Re: Stress and Unicycling

I know every once in a while Ill have a day where i just suck. Straight
up. The timing just isnt there. So Ill either do some really simple
riding or else (usually) just pack it up and save it for another day.

Could this have been a coincidental factor in your bad riding day,
Dogbowl? I dont mean to imply that because i suck sometimes you suck
too...but you know what i mean. :p

I can certainly understand stress effecting performance.

There are a couple other factors ive been thinking about that could have
an effect on performance. The first being what food i eat before a ride.
And the other...well....sex. But we can save those for another thread
sometime.

--
mango - unity - as 1 stand together

*I never post drunk but I always post stupid. *-harper
------------------------------------------------------------------------
mango's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/3892
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/40604

Well, I always put those random suck days down to the time of the month
but I guess most of you can't do that.
Cathy

--
cathwood - Lunicyclist

A thought is just a thought.

http://www.chuckingandtwirling.co.uk
------------------------------------------------------------------------
cathwood's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/9425
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/40604

dogbowl said:

*Does stress have an effect one's one's ability to ride the unicycle?*

Personally - I'd say YES! The last 12 months or so of my life have
probably been the most stressful I have ever had. I'm a pretty pathetic
beginner, mainly due to just not practicing enough. I found that when I
was emotionally messed up I just couldn't focus enough to unicycle. If
I was a more accomplished rider I think unicycling WOULD have been a
stress reliever. However, as I am still at the stage when I need to
think about what I'm doing, emotional stress keeps butting in when I'm
trying to focus.

Make sense?

Jayne

--
Jayne ZA - Temporarily NAAFI

Thirty-five is when you finally get your head together and your body
starts falling apart. -Caryn Leschen-

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jayne ZA's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/4878
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/40604

Actually, being at the stage where you need to focus is the time when it
will be the greatest stress reliever because you are focusing your whole
concentration on something else (if you can manage it) rather than what
ever is causing you stress.
Cathy

--
cathwood - Lunicyclist

A thought is just a thought.

http://www.chuckingandtwirling.co.uk
------------------------------------------------------------------------
cathwood's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/9425
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/40604

This might have already been said, but I don't have the power to read
the whole thread, so I'll say it anyway:

I definitely think that stress effects my ability to learn new things on
the uni ecpecially if the stress is from not being able to do the trick
itself. Sometimes if I'm just dying to learn this new trick and I can't
get it, then I get stressed about it and just keep practicing while
running on fumes. If I do that, it't almost a guarantee that i won't
learn that trick that day because I'm so stressed about it. If I wait a
few hours or even overnight when I have completely relaxed about it, I
can learn the trick or at least make a lot of progress.

The second thing is, it might just be that change of crank lengths. I
remember when I got my Nimbus X, it had much shorter cranks than my
previous uni, so it felt uber strange and hard to ride on the first
couple of rides. I could barely do any tricks at all, even being an
almost level 6 rider! I'm getting a new tire today, so I'll keep you
posted on how new tire tread might effect you! Kinda a neat experiment,
I think... 😎

--
tylercox - Level 5 Unicornist

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"tyler cox i now love you" -From unicyclepa
------------------------------------------------------------------------
tylercox's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/6120
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/40604

And if, like me, you use retail therapy when you are stressed then what
could be better than buying unicycles from unicycle.com (I've just
ordered an onza muni). Hurray.
Cathy
😎

--
cathwood - Lunicyclist

A thought is just a thought.

http://www.chuckingandtwirling.co.uk
------------------------------------------------------------------------
cathwood's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/9425
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/40604

I don't know. It must in some way. I know that when the "Birds" .gif
avatar went away I was so stressed I couldn't mount a standard 24. But
when I remembered the avatar images, it all came back and I could
ride.

I have days when I can't miss and days when I can't do anything. I
attribute alot of it to aging and haven't thought about stress so much.
With aging, in the limit you can't ride at all so I must be getting
progressively worse and weaker. It's annoying, especially when it is
fine skill related and not power skill related. Missing a ride on a
skinny or missing an accurate hop to balance on a small object is much
more irritating to me than not making the high vertical hop or landing
the five foot drop.

But I don't know if stress is a factor in the bad days. I hadn't thought
about it. I usually think more along the lines of back pain, knee pain,
muscle cramps, sleeping poorly, and things like that. Usually I start
bad and end up OK. Sometimes I start bad and end worse.

--
harper - TANKED at GASWORKS

-Greg Harper

B L U E S H I F T

"My world view has come crashing down like a drunk clown on a giraffe,
riding through a cactus patch..." -evil-nick on "Entry of the
Gladiators"
------------------------------------------------------------------------
harper's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/426
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/40604

I would have to say stress definetely ahs an effect. These last few
weeks have been really stressful with finals coming up, happening, the
end of track season, etc., and my trials skills have gone down the
toilet. i could hardly hop up a 18" ledge, and kept freezing when trying
a 20", which I can normally do.

It sucks. I hate it.

--
Fuego - Has a Brain

"Unicycling is more about the center of concentration than the center of
balance."

'OneWheelNinjaSquad' (http://gallery.unicyclist.com/OneWheelNinjaSquad)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fuego's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/6983
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/40604

dogbowl said:

*let alone balance my fat ass over a unicycle.

*

That lycra doesn't make you look fat. You look fine.

--
harper - TANKED at GASWORKS

-Greg Harper

B L U E S H I F T

"My world view has come crashing down like a drunk clown on a giraffe,
riding through a cactus patch..." -evil-nick on "Entry of the
Gladiators"
------------------------------------------------------------------------
harper's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/426
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/40604

One of the reasons I love unicycling so much is because when I'm pushing
myself, I'm thinking about one thing, and one thing only.

Riding, for me, makes dealing with any amount of stress a lot easier.
It's a nice break from everything, with your mind on something else for
a while.

Yea, the occasionly off day would [censored] anyone off. I don't consider
myself a beginner, if that makes any difference... so riding gives me
something intensive to do, and just clear out my head.

Dave

--
fcwegnm0b - HammerTron

I caught you a delicious bass.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
fcwegnm0b's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/8357
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/40604