It amazes me how many athletes or parents that I talk to that are convinced there is a secret weapon, a Soviet sprint, a Bulgarian jump or something to turn their child from a mediocre to a super athlete. The basic concepts of athletic conditioning or performance enhancement are 1. explosive strength or power 2. maximal strength, 3. flexibility or mobility, 4. aerobic and anaerobic endurance. The fifth concept that is missed most often is 5. tenacity or mental toughness.
A good example of tenacity or metal toughness would be what I like to call the "football wall programs". Each school has one, written on the weightroom wall, and is called the super or the power (insert mascot name). The workout themselves are killer hard, and more often than not, really not specific to the sport they are attached too, but the one thing they do show is mental toughness, the ability to keep going when you know you should and could probably stop.
The supreme example of this would be the best ranger competition. I watched it this weekend. The interesting thing that struck me was one of the top 3 finishing ranger's said, "the events one at a time aren't what kill you its the fact you know you have to keep going for 2 days straight, and telling yourself you can do it". That is mental toughness.
