I would be lying to say that there isn’t an element of performance or showing off when we ride with others. However that’s not the primary reason I would ride with others. A big part of it for me is the socialization and seeing the skills others have on a bike. I know when I got done with that ride my take aways from a practice standpoint is I wanted to get better at hopping my bike to switch directions on the skinnie like Travis did and getting better with my rear wheel lifts. If someone I ride with does something cool and I think I can learn to do it, that gets me motivated to practice. I also know that I sometimes dial back some of the things I can do so I don’t appear to be an ass or to make others feel inadequate. I don’t want to be one of those guys.
I'm with you on the main reasons for group sessioning, Pat: the pure fun and social nature of it, the inspiration from others about what to improve, the challenges, etc.
I think of performing when sessioning in a group as trying to do my best in a social situation. So that was my mindset when sessioning with you and Travis. "I know I have the ability to get over this boulder or clean this skinny. Let's see if I can do it now in front of Pat and Travis. Breathe! Relax! Focus!"
Some other individual sports (vs team sports) that come to mind that seem comparable to MTB sessioning are rock climbing/bouldering with buddies, snowboarding with buddies in a terrain park, skateboarding with buddies at a skate park, etc. All seem to offer the same reasons for doing it (social, etc), but all present an opportunity to try to perform your best in front of others.
I've only performed once in my life........actually on stage with a captive audience (they applauded, so it can't have been too bad).......and it seems that was pretty different. It involved a lot of practice ("rehearsal") and a definite effort to project into the audience.
I love seasoning because one can learn stuff and take the piss with one's buddies (maybe help them learn)........is that "performing".......or supportive social interaction?
Maybe "performance" is where you have a mastery of the skills and concentrate on their presentation, to entertain an audience and maybe "showing off' is a subset of that?
There's a lot of subtle (or overt) psychological processing going on with something like MTB, even when "recreating", and it will be challenging to isolate and develop these aspects.
Rusty, I would say that at its basic level, a performance is a situation where you want to do your best in front of others at whatever level you're at. It might be to entertain, to get their approval for your effort, to get the personal satisfaction of being able to execute under pressure, etc.
I wholeheartedly agree that there's "a lot of subtle (or overt) psychological processing going on with something like MTB, even when "recreating...""
I appreciate calling out the difference between practice and performance. We used to talk about this all the time in volleyball, and now I still separate the two approaches both on the guitar and on the bike. Thanks, Griff!
What a fun and great question. Answer is yes, we did practice at performing. When practicing skills, we would normally chunk the skills into smaller parts and/or sequences, and drill them over and over in a number of different contexts. But, when we were practicing to perform, it was more about putting it all together. Usually, we had scouting reports about our opponents, so we would basically play a full game against our own teammates, with them taking on the roles of our future opponents. So, if we knew that they had a great hitter that hit down the line a lot, a person on our team would intentionally hit like that player. There was also a psychological component to it as well. Sometimes, we'd dress in our full game jerseys while practicing to perform to help get in the right mindset.
I think translated for mtb, practicing to perform might look like doing a full run to put the skills together in the context of a trail. Could also look like getting the beta on a trail. But, it's definitely not apples and apples, since mtb isn't a game sport like volleyball.
Danielle, I've never heard of such a team drill--"we would basically play a full game against our own teammates, with them taking on the roles of our future opponents." That is brilliant!
As for individuals practicing to perform--whether for a team sport or an individual sport like MTB--I asked Claude.ai to summarize the book “Sports Psyching: Playing Your Best Game All of the Time” by Thomas A. Tutko. It returned a pretty accurate overview of how I think recreational mountain bikers can practice to perform.
What do you think of its results?
------------
Claude wrote:
"Unfortunately I do not have access to the full text of that book to summarize it. However, based on the title, I can provide a general summary of what the book may cover.
The book "Sports Psyching: Playing your best game all of the time" by Thomas Tutko likely focuses on the psychological aspects of sports performance. The title suggests the book provides strategies and techniques for athletes to mentally prepare for competition and consistently perform at their highest level.
Some topics the book may cover include:
* Visualization and mental imagery to rehearse skills and simulate game situations
* Focus and concentration exercises to block out distractions
* Managing anxiety, nerves, and self-doubt
* Developing self-confidence and an optimal performance mindset
* Setting productive goals and maintaining motivation
* Coping with pressure and adversity
* Getting into an ideal performance state or "flow"
Without access to the full text, this is just speculation based on the title."
I like these summarized points. But I am kind of chuckling to myself even seeing them as bullet points because of just how much goes into actually pulling any one of these off. "Managing anxiety, nerves, and self-doubt," for example, is quite the feat, and the skills there can seemingly take a lifetime to build. And yet, this is what the mastery experience, the mastery track, really has to offer. Not to be self promotional, but that's the entire point of The Art of Mountain Biking podcast--to get into the weeds and the mess and the lows and the highs of what this actually looks like, in practice, as a human being.
Danielle, I'm glad you're loving this conversation. Likewise!
And yes, that bullet point summary doesn't do justice to what's actually needed developing the skills.
That's why I like the book Sports Psyching. It provides the drills to practice in great detail. For example, here's the "Breathing Easy" drill in 9 steps:
=============
When was the last time you were tense and anxious? You felt your breathing shallow and your heart rate picking up. How do you get around this breathing problem?
What is Breathing Easy? Athletes who are anxious, sigh or blow out air to let off the tension. Taking deep breaths is not only a natural and effective way to calm yourself, it also counters rapid, shallow breathing that happens when you are anxious.
What does Breathing Easy do? When we breathe normally, there is a tensing and relaxing of muscles in our diaphragm and chest. When we are nervous the muscles constrict too much, and we end up breathing shallow and not getting as much oxygen. This adds to an athlete's anxiety, and stimulates feelings of being out of control. Plus, an athlete can't perform as well with less oxygen.
You can regain control of your breathing by "breathing easy" - deliberately slowing down and deepening your breathing.
How to Learn Breathing Easy:
1. Inhale:
Inhale slowly and deeply, filling your chest with air, counting four seconds to yourself - one and two and three and four. The count is to give you a nice and easy, even pace.
Try to breathe as fully as you can without discomfort. Imagine your chest slowly filling with air, from your diaphragm to your collar.
2. Hold breath:
When you have inhaled fully, hold your breath for another four seconds, again counting to yourself - one and two and three and four.
This should be just a comfortable pause. Don't do it until you are blue in the face.
3. Exhale:
Exhale, but don't blow. Just let the air out through your mouth unhurriedly, saying to yourself, "easy… easy… easy… easy."
Let out as much air as you can, down to the lower part of the lungs. Feel yourself relaxing as you do. Feel your shoulders, chest, and diaphragm letting go.
As you exhale, think of the tension flowing out of you.
Repeat #1, 2 & 3 ten times.
Don't worry if the sequence isn't exact or the cadence perfect. It may seem a bit difficult to stay with at first, but just keep going. The important thing is to establish the slow, relaxed breathing rate. After the ten cycles, your breathing rate will be automatically slower and you can dispense with the "one and two and three and four" cadence.
4. Inhale: Breathe in fully.
5. Hold breath: Hold it very briefly.
6. Exhale:
Let the air out slowly (don't blow), saying mentally, "easy… easy… easy… easy…"
Repeat #4, 5 & 6 ten more times.
You will soon begin to feel a calm, thoroughly pleasurable feeling - some say a warmth - radiating from your chest throughout your body.
7. Tell yourself relaxing phrases:
Let yourself breathe normally and tell yourself relaxing phrases: "I feel very relaxed. All the tension is going out of me as I exhale, and good feelings are coming into me as I inhale. When I am playing ________ (put in your sport), I will be able to take a few deep breaths and by saying "Easy," will be able to tell myself to relax whenever I feel overly tense. When I'm playing, I will recall the good feelings I am experiencing now and they will automatically return to me."
Imagine all this happening as you say it to yourself.
8. Repeat #4, 5 & 6 ten more times.
9. Natural Breathing:
Let your breathing go naturally, and pay attention to the pleasant feelings in your body.
Repeat the same encouraging phrases to yourself that you did earlier (#7).
Listen to the sound of your own breath coming in and out. You will notice that the breathing is slow and deep without your having to make it that way. The exhaling will last longer.
Let yourself enjoy the relaxed feeling for a minute. Tell yourself, "For the rest of the day I will recall these sensations every time I tell myself, 'Easy'."
Summary
Take natural breaths. Don't force yourself to take in huge gulps of air.
Pay close attention to the air when it is coming in, and when it is released as you exhale.
Practice the "Breathing Easy" exercise for a total of 5-10 minutes a day. By the end of two weeks, you will experience greater relaxation than when you first started.
Interesting post. I think that any group session will include both performative and practice elements, and the mix will vary depending on your relationship with the other participants. But I think it could go further - if you are sessioning at a public skills park you may be there alone but other people may be around. So you could be introducing a performative element just because you are peripherally aware that you are being observed, and that others are expecting something of you.
Your observation on the different internal dialogue also matches gamification vs problem solving approaches - could gamification ('I want to clear that ledge twice') be effective in part because it triggers a performative response?
Dogtank, yes, sessioning alone can definitely be performance-oriented if others happen to be around and likely observing. And not just at a skills park. I've noticed the change in myself sometimes when sessioning some obstacle by myself along a trail when another rider passes by. I suddenly want to perform my best, hoping they'll see me and be impressed. It's sort of a childish reaction ("Mom, watch me!") but I try not to be too hard on myself for doing it. Best to just notice it and smile at my immature self.
As for your observation that using gamification during a practice session could trigger a helpful performance response, it hasn't occurred to me. I've only seen gamification as a means to heighten one's focus while providing a measuring stick for one's progress/consistency. But I think you're absolutely right.
And it makes me wonder: can getting better at performance mode practice make you more effective at what you're trying to learn because it triggers a helpful challenge-type stress response? I wrote about the stress response last year in my post titled:
I would be lying to say that there isn’t an element of performance or showing off when we ride with others. However that’s not the primary reason I would ride with others. A big part of it for me is the socialization and seeing the skills others have on a bike. I know when I got done with that ride my take aways from a practice standpoint is I wanted to get better at hopping my bike to switch directions on the skinnie like Travis did and getting better with my rear wheel lifts. If someone I ride with does something cool and I think I can learn to do it, that gets me motivated to practice. I also know that I sometimes dial back some of the things I can do so I don’t appear to be an ass or to make others feel inadequate. I don’t want to be one of those guys.
I'm with you on the main reasons for group sessioning, Pat: the pure fun and social nature of it, the inspiration from others about what to improve, the challenges, etc.
I think of performing when sessioning in a group as trying to do my best in a social situation. So that was my mindset when sessioning with you and Travis. "I know I have the ability to get over this boulder or clean this skinny. Let's see if I can do it now in front of Pat and Travis. Breathe! Relax! Focus!"
Some other individual sports (vs team sports) that come to mind that seem comparable to MTB sessioning are rock climbing/bouldering with buddies, snowboarding with buddies in a terrain park, skateboarding with buddies at a skate park, etc. All seem to offer the same reasons for doing it (social, etc), but all present an opportunity to try to perform your best in front of others.
Does that seem right to you? I could be wrong!
Yep Griff I think you have it right!
I've only performed once in my life........actually on stage with a captive audience (they applauded, so it can't have been too bad).......and it seems that was pretty different. It involved a lot of practice ("rehearsal") and a definite effort to project into the audience.
I love seasoning because one can learn stuff and take the piss with one's buddies (maybe help them learn)........is that "performing".......or supportive social interaction?
Maybe "performance" is where you have a mastery of the skills and concentrate on their presentation, to entertain an audience and maybe "showing off' is a subset of that?
There's a lot of subtle (or overt) psychological processing going on with something like MTB, even when "recreating", and it will be challenging to isolate and develop these aspects.
Good Luck...........
Rusty, I would say that at its basic level, a performance is a situation where you want to do your best in front of others at whatever level you're at. It might be to entertain, to get their approval for your effort, to get the personal satisfaction of being able to execute under pressure, etc.
I wholeheartedly agree that there's "a lot of subtle (or overt) psychological processing going on with something like MTB, even when "recreating...""
Challenging indeed!
I appreciate calling out the difference between practice and performance. We used to talk about this all the time in volleyball, and now I still separate the two approaches both on the guitar and on the bike. Thanks, Griff!
You're welcome, Danielle.
When you played volleyball at the pro level, did your coaches have you practice at performing? If so, what did that look like? Special drills or ?
What a fun and great question. Answer is yes, we did practice at performing. When practicing skills, we would normally chunk the skills into smaller parts and/or sequences, and drill them over and over in a number of different contexts. But, when we were practicing to perform, it was more about putting it all together. Usually, we had scouting reports about our opponents, so we would basically play a full game against our own teammates, with them taking on the roles of our future opponents. So, if we knew that they had a great hitter that hit down the line a lot, a person on our team would intentionally hit like that player. There was also a psychological component to it as well. Sometimes, we'd dress in our full game jerseys while practicing to perform to help get in the right mindset.
I think translated for mtb, practicing to perform might look like doing a full run to put the skills together in the context of a trail. Could also look like getting the beta on a trail. But, it's definitely not apples and apples, since mtb isn't a game sport like volleyball.
Danielle, I've never heard of such a team drill--"we would basically play a full game against our own teammates, with them taking on the roles of our future opponents." That is brilliant!
As for individuals practicing to perform--whether for a team sport or an individual sport like MTB--I asked Claude.ai to summarize the book “Sports Psyching: Playing Your Best Game All of the Time” by Thomas A. Tutko. It returned a pretty accurate overview of how I think recreational mountain bikers can practice to perform.
What do you think of its results?
------------
Claude wrote:
"Unfortunately I do not have access to the full text of that book to summarize it. However, based on the title, I can provide a general summary of what the book may cover.
The book "Sports Psyching: Playing your best game all of the time" by Thomas Tutko likely focuses on the psychological aspects of sports performance. The title suggests the book provides strategies and techniques for athletes to mentally prepare for competition and consistently perform at their highest level.
Some topics the book may cover include:
* Visualization and mental imagery to rehearse skills and simulate game situations
* Focus and concentration exercises to block out distractions
* Managing anxiety, nerves, and self-doubt
* Developing self-confidence and an optimal performance mindset
* Setting productive goals and maintaining motivation
* Coping with pressure and adversity
* Getting into an ideal performance state or "flow"
Without access to the full text, this is just speculation based on the title."
I like these summarized points. But I am kind of chuckling to myself even seeing them as bullet points because of just how much goes into actually pulling any one of these off. "Managing anxiety, nerves, and self-doubt," for example, is quite the feat, and the skills there can seemingly take a lifetime to build. And yet, this is what the mastery experience, the mastery track, really has to offer. Not to be self promotional, but that's the entire point of The Art of Mountain Biking podcast--to get into the weeds and the mess and the lows and the highs of what this actually looks like, in practice, as a human being.
Love this conversation!
Danielle, I'm glad you're loving this conversation. Likewise!
And yes, that bullet point summary doesn't do justice to what's actually needed developing the skills.
That's why I like the book Sports Psyching. It provides the drills to practice in great detail. For example, here's the "Breathing Easy" drill in 9 steps:
=============
When was the last time you were tense and anxious? You felt your breathing shallow and your heart rate picking up. How do you get around this breathing problem?
What is Breathing Easy? Athletes who are anxious, sigh or blow out air to let off the tension. Taking deep breaths is not only a natural and effective way to calm yourself, it also counters rapid, shallow breathing that happens when you are anxious.
What does Breathing Easy do? When we breathe normally, there is a tensing and relaxing of muscles in our diaphragm and chest. When we are nervous the muscles constrict too much, and we end up breathing shallow and not getting as much oxygen. This adds to an athlete's anxiety, and stimulates feelings of being out of control. Plus, an athlete can't perform as well with less oxygen.
You can regain control of your breathing by "breathing easy" - deliberately slowing down and deepening your breathing.
How to Learn Breathing Easy:
1. Inhale:
Inhale slowly and deeply, filling your chest with air, counting four seconds to yourself - one and two and three and four. The count is to give you a nice and easy, even pace.
Try to breathe as fully as you can without discomfort. Imagine your chest slowly filling with air, from your diaphragm to your collar.
2. Hold breath:
When you have inhaled fully, hold your breath for another four seconds, again counting to yourself - one and two and three and four.
This should be just a comfortable pause. Don't do it until you are blue in the face.
3. Exhale:
Exhale, but don't blow. Just let the air out through your mouth unhurriedly, saying to yourself, "easy… easy… easy… easy."
Let out as much air as you can, down to the lower part of the lungs. Feel yourself relaxing as you do. Feel your shoulders, chest, and diaphragm letting go.
As you exhale, think of the tension flowing out of you.
Repeat #1, 2 & 3 ten times.
Don't worry if the sequence isn't exact or the cadence perfect. It may seem a bit difficult to stay with at first, but just keep going. The important thing is to establish the slow, relaxed breathing rate. After the ten cycles, your breathing rate will be automatically slower and you can dispense with the "one and two and three and four" cadence.
4. Inhale: Breathe in fully.
5. Hold breath: Hold it very briefly.
6. Exhale:
Let the air out slowly (don't blow), saying mentally, "easy… easy… easy… easy…"
Repeat #4, 5 & 6 ten more times.
You will soon begin to feel a calm, thoroughly pleasurable feeling - some say a warmth - radiating from your chest throughout your body.
7. Tell yourself relaxing phrases:
Let yourself breathe normally and tell yourself relaxing phrases: "I feel very relaxed. All the tension is going out of me as I exhale, and good feelings are coming into me as I inhale. When I am playing ________ (put in your sport), I will be able to take a few deep breaths and by saying "Easy," will be able to tell myself to relax whenever I feel overly tense. When I'm playing, I will recall the good feelings I am experiencing now and they will automatically return to me."
Imagine all this happening as you say it to yourself.
8. Repeat #4, 5 & 6 ten more times.
9. Natural Breathing:
Let your breathing go naturally, and pay attention to the pleasant feelings in your body.
Repeat the same encouraging phrases to yourself that you did earlier (#7).
Listen to the sound of your own breath coming in and out. You will notice that the breathing is slow and deep without your having to make it that way. The exhaling will last longer.
Let yourself enjoy the relaxed feeling for a minute. Tell yourself, "For the rest of the day I will recall these sensations every time I tell myself, 'Easy'."
Summary
Take natural breaths. Don't force yourself to take in huge gulps of air.
Pay close attention to the air when it is coming in, and when it is released as you exhale.
Practice the "Breathing Easy" exercise for a total of 5-10 minutes a day. By the end of two weeks, you will experience greater relaxation than when you first started.
Interesting post. I think that any group session will include both performative and practice elements, and the mix will vary depending on your relationship with the other participants. But I think it could go further - if you are sessioning at a public skills park you may be there alone but other people may be around. So you could be introducing a performative element just because you are peripherally aware that you are being observed, and that others are expecting something of you.
Your observation on the different internal dialogue also matches gamification vs problem solving approaches - could gamification ('I want to clear that ledge twice') be effective in part because it triggers a performative response?
Dogtank, yes, sessioning alone can definitely be performance-oriented if others happen to be around and likely observing. And not just at a skills park. I've noticed the change in myself sometimes when sessioning some obstacle by myself along a trail when another rider passes by. I suddenly want to perform my best, hoping they'll see me and be impressed. It's sort of a childish reaction ("Mom, watch me!") but I try not to be too hard on myself for doing it. Best to just notice it and smile at my immature self.
As for your observation that using gamification during a practice session could trigger a helpful performance response, it hasn't occurred to me. I've only seen gamification as a means to heighten one's focus while providing a measuring stick for one's progress/consistency. But I think you're absolutely right.
And it makes me wonder: can getting better at performance mode practice make you more effective at what you're trying to learn because it triggers a helpful challenge-type stress response? I wrote about the stress response last year in my post titled:
Part 1: It matters how you think about the stress of learning, practicing, and performing MTB skills at: https://mtbpracticelab.substack.com/p/pt1-how-to-think-about-stress-for-mtb-practice
I might have to get to work on Part 2!
Thanks much for helping to connect some dots. Very cool