, the mental coach emphasizes the tension with words like: “Feel the tension, the tightness, hold the muscle tight, firm… and now relax…”; while during the relaxation phase, the focus is on letting go: “Notice the relaxation of your muscles, pay attention to the difference between tension and relaxation in your muscles. Notice the pleasant sensation that relaxation brings; your muscles are pleasantly heavy, warm, relaxed. Remember this difference between tension and relaxation…”
- The muscle contraction lasts for about 5 seconds, and the relaxation lasts for about 20 seconds, during which the athlete uses an internal voice to tell themselves: “I am relaxed… let go… my muscles are relaxed and soft…”
Muscle Groups
The groups covered in the full version of PMR are:
- Feet: curl toes downward
- Calves: point feet downward (plantar flexion)
- Shin/Lower leg: pull feet upward so toes point toward the ceiling (dorsiflexion)
- Thighs: squeeze the quadriceps
- Hamstrings: push heels and knees down into the surface you are lying on
- Groin/Inner thighs: squeeze knees together
- Glutes: squeeze gluteus muscles and lift slightly off the surface
- Lower back: arch hips forward
- Abs: brace abdominal muscles and slightly flex the torso forward
- Upper back: squeeze shoulder blades together
- Chest: cross arms over chest and contract pectorals
- Shoulders: shrug shoulders up toward ears
- Biceps: flex arms strongly at the elbows
- Triceps: press full arms down against the surface
- Forearms: flex gently closed fists inward
- Hands: squeeze into fists or spread fingers maximally
- Neck: press back of head against the surface
- Lips: press together without clenching the jaw
- Jaw: bite down firmly
- Eyebrows: push downward as if frowning
- Eyes: squeeze eyelids shut
- Forehead: raise eyebrows upward
It is important to note that, especially in the beginning, the goal is always to contract and stimulate only one muscle group at a time. For example, when we want to contract the shin, we raise the foot upward without additionally squeezing the quadriceps. The audio instructions for the exercise, along with the accompanying emphasis on tension and relaxation, can also be recorded to make it easier to follow the sequence of muscle groups.
After passing through all the mentioned groups, the athlete is instructed to focus on their breathing. Counting backward from 10 to 1 with each exhalation, they are guided to notice the relaxation of their muscles, the pleasant sensation spreading through the body, and to remember this difference between relaxation and tension.
Body scan
Initially, the athlete performs PMR in the peace and comfort of their own home, away from stressful situations.
As the athlete becomes better at executing this exercise, the scope of muscle groups is reduced, and some muscle groups are stimulated simultaneously, thereby shortening the duration of the exercise. The athlete also practices PMR in other positions and situations. As previously explained, throughout the duration of PMR, internal self-talk is paired (“I am relaxed, let go, my muscles are pleasantly relaxed…”), and the ultimate goal for some athletes is to simply scan their body from feet to head within just a few minutes, without prior contraction. If they recognize a specific tension, they use their calming internal self-talk to additionally relax their muscles. This exercise is called a body scan and belongs to the group of shallow relaxation exercises.
Modifications of the Exercise
Of course, it should be pointed out that some athletes always use the full version of PMR because they feel it is the best way to rid themselves of tension, making this method the most suitable for them.
However, modifications to the exercise itself are possible, such as the contraction and relaxation of only certain parts of the body—for example, just the legs and arms—which is referred to as partial PMR. Some athletes choose double PMR when they want extreme muscle relaxation, repeating the contraction and relaxation routine twice in a row for each muscle group.
Those athletes who specifically want to feel the differences between weak and strong contractions, and become aware of different degrees of muscle tension, repeat the contractions twice: the first time lighter, and the second time more forcefully. In this case, we call it differential PMR. Modifications to the exercise exist precisely to ensure that the needs of every athlete and situation are met in an appropriate way.
Athletes most commonly apply PMR after training or before bed to additionally unwind and fall asleep easier. It is not recommended to perform this exercise, at least in its full version, immediately before a competition because the side effects include extreme relaxation and a slight drowsiness of the body, which can negatively impact the level of arousal required for certain sports.
To control arousal and emotions during or before a competition, athletes use shallow relaxation exercises, such as the previously explained breathing exercises or the body scan. It is possible to use only elements of PMR, where an athlete can perform a few seconds of contraction and relaxation of a specific muscle group during a break in play. This kind of application is possible in all sports where the activity is not continuous but consists of short breaks or timeouts from active play (e.g., tennis, volleyball, handball…).
Let this technique be one of the components of your mental preparation, helping you achieve progress and create a significant competitive edge over your opponents.
