As many of you know, I’ve written extensively about mental blocks on this site. So you can imagine my delight when I met Jeff Benson who has not only spent a good chunk of his career on helping athletes overcome blocks, but wrote an entire book on it!
The book is called Unblocked: The Walls Come Tumbling Down and Jeff has agreed to exclusively give away a FREE chapterĀ for you to read. You can access it below…
Success! Click The Link Below To Download The Free Chapter
–> Download Now (PDF) <–
But before you go reading it, be sure to click the play button above to hear my interview with Jeff. It is one of the most jam-packed interviews I’ve ever done. It’s literally spilling over with a level of knowledge that you won’t find anywhere else when it comes to mental blocks.
Other Resources:
- Jeff is the owner of Mindbody Cheer
- The article I reference in the show: The Mental Block Formula
- Want to ask Jeff a question? Post a comment below!
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Here’s What We Covered In This Jam-PackedĀ Interview
- Some common misconceptions about mental blocks. I’ve listed two of my favorite ones below.
- 1) Many don’t realize that mental blocks aren’t contagious. They aren’t a disease that can be “caught”. One of my favorite quotes from the interview by Jeff was: “Mental block isn’t the beginning of a problem, but rather an accumulation of issues that lead to an anxiety response” (tweet this). And that is very true!
- 2) Mental blocks are normalĀ and natural.Ā Jeff explains why our brains are hardwired in this way, and why these “blocks” exist in the first place. When you hear this, everything will start to make sense!
- Both Jeff and myself have mistakes in our coaching careers. We discuss what NOT to do when an athlete gets a mental block and what are the signs to look for so you avoid making them worse.
- What parents should (and shouldn’t) do in order to help their child get over blocks. There’s a very real problem when parents themselves want their child to get over these blocks more than the actual athlete. Jeff explains the psychology behind why this is actually making the whole situation worse.
- The growth mindset. This is a very crucial practice that I myself have started to adopt. When an athlete learns the difference between a growth and a fix mindset, they will flourish and not only get past mental blocks, but develop new skills to boot! Jeff gives few excellent tips on how to develop one.
- There’s a reason why the response to “when will I get over a mental block?” is “it depends” from both Jeff and myself. Jeff explains the psychology behind this called the process vs product mindset. This is another very key concept to understand, grasp and implement!
- Just like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Jeff explains the phenomenon behind STSD and your body stores a memory of the injury. We also talk about ways to overcome this.
- Some practical strategies that athletes and coaches can start using today to help them overcome their mental blocks!
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Hey guys, the timing of this post for me is absolutely perfect! I have battled a mental block/fear for years and it has recently started accunulating to the point that when I walk into my gym on a day I know I’m supposed to tumble, I feel nauseous with the anxiety š I am an ex gymnast, now cheerleader on a Lvl5 All Girl squad and I can barely do a back handspring on floor on my own, let alone be working for that full i know I need. Or jump to tuck!
I have been looking for (another) book to read to try and give a different perspective so I will very likely be getting your book Jeff, and if you ever have time I would never be disappointed to hear from you and maybe discuss my issue further.
Anyway, thanks again for the great post…i read all of them!
Feel free to email me at MindBodyCheer@gmai.com
This has come at the perfect timing. I recently got my back hand spring but i am too scared to try a roundoff bhs. Any tips?
Honestly get a spot first and do drills, I have been a cheerleader for 10 going to 11 years! And I have gotten pretty far with this technique. First get a coach to spot and then when they say you are ready put a squishy mat down. I always need another opinion on something so maybe get a coach to say yes to do it on the floor! You can do it! I was in a cast for 5 months! When I got back I had a mental block on a Roundoff BHS and this is exactly what I did, I just went for it… I understand that you may think that our situation is different but remember every cheerleader started in the same spot, just hopefully you won’t give up! Goodluck! š
I agree 100% with Talya. The recipe to overcoming fear is to slowly expose yourself to it. Find a surface that you feel comfortable with (maybe even with a spot) and try it there first. Then slowly progress to a slightly harder surface. Eventually, you will be throwing that round off bh without any fear. Good luck!
I am so happy this article showed up on my timeline. My daughter is a level three cheerleader and has entered her 4th season but two weeks ago she couldn’t throw her back handspring series, now she won’t throw a single back handspring without a spot. I know our approach is making things worse to where she is vomiting before practice. I am going to purchase the book today
LatanyaK,
I am glad to see you taking responsibility and looking at how what you’re currently doing might not be working. Please reach out if you have any further questions on how to help your daughter through this. I hope you enjoy the book.
I have dealt with a mental block before for 2 years and it started when I got a stress fracture in my back and lost all of my tumbling. I worked so hard all the time to get my handspring back, but every time I made progress there would be a set back. In February I had 3 weeks off from cheer right before tryouts (I do high school competitive cheer) so I decided to work as hard as I could on my tumbling. In those three weeks I tumbled for 2-3 hours straight everyday and was able to regain my back handspring, but also my round off back handspring, standing tuck and round off tuck. Now those skills have been solid for the past six months and I’m not scared to do them. I got my round off back handspring tuck and I wanted to progress to a ro bhs layout, but I’ve been so scared to do it that now I can’t even do my round off bhs tuck, but I want to do it so badly. I’m so scared I won’t even do it with spot on the tumble track and I used to have it by myself on the deadmat. Help please!
Elise,
Wow! That sounds like a really frustrating situation. I am wondering if you have read my book, “unBlocked: The Walls Come Tumbling Down?” It sounds like you believe that you HAD to have a layout and when your brain said, “Hey, I am nervous, can we do this slowly” your fixed mindset said, “Not a chance, we need to bust this out right now.” So, your brain said, “Nope! I’m scared.” Because your fixed mindset didn’t listen, your brain turned off your muscles. It’s essential that you begin to use a growth mindset to avoid pushing yourself in a negative way.
Hi! Great article and I have ordered the book! I have had a mental block on back handsprings for a while now and have now noticed the same scary feelings before I throw my back tuck which I am usually comfortable with. Any tips on how to ensure I don’t get a mental block on tucks too?
Amanda,
Thanks for the comment. I hope you are enjoying the book. It’s not uncommon to experience a mental block and then work your way out of one and then fear getting one again. I talk about relapse in “unBlocked” and how to avoid it. Simply put, focus on what you want, not what you don’t. Avoid training your brain to overanalyze the “what if’s” and continue to increase your growth mindset- the part of your brain that thinks of setbacks as opportunities to learn.
Amanda, I hope you are enjoying the book. It’s not uncommon to experience a mental block and then work your way out of one and then fear getting one again. I talk about relapse in “unBlocked” and how to avoid it. Simply put, focus on what you want, not what you don’t. Avoid training your brain to overanalyze the “what if’s” and continue to increase your growth mindset- the part of your brain that thinks of setbacks as opportunities to learn.
Hi! I’ve had a mental block for over a year now. My mind and body freezes before I throw my pass. I can throw it with a shadow spot but when he steps back I become instantly filled with overwhelming anxiety and refuse to throw my pass. I feel there is nothing that can make me throw it even though I know I can and there is nothing else my instructor can do. It has become frustrating for me, my coach and my instructor. I know I’m the only person to fix it but at this point it feels nearly impossible. Do you have any tips? Thank you:)
Daniela,
Absolutely. I have many tips. The first is to go get “unBlocked: The Walls Come Tumbling Down.” I believe you will begin to see there are many vulnerabilities that you didn’t know you had that are making you susceptible to a block. Second, I see just by your response you are putting a lot of pressure on yourself. Your coach is there to coach and help you. Sure, frustration is part of the equation, but don’t give up and don’t think that you are the only person responsible right now. I’d love to know what a “shadow” spot is. If you’d like to talk further, feel free to message me at MindBodyCheer@gmail.com or visit my website to check out my free video series at http://www.MindBodyCheer.com.
This was a great informational piece! Most of what you are talking about is in reference to teenagers and high school level athletes, does this differ for younger girls? My daughter’s best friend has been that incredible cheerleader that everything comes so easily to, she is in 3rd grade, but has been performing at the midget and junior levels for 3 years and has been tumbling with ease the whole time. For some reason this year she has experienced a block during practice and competitions, but she’s able to do her back handspring and tucks at tumbling class or at home??? Would you handle this differently due to her age or same things apply? Any help or recommendations are appreciated
Thanks so much for this my daughter has been struggling the past 5 months and is finally starting to make some progress. There are great tips here and I think we as parents need to be much more understanding. She matches all your ‘types’ perfectly.
I think the added pressure of a ‘perfect’ younger sibling who can do anything and the fact that ‘Youtube’ fail videos are also easy to search have added to her mental block. Thanks
Wonderful interview, I really appreciated it. I’ll try to use these tips but I think I’ll have to listen the interview again sometime to remind me.
Iāve been working on a handspring for about 4 1/2 years and each time I come close a different tumbling coach tells me something different. Iām very nervous to throw it back with a spot and without a spot sometimes. I just donāt know what to do anymore, and itās becoming very frustrating. I know that I can do it if I eliminate my fear but I donāt see that happening… the more time goes on.