What is sports psychology? Plus, 9 ways to build mental fitness

Personal Growth

Aug 27

Written By Calm Editorial Team

Clinically reviewed by Dr. Chris Mosunic, PhD, RD, MBA

Looking to improve your athletic performance? Learn what sports psychology is, why mindset matters on and off the field, and 9 common techniques to build mental fitness.

Whether you’re a competitive athlete or working towards a personal fitness goal, there are always days when getting started (or getting through) is tough. Maybe you’re extra tired, or sore, or simply worried you won’t reach your goal. Having the occasional frustrating day at the gym or on the track or trail is normal, but if you find yourself regularly spiraling over your fitness goals, you may benefit from a different kind of exercise.

Just like your body, your mind can also be trained, and sports psychology helps to change what happens in your head before, during, and after you exercise or compete. Working on your mindset allows you to stay grounded when things go sideways and find better focus when it counts. This means feeling more present and recovering from setbacks more easily.

Sports psychology techniques can be a game-changer for your workouts, but the benefits don’t stop there. They can also be used in everyday life to help you manage stress, anxiety, and overwhelm. We’ll break down the ins and outs of sports psychology, why mental fitness matters both on and off the field, and how you can start building it yourself at home.

What is sports psychology?

Sports psychology is the study and practice of how mental and emotional factors influence physical performance, and how participating in sports affects your overall wellbeing. It blends movement, motivation, and emotional awareness into tools that help you navigate both the physical and mental demands of athletic performance.

Understanding sports psychology and mental fitness can support you in preparing for a competition, recovering from an injury, pushing through plateaus, and even staying connected to your motivation.

Whether you’re aiming for a personal best or simply want your workouts to feel less like a chore, sports psychology offers practical support for building consistency, resilience, and perspective.

6 types of sports psychology

There are several areas within sports psychology, and each is focused on different aspects of the athlete experience.

Here are a few common types:

Performance psychology: This is the type that most people think of first when they hear the term sports psychology. Performance psychology helps athletes manage pressure, stay focused, and do their best at each game. Techniques often include goal setting, imagining success before a game, and positive self-talk.
Clinical sports psychology: This type of sports psychology focuses on mental health issues in athletes, such as anxiety, depression, eating disorders, or burnout. It blends therapeutic support with an understanding of the specific pressures athletes face daily.
Rehabilitation psychology: This specific type of sports psychology supports athletes recovering from injury. It supports them emotionally, helps them stay motivated, and addresses their fears, such as getting hurt again or feeling lost without their sport.
Exercise and health psychology: This type of sports psychology helps people who aren’t pro athletes, but still want to stay active. It helps them stay motivated, push through mental blocks, and build healthy fitness habits.
Team and organizational psychology: This type of sports psychology is specific to group dynamics and focuses on how teams work together. It helps with leadership, communication, solving conflicts, and building a strong team culture. Coaches can also get support in this field.

Developmental sports psychology: This is a specific type of sports psychology that supports young athletes and their families. It helps kids deal with early pressure, builds their confidence, and focuses on long-term development.

Who is sports psychology for?

Sports psychology supports anyone navigating the mental side of movement, whether that’s gearing up for a weekend hike, rebuilding after an injury, or trying to stay motivated through a tough training cycle. If your body wants to be in motion but your mind sometimes gets in the way, you can benefit from sports psychology.

People who benefit from sports psychology include:

Competitive athletes: To sharpen their focus, manage intense pressure, and build confidence on and off the field
Recreational exercisers: To stay consistent, enjoy movement more, and work through mental blocks
Injured athletes: To navigate fear, frustration, and identity shifts during recovery
Coaches and leaders: To improve team communication, motivation, and performance
Parents of youth athletes: To support emotional resilience, motivation, and healthy goal-setting in young people
People transitioning out of sports: To process loss, reframe their identity, and carry their skills into a new chapter of life

Why your mindset matters in sports and in life

You can be in peak physical shape, with the best gear and strategy, but still unravel the moment doubt or pressure kicks in. Mental fitness is the art of taking that doubt and turning it into something you can use to play or move better.

Your mindset shapes how you handle stress, recover from setbacks, and stay focused when it counts. In sports and physical training, it influences how you prepare for big moments, cope with losses, and keep going when no one else is watching. But its impact goes far beyond the game.

The same tools you build in sports psychology—like focus, reframing, and self-compassion—translate into everyday life. After all, we’re all working toward something, even if it isn’t physical: It could be work, better relationships, or self-compassion. When you work on your mental fitness, you’re able to show up with clarity and resilience, even when life throws you a curveball.

9 common sport psychology techniques (and how to try them at home)

Sports psychology relies on tools, and luckily, most of its techniques are simple, effective, and easy to work into your daily routine.

Here are several practical sports psychology tricks you can try, whether you’re prepping for a workout, creating a big presentation, or just trying to stay calm during school dropoff.

1. Set simple goals with intention

Set goals that are specific, measurable, and (most importantly) realistic. Instead of focusing on the end goal, like losing 10 pounds or coming first in a race, try to frame some goals around the process itself. This could be using a breathwork technique while running hills, or stretching before every session.

Process goals are the small steps that help you reach the big goal. When you focus on those steps, it makes the end goal easier to get to.

How to use it in daily life: Pick one big goal you want to reach, and then think of three small habits that can help you get there. If your goal is to move your body more, you might try: setting a calendar reminder for a hike or bike ride, laying out workout clothes the night before, and having the ingredients ready for a post-workout smoothie.

2. Try visualization

Visualization helps you practice without moving. By mentally walking through key moments—like the start of a performance, a presentation, or even an intense gym session—you strengthen the neural pathways associated with performance, and reduce anxiety by increasing familiarity.

How to use it in daily life: Before a big presentation at work or your first day at a new job, find a quiet space. Close your eyes and picture the whole day or hour from start to finish, using as much detail as you can. Think about what you’ll see, hear, and feel. Include challenges that you know will come up, and imagine how you’ll handle them.

💙 Learn how to prepare for your win with this Envisioning Success session with Lex Gillette.

3. Steady yourself with breathwork

Breathing with intention can help calm your nervous system, especially when you're stressed. So it helps to practice before a stressful moment, in the middle of it, or even after, to prevent spiraling thoughts. Slowing your exhale activates the parasympathetic system, which is your body’s natural calm-down response.

How to use it in daily life: When you feel stressed or your mind feels scattered during your day, try box breathing to control your exhale. Inhale for four, hold for four, exhale for four, and then hold for four again.

💙 Learn how to regulate your breathing in a hard moment with this SOS Breath Work session.

4. Practice positive self-talk

What you say to yourself matters. Many of us struggle with having harsh inner critics, especially after a mistake. Practice swapping judgmental thoughts for more helpful, realistic ones.

Going to the other extreme of saying only nice things you don’t believe won’t work, though. You need to be able to find a sliver of truth in what you’re saying, which is why neutral, grounded phrases can go a long way.

How to use it in daily life: Notice a common negative thought when you’re learning a new task (like “I’m so bad at this”), and practice replacing it with something more useful, like “This is hard, and I’m doing my best”. The more you say it to yourself, the more you’ll start to believe it.

5. Use mindfulness to stay in the present moment

Staying present helps reduce performance anxiety, build focus, and prevent overthinking. After all, when you’re only aware of the task at hand, how can you worry about the next point? You can stay present by trying a mindfulness practice like meditation, or by making sure not to let your mind wander when focusing on something.

How to use it in daily life: Pick one part of your day to do with full attention — like having your morning coffee, washing the dishes, or feeling how your feet hit the ground during a run. When your mind wanders, gently come back to that anchor. In time, staying present will come more naturally.

6. Establish a simple pre-performance routine

Routines help signal to your body and brain that it’s time to shift into performance mode. They build consistency and reduce unpredictability, which can calm nerves and sharpen focus.

How to use it in daily life: Create a 3-5 minute ritual you can do before a game, presentation, or even just a 1:1 meeting with your boss. It might include breathwork, light movement, visualization, or a go-to playlist. Think of the things that get you most focused, and incorporate them.

7. Reflect without judgement

Reviewing your performance helps you grow, but if it turns into self-blame, that’s counterproductive. An easy way to keep feedback grounded is to use a framework — consider dividing it into things that went well, things that didn’t go as well, and lessons you can use from them to improve in the future. This keeps the loop constructive… not destructive.

How to use it in daily life: After your next gym session, presentation, or review, jot down quick notes under those three headings. Keep it short and kind.

8. Try journaling for mental clarity

Writing things down helps externalize spiraling thoughts, track progress, and clarify patterns in your mindset. It’s especially helpful during injury, motivation slumps, or stressful transitions.

How to use it in daily life: Use a notebook or notes app to track three things: your training, your mood, and any mental obstacles you’re constantly facing. A few honest lines per day can offer insight over time, and you’ll soon be able to catch your patterns.

9. Practice gratitude and allow for joy

Burnout happens when joy disappears. Building in small moments of appreciation helps you reconnect with why you move in the first place, and makes sure you stay motivated, even when times are hard.

Try it at home: After a hard moment, whether that’s in the gym or even a serious conversation with your partner, name one thing you’re proud of and one thing you enjoyed — anything from your incredible playlist to how great it felt to finally speak to them about your issue. It all counts.

💙 Appreciate everything life has to offer by playing The Gratitude Game with Jay Shetty.

What is sports psychology FAQs

What is sports psychology used for?

Sports psychology is used to support both performance and wellbeing.

It helps athletes improve focus, manage pressure, stay motivated, and recover from setbacks. It’s also used to build confidence, enhance team dynamics, and develop consistent routines that support long-term goals.

On the mental health side, it can help address stress, anxiety, perfectionism, and burnout, which are common issues in all high-performance environments — not just sports.

Whether you’re working toward a personal best or trying to stay grounded in your training, sports psychology offers tools to help you navigate the mental side of movement with more clarity and resilience.

Is sports psychology only for athletes?

Not at all. While the study was originally developed with elite athletes in mind, it’s increasingly being used by people of all skill levels, including recreational exercisers, dancers, coaches, and even those recovering from injury.

If you’re engaging in any kind of movement and want to better understand how your mindset affects your experience, sports psychology can be helpful.

Many of the sports psychology and mental fitness techniques also apply to non-sport situations that include stress, like public speaking, performing arts, or corporate roles.

What’s the difference between sports psychology and regular therapy?

Sports psychology and traditional therapy often overlap, especially when it comes to managing stress, anxiety, or self-doubt. The key difference lies in the context.

Sports psychologists typically have expertise in the unique pressures of competitive environments, training schedules, and performance-based physical goals. They might also use tools tailored to improving focus, goal-setting, and recovery.

Regular therapy tends to be broader in scope. It addresses mental health, relationships, trauma, and more. Some sports psychologists are licensed mental health professionals, while others focus strictly on performance coaching. It’s okay (and often helpful) to use both types of therapists, depending on your needs.

Can I try sports psychology techniques on my own?

Absolutely. Many sports psychology tools—like breathwork, visualization, self-talk reframing, and journaling—are simple and safe to try on your own. These techniques are designed to be accessible, and as such, they don’t require a formal diagnosis or professional supervision.

That said, working with a coach or psychologist can offer deeper insights, structure, and support, especially if you’re feeling stuck or navigating a high-pressure environment. Think of solo practice as a starting point, allowing you to create small mindshifts that can compound over time.

How is sports psychology used in team sports?

In team environments, sports psychology supports communication, trust-building, and group cohesion. It helps players understand their roles, manage conflict, and stay connected to shared goals, especially during high-stress moments.

Coaches may use it to improve leadership skills, foster resilience in their athletes, or create more supportive team cultures. Group sessions can also help athletes learn to regulate their emotions together, adapt to setbacks as a unit, and stay focused when things don’t go as planned.

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Calm Editorial Team