mental v. physical

I don't think you can separate the two...in order to push yourself physically, you need mental accuity to welcome and accept the pain. In order to maintain focus on your goal, you need to be physically up to the challenge.

This is why positive imagery and meditation is so important...stimulate both your body AND your mind during training.

I chose physical. If you have to choose between the two, but agree that there is an element of both.

The mental needs to be there to push the envelope on the physical, but the bottom line is that the little engine that could, actually could. If the engine didn't have the capability, it would be sitting at the bottom of the hill wondering why it isn't at the top, even though it knows it can make it.

When you bonk, does mental give you energy to go? Yes, but only to a point. Physical conditioning is needed to accomplish your goals in cycling.

An example, Lance has the mental attitude, but if he had my physical ability we would have never heard of him.

Oh [censored], I hate defeating my own arguments, but I just realized that if Lance had his physical abilities, but not his mental aattitude, we would have never heard of him either. 🙁

Oh well, I still think the balance leans toward physical, but mental is needed, as it is in everything we do.

dgregory57 said:

I chose physical. If you have to choose between the two, but agree that there is an element of both.

The mental needs to be there to push the envelope on the physical, but the bottom line is that the little engine that could, actually could. If the engine didn't have the capability, it would be sitting at the bottom of the hill wondering why it isn't at the top, even though it knows it can make it.

When you bonk, does mental give you energy to go? Yes, but only to a point. Physical conditioning is needed to accomplish your goals in cycling.

An example, Lance has the mental attitude, but if he had my physical ability we would have never heard of him.

Oh [censored], I hate defeating my own arguments, but I just realized that if Lance had his physical abilities, but not his mental aattitude, we would have never heard of him either. 🙁

Oh well, I still think the balance leans toward physical, but mental is needed, as it is in everything we do.

Both go hand to hand but ....... you got to pedal to get there.

Depends when: On a race, at any given time, you physical skills will make the difference, no doubt. But on a larger scale, I believe the mental ability counts more.

ItsikH said:

Depends when: On a race, at any given time, you physical skills will make the difference, no doubt. But on a larger scale, I believe the mental ability counts more.

I just have to agree. Some gifted kids believe in their talent don't train hard enough. Not gifted kids, like myself, I train my ass off to be better than them. Without mental ability, I wouldn't be where I'm at right now.

Or during the race, you get dropped for whatever reason: it takes alot to get back. Without strong mental ability, it's hard to get there.

I said mental.
Without mental discipline i would be lying on the couch stuffing my face with pizza watching football. The mental gives me the ability to work hard on the physical aspects. Without the mental strength i would never have gotten the physical strength.
P.S. mental is a funny word when you say it alot

I think it is equally both for those of us that don't race. For elite racers though, there has to be a lot of mental sharpness there to do your job and keep in mind the goal you have for that day--whether it be winning or blocking and guiding your team leader to the finish line. Personally, I think the mental edge is what very dominant riders--Merckx, Hinault, Indurain, and of course Armstrong--have over their opponents.

It's physical.

I was already mental before I began cycling...