Watching the final round of the US Open today I began to think if it is possible to train Mental Toughness. Watching Tiger Woods battle with a bad leg and the other golfers battle knowing Tiger is lurking.
To find the essence of what mental toughness is you must watch the drama of the final round of a Major Golf Championship and there has been anyone as mentally tough as Tiger Woods. Watching him line up his put on 18 today to force an 18 hole playoff tomorrow, you knew he knew he was going to sink it.
Is it possible to train mental toughness. I think it is and I think it is easier than you think. The first place an athlete should look to train for mental toughness is in the weight room. Putting yourself in position to do things you may think you are not capable of is one way to develop mental toughness. In the weight room athlete do this day in day out. But, do they think about the time they were max testing or going for a triple at 95% 1RM when in their sport they need to be mentally tough?
I think that in the weight room every once and a while an exercise needs to be placed into the program to train mental toughness. If athletes develop the resolve in the weight room to "Belly up and get it done" they will be able to bear down when it gets tough.
Mental toughness is an intangible in sports but one every athlete can achieve at a high level. Being strong from the weight room does not have to be limited to just the muscles.
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