HOW TO HAVE AN OLYMPIC MINDSET

Sound bites from multi medallists Jason Kenny and Laura Trott

“Getting ready for the Olympics is just as much about mental preparation as it is about physical preparation. We have to make sure that we know exactly what our goals are and how we are going to achieve them. Feeling good is all part of this, which is why we work closely with our teammates and coaches to ensure that we are not just in a competitive frame of mind, but also a positive frame of mind. The power of positive thinking is massively underrated and should always be a huge part of any training regime for a professional athlete no matter what their sport. It’s not just in competitions though – an award-winning mindset can have huge benefits in all areas of life.”

Finding the motivation to get fit

“Exercise might seem like a daunting task sometimes, but our advice for anyone wanting to get fit is always just to get started and see what happens! There are so many different ways of keeping fit nowadays and that doesn’t have to mean joining a gym if you don’t want to. You could try keeping fit at home by doing exercises in your front room, running up the stairs rather than taking the lift, or even getting outdoors to be out in the fresh air and countryside walking the dog – Jason and I love doing that too. There are so many options and so it’s just a matter of finding the thing that makes you the happiest.”

Setting goals

“We believe in the power of goal setting and giving yourself challenges and targets to help you push yourself. It doesn’t have to be anything huge like running a marathon. It’s usually best to start off with more achievable goals and then to build up slowly. Having a target, means that when times get tough, you can always bring your thought back to that main goal to help motivate you and pull you through and you can keep coming back to that when times get hard! Don’t worry if you’re not very good when you first begin. It takes time to improve at something and see the benefits. The more committed you can be towards your goal, the quicker you will see those improvements and benefits.

Mixing it up

“Doing the same kind of exercise each day, won’t help you to progress to your goals. Regular exercise is great but you need to mix it up wherever possible. If you go to the gym one day, go for a long walk the next, or try a yoga class. Training and fitness has to become a regular habit, but you can’t let it become boring or you’ll find yourself easily slipping off track.”

Why it’s important to have a winning smile

“When we saw pictures of ourselves on the winners” podiums kissing and biting our medals we realised how misaligned our teeth were. We set ourselves a goal of improving the alignment of our teeth before the Rio Olympic Games.

Laura and Jason are ambassadors for Invisalign