Alberto Bona towards the Route du Rhum: boat, body and mind become one

Boat, body and mind as a single entity. Alberto Bona is preparing his boat, the IBSA Class40, training the body – as well as the mind – with plenty of focus and dedication: “Over the years I learned that by analysing the way we behave and react when we play sports at competitive level and by studying our mechanisms – be them right or wrong – we can save much time and energy”.

Alberto’s great commitment to mental preparation was born from this consideration: the keys to an effective performance are concentration and stress management, and mental training helps to reach this state. Athletes who works on the mental aspect know how to manage the anxieties and fears that they experience during sports performance, they know a series of techniques that increase their awareness, and they better control their resources and self-esteem level.

Acquiring certain mental strategies helps sportsmen to create a positive cooperation between mind and body and to improve their level of performance: “On this front”, explained Alberto, “I am still a novice, but I apply myself with great perseverance, because the idea is to work on the weak points and to enhance the strong ones. I work a lot on my breathing, I try not to be always carried around by my mind; I try to create empty spaces without always having something to do; I try to listen to what my body has to say”.

“The topic on which all sports fans should reflect is this”, commented Alberto: “In high-level sport today it is quite common to work on mental preparation; but not necessarily there must be a “problem” to be solved. Sports performance is a mirror: who we are in real life, our personality, our nature, our approach to things… everything affects sports competition. The most interesting thing is that through the work one does to improve oneself in sport, one can also improve oneself in life in general”.