Expert advice: Marie Lanners on motivation - "Don't waste your mental energy!"

TOUR Corona slows down the ambition of many amateur cyclists because there are no concrete goals. How do you still motivate yourself to train hard?

Lanners: You need a driving force such as fun, a personal challenge or the curiosity to test your own limits. Set yourself a goal. Imagine exactly what will happen when you achieve it. What do you see? What do you hear? What do you feel? If you get tired on the way, imagine the route from a helicopter's perspective and divide it into stages. It also helps to think of a role model - what he or she would do in this situation.

It's not just tiredness, but also wet clothes, freezing hands and feet or headwinds that sometimes make you think of nothing else but getting off your racing bike during training ...

Only focus on things that are under your control. You can't change the weather conditions, so don't waste your mental energy on them. Direct your inner dialogue to something positive. Encourage yourself in the same way you would encourage your best friend. Exchange negative thoughts directly for positive thoughts. For example: 'The weather is bad, I don't feel like it, my legs are heavy' for 'The more I step out of my comfort zone, the stronger I become. I'll be happy afterwards, the pain will go, the pride will stay'.

Many people struggle with nervousness on race day. Is there a simple antidote to this?

Look at your nervousness from a different perspective and say to yourself: 'Wow, I'm so motivated today! Because motivation is energy, and energy is adrenaline. Set yourself action goals, not result goals. Result targets create pressure and are also dependent on the performance of other drivers. Action goals are under your control; they describe the path to the goal, not the end result. You can resolve to only talk to yourself in a positive way, regularly loosen your shoulders or recite your mantra every time things get difficult in the race.

What advice do you have for people who find it difficult to re-motivate themselves after an accident, injury or failure in a race?

After a race that went badly, you should do a mental debriefing: What went well? Why did it go well? Because if I know why something went well, I can repeat it. By visualising your perfect race in the evening before you go to sleep, your brain is programmed to do exactly the same, because the brain makes no distinction between real images and images that you imagine. Always visualise what helps you move forward, not what blocks you.

What is the best way to deal with negative feelings?

Negative feelings prevent you from achieving your goals. These are doubts or fears such as 'I'm slower on wet roads'. You may also be frustrated or lack confidence, such as 'I haven't had enough training because of my cold'. Sometimes you simply lack the fighting spirit when you tell yourself 'I hate climbing'. Negative feelings result from such limiting beliefs that have become ingrained in your mind. There they exert a considerable influence on your thoughts, feelings and actions and can even decide whether you win or lose. You can try to change such limiting beliefs into dynamising beliefs. This is not always easy. The most effective way to overcome blockages is to seek professional help from a mental coach or sports psychologist.

Many amateur cyclists usually train alone. What is the best way to motivate yourself without a team or club?

Motivation is boosted by riding partners. Together with friends, you can talk, distract yourself and support each other. If you are travelling alone, make a plan: draw up precise weekly plans with realistic goals and anticipate things that could slow you down in your training or progress: Tiredness, pain, listlessness, hunger, relationship problems or short winter days.

Training plan for motivation

Marie Lanners reveals in TOUR how you can train your mind just like professional cyclists and provides exercise instructions for motivation

... for ambitious goals

Idol

"Hang a photo that symbolises your goal on the fridge or in the office. You can also add a motivational quote that you recite several times a day to remind you of your goal. This way you can have a positive influence on yourself and mobilise more energy."

... during hard training or bad weather

Mantra

"When it hurts during hard training, it's mentally the hardest. Instead of focussing on the heavy legs, distract yourself and count pedal strokes: "1,2,3 ... 1 to 10, 100 sitting, 100 standing". Recite a mantra, phrases that you use over and over again like a magic formula that gives you strength: Push.Push. Push. / step fast and light / be loose and relaxed / pe-da-lie-re."

... despite nervousness before the start of the race

Quick release

"Take three breaths, counting from one to four as you inhale and from one to seven as you exhale. If you are tense, you can clench your hands into a fist as you inhale and tense your arms to consciously release the tension as you exhale. You can do the same with your buttocks and legs. Then jump a few times and tap your arms and legs. This releases stress-related tension and energises you for the start."

... after negative experiences such as a fall, injury or retirement

Wishful thinking

"This allows you to process negative experiences: Watch the film of the race in your mind's eye. What resource was missing that caused you to fall? If it was a lack of concentration, imagine a race in which your concentration was excellent. Mentally put yourself back in that situation as if you were now in that state of concentration. With this feeling of intense concentration, project yourself into the last race before the moment in which you fell, so that the film runs differently as you now have the resource of "concentration". Then imagine a positive future and your next race, the way it would ideally go."

... for negative feelings before training or racing

Border crossing

"Once you have identified your limiting belief that triggers negative feelings, try to transform it into a dynamising sentence. This must evoke a positive emotion, such as joy, fighting spirit, motivation, self-confidence. The sentence should be short, energetic and without negation, such as: "I have already done it, I will do it again! I can do it! I'm full of energy! Push and go! Just do it!" Then say your sentence a few times a day for a month so that it becomes ingrained in your mind."

... for training alone

Diary

"Change the route as often as possible to avoid monotony. If it's cold, go for short rides. Use the cool temperature to ride up hills. Record your progress either in a notebook or an app."

Marie Lanners is a sports psychologist and has been working as a mental coach for competitive athletes since 2005. Among other things, she advises the Luxembourg sports federations for triathlon and football and worked for the Continental cycling team Leopard-Trek. She currently coaches the professionals of the Word Tour team Lotto-Soudal.