Adam spent a great deal of time and effort developing his skills to achieve results through high levels of motivation, self-belief, commitment and dedication. Achieving peak condition is one thing, but having a steadfast belief in it and your ability to excel is another. If you optimally condition yourself and continuously believe in your training efforts, then you will bond the physical to the mental and provide the ultimate conditions for competitive success

Are you surprised by how far you’ve come?

No, I always knew I wanted to be at this level and set my mind to it. I was, and still am, willing to do ‘whatever it takes’. The time frame in which I did it was a bonus.

How do you keep fit for competitions?

Keeping fit is very important, I train a lot in and out of the tunnel as well as a lot of other physical sports. Some people would say skydiving is not really a physically demanding sport as you get a lot of rest on competition days. But actually you need to be strong and flexible to fly at your best. The sport is also very mentally demanding. Sometimes when you have a less active day, you find you’re more tired than a day where you were busy. Skydiving involves a lot of sitting around waiting for loads or weather, plane rides, etc; this gives your mind more time to think about what is potentially going to happen. Keeping physically fit will help you deal with this situation as your mind takes up a lot of energy when thinking.

Do you visualise?

Always!! This for sure is one of the best things you can do for yourself. If you can never picture it, how will it become reality? Every time you visualise something, it’s a mind trick to tell yourself you have already done it! Think of it like dirtdiving, even if it’s just picturing yourself upside-down, flying static. Some people try to visualise what they will see, but this can sometimes be hard as you have never been in that situation, and maybe have no reference. I personally visualise everything from a outside camera perspective, I picture it as if someone has just filmed me doing the move, I watch back my jump or tunnel session with great satisfaction that I just did the move (even though I haven’t – YET). This already gives you a boost before you even attempt the move, as well as believing you already have achieved the move, making reality for the new move already that little bit closer and easier to achieve!

You coach others but do you also receive coaching?

Yes, coaching is very important, it will help you achieve your goals quicker and easier. Coaching allows you to be mechanically correct leaving no bad habits, causing your flying to only ever become better, faster. When people have taught themselves, they often have inefficient flying habits which can take a lot of work later on to correct. Coaching will also help you to understand body flight and eventually create opportunities for yourself to create new moves!

What do you think is important on a daily basis to stay at the top of your discipline?

Stretching on a day to day basis will massively help your flying skills. Even if it’s just a little stretch while watching TV. It doesn’t need to be long, just a cheeky ten minutes here and there, and you will soon feel the difference. Honestly? Yes. You do not have to be flexible to fly well, but to fly at your best you will need it. Being supple will make your flying easier and more effortless, it also makes different positions and more challenging moves possible.

How do you prepare yourself for competition?

I keep my mind on what is important and my own performance. For example, the competition is very important, not money or work or anything else; right here, right now it’s the competition, other issues we worry about when the comp is over. I keep focused on what’s happening right now! On my own performance, not the competitors, you cannot change their performance so why think or worry about how they are doing, or going to do? This is just extra energy wasted on something which is out of your hands, whereas your performance is up to you, keep your mind on that and perform to your best. Do not put pressure on yourself, just go out do what you love and everything else will fall into place.

How much do you plan your training?

We spend as much time planning as needed. Skydiving is not a cheap sport, so quality of jumps or tunnel time is very important! Have a plan, have a goal, and achieve it!

How far ahead do you set your goals?

I set my main goal with no time limit. I set all my mini goals, small targets to eventually meet my main goal, in small time frames, each goal will have a different time frame. A month, a summer, the next comp, but never put yourself under pressure by trying to achieve too much in a small time frame. Otherwise you can make it too hard for yourself, causing you to not perform or learn to your full potential. Set attainable goals and anything more is a bonus. Once you have achieved one goal, it gives you a great feeling and makes you even more determined for your next one; start small, and slowly get bigger!

How do you keep motivated?

Motivation is all in the mind; think of the future, and the feelings you will have once you have achieved what you are aiming for. If you lack in motivation from time to time, just think, well I might as well go do it, as every little help means you’re going to be that little bit closer to becoming the best you can be. A few of these situations will soon add up and before you know it you will be a year ahead of the skill level you would have been if you hadn’t bothered on these occasions. Think of the saying, ‘save the pennies, spend the pounds!’ All these little moments seem like nothing (a penny or two is worth nothing) but soon all these little sessions build up to make something and then you will get your reward of great feeling and achievement (all the pennies soon add up to a pound and now the pound is worth something).

Don’t think of all the effort and time, just think of the final product, this will keep you motivated. If this does not, then you are not visualising hard enough the feeling you will have once you have achieved your goal!

Article originally published in Skydive The Mag