Muhammad Ali
We all have setbacks. You know, when things don’t go right, you stuff up, have bad day, sh*t happens and more things like that. Heck, life would be boring if everything worked out perfectly all the time. If it weren’t for the obstacles we encounter day-to-day we would never be challenged to solve problems and grow as people…which is easy to say, but when you’re at the bottom of a hole it can all look too hard.
How you deal with adversity, and how you rebound from a setback speaks volumes about who you are. Call it character building or whatever, but a champion is the guy who gets up when others say he can’t. Some might roll over and let a set-back knock them out, yet some see it as a great challenge to learn from adversity, plan their return and quietly work their way back – the personal satisfaction in doing so is immense, because only you know the pain and effort involved.
How you bounce back depends on how and why you’re in the situation you are. For the sake of this article I’ll separate them into injury rebound, slump rebound and race rebound, each of which are quite different.
Injury Rebound
Rebounding from injury is typically a critical balancing act between the enthusiasm and excitement of getting back into the swing of sports, and the necessary moderation required so you don’t overdo it while your body re-adapts to the rigors of training and competition. Remember that the greatest predictor for a future injury is a prior injury.
However before getting to that stage it is quite likely you’ve gone through all the emotional phases of being injured which will have surely tested your resolve for driving forwards in your sport. In most cases injuries do recover, and you will get back into game, but at times it’s easy to only see darkness in the tunnel long before there’s any light shining in.
Being injured is a great reality check on the balance you have in life – the more balance, and the more interests you have in addition to your sport, the better you can deal with the reality of your situation. It’s all about perspective and seeing the bigger picture of life and context of where sport fits in. However the greater devotion you have to sport the harder it is being injured, and subsequently the harder it is to maintain a balance when returning to sport.
Rebounding from injury can be both exciting and frustrating. There’s nothing like the freedom of being about to swim / ride / run without the nagging constraint of injury, and you feel the life – and strength – returning to your body. But the frustration of always comparing yourself to your former glory, and how far you slipped can eat away at your confidence, and enjoyment. In these cases you’re best to re-visit your true motivation for sport, and why you do what you do. Hopefully the answer will because of the pure enjoyment, which will underpin your patience in returning from injury.
The motto for rebounding from injury is “hasten slowly”.
Slump Rebound
Rebounding from a slump is a far more complicated matter since there can be myriad of reasons for the slump. While the symptoms of a slump will likely be similar - characterised by poor performance and waning motivation - the reasons for a slump vary enormously. Dealing with the cause is far more effective than treating the symptoms.
Resolving the cause of a slump involves a good deal of honest appraisal because it may not be as "simple" as being only a physical performance issue. Often there is a psychological root cause that needs to be addressed...which I'll leave to qualified folks to talk about.
Whatever is behind a slump, it will usually manifest as a physical issue...although often combined with lagging motivation. These things are closely related. If your motivation is coming from the "wrong" source then perhaps you need to step back and take an objective view of the reasons why you're doing what you're doing.
Dealing with a physical slump is usually a matter of first getting back to an even footing, that is, recovering from any fatigue or similar issues that may be part of the slump. This may take a while...certainly, triathletes can become very over trained which takes extended periods to recover from. At the same time you need to change something or else the same thing will happen again. That is, you need to change the balance between your training, recovery, nutrition, family, work, etc, so that it is sustainable over the long term.
I'd suggest that often the most valuable thing to change / update is your perspective.
So in summary, a slump rebound is usually more involved than simply having some rest. Look at the big picture.
Race Rebound
Rebounding from a race is far more straight forward, although in there can also be complex factors behind why you might have had a bad race. But in considering only the race performance itself, a race review - somewhat of a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis - will uncover some great learning points that will help to focus on improving, which might range from aspects of your fitness to technical issues, tactics and more. So your feedback can inform a whole host of actions for different areas of your preparation and racing.
A race review does not need to be overdone as often you'll be aware of why a race didn't go to plan, however thinking methodically through the lead up race day helps to organise your thoughts.
The important part is to be objective in your review, with a healthy dose of reality and humility (often best served up by an observer!!) since some of the things you realise may have a somewhat bitter taste. Nonetheless, if you're keen on learning and progressing then you need to face the hard reality.
Regardless of any negative points from your race, there are always positive things to learn and take away from a race. Races are unique in that they are the ultimate test of your performance, and are also the ultimate feedback mechanism. A poor race just provides more feedback items than a good race, and what you learn can help your future races.
Describing a race rebound isn't really consistent with an injury or slump rebound because it's really just an accurate view of your current performance level, and getting over a poor race is about striving for a better race.
So whatever you're rebounding from, there will always be significant parts that are mental and physical. But since the body follows where the mind leads it's often the mental side of things where you need to look first when bouncing back. And remember, being on a low is not fatal...it just means there's more things that can get better.
"I've missed over 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times I've been trusted to take the game-winning shot...and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."
Michael Jordan, Professional Basketball Player
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