You know that feeling you get before a race. Nearly everybody gets it. Pre-race anxiety is a normal part of racing.
Whether you’re an experienced racer who is aiming for a place on the podium or a new PB, or a novice just worried about surviving the distance, nerves add excitement to a race, which, in turn, helps add to the thrill of racing.
Unfortunately, sometimes those nerves can develop into a fear of racing. This might happen after a string of bad races, a long layoff due to injury, or lack of confidence in your fitness and a fear of embarrassing yourself. Regardless, when these fears take hold, pre-race anxiety becomes more than just nervous energy; it can derail your performances and take the fun out of racing.
Here are 6 simple steps that can help you calm down and manage those nerves.
1. Breathe. Slow deep breathing increases the supply of oxygen to your brain and stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, which promotes a state of calmness. Our breathing changes when we are feeling anxious. We tend to take short, quick, shallow breaths, or even hyperventilate which causes the carbon dioxide level in the blood to decrease. This lower level of carbon dioxide reduces blood flow to the brain, which can result in various nervous system and emotional symptoms including anxiety.
2. Vitamin B’s. Good old B Vitamins are among the best anxiety busters. B vitamins including B1, and B3, B5 and B6 are excellent for their positive effects on the nervous system. They help to stabilize the body’s lactate levels which are responsible for various types of anxiety. If you take individual B vitamins, also take a good B complex supplement to help prevent imbalances among these vitamins, which work together.
3. Stay busy. If you have time to kill before a race it’s easy for self-doubt to build. Keep yourself busy, listen to music, practice deep breathing, chat with friends, move around and stay engaged. Do anything that brings you into the current moment. Anxiety is a future-oriented feeling. Get out of forecasting what might happen and focus on the here and now.
4. Magnesium is a calming mineral that nourishes the nervous system and helps prevent anxiety, fear, nervousness, restlessness and irritability – not to mention cramping, muscle pain and stiffness. Magnesium is also very protective of the heart and arteries; again, this is important if you suffer from anxiety. It is well known that people who suffer from anxiety have lower magnesium levels and the more stressed you become the more magnesium your body uses. As with B vitamins, magnesium deficiency is also associated with lactic acid build up which is linked to anxiety related disorders.
5. Herbal extracts such as Rhodiola, Ashwagandha and Siberian Ginseng have an Adaptogenic effect. That means they help to balance out your body’s response to stress which help you to cope better under stressful situations. The bonus is that they also enhance stamina and athletic performance.
6. Remember that stress can be a good thing: Normal levels of stress help to ready the body for action by releasing adrenaline and endorphins that aid physical performance. ‘Good’ stress stimulates us, helps us to focus, and ultimately helps us to replace fear with confidence.
Above all else – while you’re out there enjoy the day and the comradery.
Good Health has a wide selection of natural health supplements to suit everyone.
Good Health B-Stress Free is a unique slow release formulation made up of B vitamins and other important nutrients combined with calming herbal extracts. These ingredients have been specifically selected for their ability to calm and support the body’s physical and emotional response to stress.
Good Health Organic Magnesium Ultra – is for rapid absorption and uses only organic forms of magnesium, free of magnesium oxide. It is better utilised in the body because it contains more easily forms of magnesium.
Good Health Opti-Mag Powder mixes with water to make a great tasting drink and contains a high dose of easily absorbed forms of magnesium plus many other ingredients that support relaxation and recovery for tense, tight muscles and is also beneficial in times of stress.
Good Health Magnesium Cream contains genuine Zechstein™ magnesium chloride which is the finest and purest natural magnesium chloride in the world. This is a unique way of taking magnesium. It is quickly absorbed through the skin to where it’s needed and soothes aching, tired and stressed muscles.
Good Health Stress & Vitality Support contains 3 key ingredients at clinically researched doses. Ashwagandha for nervous system support & rejuvenation, Siberian Ginseng for energy & vitality, and Rhodiola for stamina and physical & mental performance.
