Reference: Wilke, J., Pfarr, T., & Möller, M. D. (2020). Even Warriors Can be Scared: A Survey Assessing Anxiety and Coping Skills in Competitive CrossFit Athletes. International journal of environmental research and public health, 17(6), 1874. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17061874 How do competitive athletes overcome their anxiety and avoid burnout? Researchers wanted to know more about fears in athletes who compete in CrossFit, a popular worldwide high-intensity fitness program designed to enhance overall fitness. It combines elements of weightlifting, gymnastics, and cardiovascular training. German researchers studied competition fear and coping skills in 79 CrossFit athletes who trained between 9 to 14 hours per week and participated in at least one competition per year. Athletes completed 3 questionnaires on the competition fear index, athletic coping skills inventory, and mindfulness attention awareness scale. Results? CrossFit Athletes reported high levels of anxiety, especially in the physical symptoms of competition fear, with women displaying higher levels than men. The most notable coping skill was the capacity to suppress negative thoughts and anxiety. This is important for athletes to increase motivation and positive self-talk that is essential for sports performance. Coaches and trainers! Teach your athletes positive self-talk, positive thoughts, focus, and model it by praising each of their specific efforts. Use anti-stress training to improve coping skills, essential for increasing athlete performance and preventing drop-out.

Written by Kristin M. Harris, Ph.D.