Purpose

• Helps athletes calm their bodies during competition.
• Distracts the mind from competition pressures.
• Gives the performer a task to focus on.

Why It's Super Powerful

• Brings more oxygen to your blood = more energy to muscles.
• Helps in removing waste products from your body.
• Relaxation mode for both body and mind! 😌

How to Practice: Regularly! Just like you wouldn't skip leg day, don't skip on practicing breathing techniques.

Spotting the Difference

• Effective Breathing: Deep, regular, and slow.
• Ineffective Breathing: Holding breath before an event or breathing too fast and shallow. This reduces oxygen levels & increases muscle tension. 🚫

Easy Technique

• Breathe in for 4 counts. 🌬️
• Breathe out for 8 counts. 🌫️

Real-world Example: It's like slowly filling up a balloon (in 4 counts) and letting it empty out even slower (in 8 counts).

Cool Fact: When combined with relaxation & imagery, these techniques can almost make an athlete feel "hypnotic"! Imagine being in a zone, completely in control. 🌀

Definition

• Fancy instruments are used to measure your body's systems, like heart rate, muscle vibes, brain waves, or skin temp.

Why It's Neat

• Gives athletes a peek into how their bodies are performing.
• Helps them control their bodies better when they're aware of what's happening inside.

Awesome Application

Real-world Example: It's like waiting between the bounces of a basketball to take a perfect shot.

• Pistol shooters, they're like the snipers in movies, can use relaxation and breathing to lower heart rates. But, here's the mind-blowing part: they can even train to shoot in between heartbeats! 🎯 Why? Less body shake and more accuracy
• Real-world Example: It's like waiting between the bounces of a basketball to take a perfect shot.