The Myth of Mistakes: "Secrets of Success" series

"Do not fear mistakes. There are none."

-Miles Davis

Miles Davis was an icon as well as being an iconoclast. He redefined Jazz and Blues and will always be a true legend. Sometime in between making music, he was able to find some deep truths. I read the above quote in college and ALWAYS remembered it. However, it has taken me a while to really live that truth.
 
From a young age, many of us are made painfully aware of our perceived mistakes. We drop a pass, miss a passage from a piece, miss a bill payment, eat junk food. The list of mistakes goes on and on. Reactions from others can compound the feelings of guilt or anger that we may have when we make a mistake such as the "oooooh" of the crowd after a basketball player misses the game winning shot. The list of reactions goes on and on too, but I'd like to offer this:
 
THE SECOND SECRET OF SUCCESS IS THAT THERE ARE NO MISTAKES!
 
Last summer, I found a great book. The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle is an awesome book and I've suggested it to anyone who would listen. In it, Coyle explains that talent is really not all its cracked up to be. He broke it down to three vital components of so-called talent.

1) Deliberate Practice
2) Ignition/Motivation
3)  Master Coaching

The book is well worth the read but I wanted to mention an awesome blog post by Coyle. In his post "The 0.25 Second that makes all the difference" he recounts a story of the audition process of the Bolshoi Ballet Company.

Here's an excerpt from his blog:

But there’s another way of thinking about error, and it begins with a story I heard recently about Marina Semyonova, a master teacher at the Bolshoi Ballet in the fifties.

The story goes like this: Every year, Semyonova would hold a tryout for the Bolshoi, which was (and still is) one of the world’s greatest ballet troupes. You can imagine the scene: dozens of brilliant young dancers milling about, years of experience holstered and ready, their dreams on the line.

At first, the tryout would proceed like any other: the dancers would try to show their abilities and vast repertoires. But then Semyonova would surprise them. She would stop the audition and teach them one new move – something they’ve never tried. They weren’t big complex moves – to the contrary, they were quite simple. It was as if the top-level audition suddenly was replaced by a beginners’ class.

The beginners’ class section took only a few minutes. But it was by far the most important moment of the audition, because by the time it was over Semyonova knew precisely which dancers to pick and which to pass over. And as the record shows, she proved to be right far more often than not.

Semyonova wasn’t a neuroscientist, but she was onto something. She wasn’t interested in measuring levels of skill – which changes over time and can be frustratingly unpredictable. She was zeroing in on a tiny slice of time that makes a massive difference in our learning ability — that primal instant right after we make a mistake.

That instant – which this very cool brain-scan experiment shows to be about 0.25 seconds – is a fork in the road; the moment when things tip one way or the other. Either the mistake is judged as a verdict and thus blocked out — or it’s seen as a piece of information to be used. And indeed, in the experiment referenced above, the students who used their mistakes (whose brains processed them deeply in that magical 0.25 seconds) ended up scoring higher than students who didn’t.

I love this for so many reasons. That "mistake" was instant feedback of how much we can better. It's a launch pad to success. However, we've been programmed that they are bad.

Do you dwell on your mistakes? Do you get down on yourself for making an error?

Allow yourself to be open to the possibility that the kind of mistakes that you think exist, really do not. Allow the moment after you've done something that did not go your way to be feedback, acknowledge that it's neither bad or good, own it and move on to do it better next time.

"Do not fear mistakes. There are none"

-Miles Davis

Functional Pilates for Athletes: Cross-Train like a Pro Series pt. 4

If someone would have asked me if I would take, train and then finally teach Pilates ten years ago, I would have said "NO WAY!"  As a yoga teacher, I even snubbed Pilates as a "yoga knock-off" but after training in the system for the past 6 years, I take it all back.

WHO DOES PILATES?
Originally called "Contrology" by its founder Joseph Pilates, evolved as a system of rehabiltation for injured soldiers during World War II.  Joseph noticed that when the soldiers were able to move sooner, even in hospital beds, they recovered much faster. Over time he developed his system and finally moved to New York City where it became a mainstay of conditioning and rehabilitation for injured dancers, many of whom danced under Balanchine and Graham (both very physically demanding forms of dance). For decades, Pilates was used by dancers not only as conditioning but rehab. However, much like yoga, the tremendous benefits of Pilates emerged and made their way into mainstream America and finally into professional athletics. Thats right! Athletes like Kobe Bryant, Tiger Woods, Jason Kidd and Curt Schilling have all been doing Pilates and swear by this amazing system.

HOW IS PILATES FUNCTIONAL?

Many of my colleagues poo-poo Pilates, but I really think it's because they do not understand it. Their arguement to me is "when are you ever on your back crunching up in athletics? We need to train upright for function because that's where they will be performing." Well, as Gary Gray, PT says "It depends".
Looking back at Fundamental Movements, those included activities like lunging, squatting, running, jumping, hopping, pushing and pulling. However, those movements could also be lying on the back, side, and front. These movements are FOUNDATIONAL movements for us to get into our bodies.

In my last post on FUNCTIONAL YOGA FOR ATHLETES, I mentioned that it develops a greater kinesthetic sense or where and what the body is doing in space. One of the main tenets of Pilates is FOCUSING on your body.  Pilates, done correctly, requires a great deal of precision that will not let people turn their brains off as they may do during an "abs workout". When the movements are refined, it will not only be a "good workout" physically, they will have honed their awareness of their body.

Can Pilates strengthen the core? Sure, but I think it's way deeper than that. On top of the kinesthetic sense, athletes can find Pilates to be restorative in nature. Because they are either lying on the back, side or front for Mat-based Pilates, there is less load to the joints. Also, going through these movements, muscles are being eccentrically loaded and concentrically exploded  while their joints go through their range of motion in a non-weight bearing way. Joints and muscles are able to find more space, mobility and stability during the session.

Below is a quick video of the "5 Abdomnial Series" with an explanation. These five exercises that are done in a "flow" manner are great for starting to turn on all of the nerves and muscles of abs.

As always, I welcome questions and comments.

Thanks,

Will

Optimal Performance Quote Series: Ellen Bass

"There's a part of every living thing that wants to become itself. The tadpole into a frog, the chrysalis into a butterfly, a damaged human being into a whole one. That is spirituality."

-Ellen Bass

Functional Swimming for Athletes: Cross-train like a Pro series pt. 3



In 2009, I decided I was going to start doing triathlons. The second thought I had was "OH CRAP! I have to actually learn how to swim." Well, this started a search for a swim coach. Being a biomechanist, I immeditaely went to the Internet and did a search for "The Biomechanics of Swimming." Because its such a big field, I had pages and pages of results but I happened to click on TOTAL IMMERSION (TI) SWIMMING and to my surprise, they were dead on for what I needed. The founder, Terry Laughlin, promised efficieny and easy freesytle, so naturally I was encouraged. I eventually got the TI videos and TI book and started woking with a TI coach, and to say my life was changed was a bit of an undesrtatement.

The magic of the TI method is that it is systemically broken down to build or rebuild your stroke so that instead of having a barge-shaped vessel, you are more torpedo or "fishlike" so that you are able to literally glide through the water. The method is VERY 3-D in its approach as it uses all 3 planes of motion to combine into a seemeless technique.

3-D BIOMECHANIC TECHNIQUE OF TOTAL IMMERSION

Transverse Plane: Arms and lets are not used as primary propulsion. Instead, a horizontal rotation of the entire body or "hip-drive" in TI parlance is the engine that moves the body. Terrys' reason being that in longer distances (not sprints), the arms will fatique quickly and the swimmer will not be able to sustain the swim. The larger muscles of the 'core' assist the swim so the smaller muscles do not have to.

Frontal Plane: The arms become more integral in this plane since they are set as "tracks" for balance and stability. They are set wider than shoulder distance, so when the swimmer has a stable point for the rotation to go to.

Sagital Plane: The arms and legs do play a role but not as large as we would think. They do reach forward but only to have "patient hands" that just hold the water and not pull it back. As for the legs, TI preaches a 2-beat kick.

SO WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH CROSS-TRAINING???

As I started swimming more and more, I was not as sore from my other training. The swimming, even for an hour or more, had a very therapeutic affect on me. I was able to workout longer and harder without the fear of overtraining (even in fucntional training). The result was that I improved in nearly everything I was doing from strength, to flexibility, to body awareness to cardiovascular conditioning.

SO WHY DO I NEED TOTAL IMMERSION???

Well, the fact of the matter is that you dont really need the method to just get in the water and do aquatic based conditioning. However, the benefits of someone learning how to swim properly far out weigh the cons of just flopping around in the water. Feeling comfortable in the water and not feeling like you will drown is probably the top reasons why most people do not swim more. They fight water instead of moving with it. My father always told me "Do not fight the water because it will always win." I kept this in the back of my mind when I began my swim training.

With Total Immersion, the athlete is able to go through a step by step process on how to build the stroke up from nothing. If he or she is truly mindful, they are able to not only develop a good stroke, they will have improved their kinestthetic sense which, as I've said in other posts, are a vital to improving athletic ability. Moving through water, you must allow yourself to float and that is done by maintaining a sense of calm and being able to remove excess tension from the body where it doesnt need to be. What we see typically is that when an athlete becomes aware of their body, they are able to move better overall.

ON THE THERAPEUTIC SIDE....

Much research has been done to back up the wisdom of coaches regading aquatic therapy and conditioning. Some of the most cutting edge work is being done by Dr. Jan Prins at the University of Hawaii, who is also owner of Prins Aquatherapy. In a recent keynote speech to the International Society of Biomechanics in Sports, Dr. Prins described the kinesthetics of exercising in the water are:

- Most movements in the water are learned skills and take time to develop.
- Kinesthetic movement in the water is subtle, therefore, efective movement patterns must be developed and then closesly monitored.
-The water reduces the pressure induced loads on the joints and consequently allows continue exercising with decreased risk of internal injury.

Dr. Prins primary population is rehabiltiation but his strategies are still very valid for athletes.

OUR SUMMER WORKOUTS
This summer our athletes would do at least one, sometimes two pool session per week. If they could swim reasonbaly well we would do a pool set that looked like:

100yd freestyle warm-up
50yd kicking drill with kick pad
50 yd upper body pull using buoy between legs

We would then repeat for backstroke and breaststroke. Butterfly was omitted because of how complex it could be.

The guys would repeat this for at least 3 sets. For my guys who could not swim or were struggling, I took through them the Total Immersion freestyle progression. One student in particular was able to improve his stroke so much he was able to swim 1/2 mile easily and started coming in on his own before practices to swim.

For the strong swimmers, we would finish with a 10 minute continuous swim using any stroke they wanted to.

Sometimes it would be a little more conditioning based, so I used the program from Human Kinetics. Again, the effect that it had on their bodies and our recovery cannot be stressed enough how productive it was. Usually the biggers hurdle are athletes feeling comfortable in the water to do this work. Once they do, they LOVE it. Many of my athletes are still doing it on the weekend to stay up on their swimming but also recover from a long week of land-based practices and workouts.

I am posting videos below from Total Immersion. The first is the first of a video presentation that Terry gave at the Multi-Sport expo. The other are from Shinji Takeuchi, a TI master instructor, who has a beautiful form with videos that allow you to see how he started and how much he progressed with TI.


Thank you,

Will



Please click on the video to go directly to Youtube to see the rest of the series. It's worth your time to watch them all for a better understanding of the method.

The First Secret of Success is...

Success. Scary word and even scarier process.

Success also means different things to many people. To Michael Jordan, athletic success meant winning championships. To one of my best friends, Brandt, his success came in fully becoming a husband, father, math teacher and high school baseball coach (all almost within a year).

The perception about success is that it's the last thing done and the most publicized (i.e. winning a conference title) but that's not the whole picture. Unfortunately, outsiders don't see the process that leads up to the "success". They don't see the literal and metaphorical bumps, bruises and scrapes, and that's the sad part because it's the most exciting and where the most growth occurs.

I have the privilege of wearing a few "hats" and among them coach. Practices can be ugly. Coaches and athletes can have as many bad days as they have good days. Growth can initially be very fast, slow down dramatically, stop and then pick back up and shoot higher than expected. There are tears. Smiles. Laughs. Frowns. Quitting. Joining. Rejoining. All of which are unpredictable but at the end of the day: rewarding. The process that our football players go through, is the very same process that many go through with work, relationships, arts, etc. but it's that amazing process that is the core of the experience. 
So what is it about success that is so elusive in parts of peoples lives?

Unfortunately, most people do not even show up. They have the best laid plans but when it's time to put their butts on the line, they are not there physically, mentally, spiritually or all three.

THE FIRST SECRET OF SUCCESS IS SHOWING UP IN MIND, BODY AND SPIRIT.

I have seen athletes physically at practice but just going through the motions and were not mentally invested in what they were doing, so the same mistakes kept repeating themselves in practices and even during competition. I've seen clients make all the plans to lose weight and get in shape, but when it was time for a session, they were sick, busy or busy, etc. Finally, in my life, I've practice and performed in music and athletics and had a great performance but when I looked back at it, something wasn't quite there. It lacked "feeling/soul/spirit". It happens to the best and worst of us, but when we are there, right in that moment, fully present, our chances of success skyrocket exponentially.

Where are you in mind, body and spirit today? Can you be fully present at the things you do no matter how insignificant they may be?

Take the time out stop for 2 minutes out of what you are doing and take in the scene. Breathe. Observe without judgement. Do this daily so that 2 minutes becomes 5 then 10, 20, 60 until you are fully present during every moment in the day. It takes dedication, but you'll be surprised how much more productive and efficient you are when you are fully engaged. (Note: I'm still working on this, so I'm right there with you.)

In the "Secrets of Success" series, we will look at a diverse group of successful people and what they did to get to where they are. I look forward to going on this this functional success journey with you.


Thanks,

Will

Functional Problem Solving in Action: Lacrosse Player with Lower Back Pain (LBP)

I am grateful to be able to do what I do every day working with athletes and non-athletes alike. They always present different challenges and it's fun to see what happens when you help someone with a physical breakthrough.

Here is a portion of an email I received from one of my collegiate athletes about one of his teammates.

"Also, my friend here has had lower back problems for
forever and hurt it especially bad this morning doing box jumps, and
is really having trouble bending down and moving at all. The trainer
says its because his abs are weaker than his back, and his right hip
is higher than his left hip. they did stim and stretched it today,
and it made it a little better. But he wanted me to ask you if you
had any advice to give him or anything about it since its really
giving him trouble."

First, I'm always impressed by this young man's concern for his teammates. He's not only a great athlete, he's a great guy and unfortunately, that is becoming more and more rare these days. Anyway, I made the quick video below explaining my thinking behind his teammates' lower back pain as well as a quick hitter to get him on the road to fully functional. Please excuse the rough editing.

If you have any questions that you'd like me to do a webcast on, please let me know and I'll see if we can make it happen. Email questions to will@3doptimalperformance.com

Thanks,

Will

Functional Yoga for Athletes: Cross-Train like a Pro series pt. 2

EDDIE GEORGE, FORMERLY OF THE DALLAS COWBOYS, IN CRESCENT LUNGE (ANJENAYASANA)

In the mid 90's when I started doing yoga as a high school student, it was REALLY weird. I mean, being the only guy out of a few hundred students to do yoga really challenged me physically, mentally and spiritually. However, thanks to my Aunt Tracy, I was far ahead of the Yoga for Athletes movement in the US that exploded a few years ago.

Since the early 2000's, MANY athletes from the high school level all the way up to the professionals have been incorporating yoga into their training and conditioning programs. Many strength coaches, sports coaches and athletic directors have finally "bought into" the many benefits that yoga can have on their athletes and some have even required it! (I love that, by the way).

REAL MEN DO YOGA was a book that I referred to constantly when starting yoga at the high school level. I referenced guys like Shannon Sharpe in the NFL, Barry Zito in the MLB, as well as entire teams like the Philadelphia Eagles and Chicago Bulls who practiced yoga. This somehow made it acceptable.

I can remember the season that we started yoga, our incidence of injuries like pulled groins and hamstring strains decreased dramatically. The guys were more limber and able to stay relatively injury free. It was pretty amazing and we have kept it going ever since.

HOW YOGA CAN BENEFIT ATHLETES

Well, the most obvious benefit is the stretching aspect that the practice can bring to someone. Depending on the type of yoga (Iyengar, Ashtanga, Power, Vinyasa, etc), they will get more or less strengthening, aerobic conditioning, as well as a faster or slower pace. Some folks love the slower and more detailed work an Iyengar class brings while others prefer the athletic and faster pace of a Power or Ashtanga class. I think its up to the person to really see what 'fits' them and go with it. It's easy for people to go to a few classes with one instructor and say "Yoga really isn't for me." That's like saying "Food isn't for me." There are so many ways to approach yoga that become even more diversified by the number of teachers. The possibilities are endless.

Another reason, is that it really starts honing your overall athletic abilities. In a post I wrote on Applied Functional Athletic Development,  I referenced KINESTHETIC AWARENESS or the ability to sense where and what your body was doing in space. This awareness MUST be taken into the yoga practice and when it does, the athlete learns a little more about their body. They appreciate how a bend here or a twist there activates and stretches the soft tissues in the body. This sense can be taken deeper and deeper so that the athlete becomes very familiar with how their body moves. This directly translates to athletic performance so when they need their body to do something big or subtle (such a changing their pitching in baseball a minute amount), they will already have developed the control and sense to do it. PRETTY COOL --- YOGA MAKES FOR BETTER ATHLETES!!!

WHAT TO FOCUS ON...
With all that being said, I think there are areas that athletes need to focus on. I can safely say I've taught hundreds and hundreds of classes over the last 10 years and I've come to see a few trends. For athletes, THE HIPS and the surrounding neuromuscular complex is where I tend to start.

I find the hips are the tightest/strongest/weakest/most dysfunctional area of the body because of our lifestyles. For example, at the high school level, our students sit in classes for 6+ hours per day for years and years and then come out for athletics after academics, lunch and sometimes chapel. They do their 15 minute warm-up and they are off for 2.5 hour practices. Needless to say, imbalances will arise pretty quickly.

Can the foot/ankle complex be locked down because of sitting, bad shoes/cleats, past injuries, etc? SURE!

Can the thoracic spine lack the proper Type I and Type II motion from training and condition that focused solely in the Sagital plane and ignored proper motion in the Frontal and Transverse Planes? SURE!

I have seen when a thoughtful assessment has lead to the discovery of these dysfunctions and really freed the athlete from any neuromsuclar pain and discomfort and then allowed them to move well. I acknowledge all of that, BUT I still start at the hips because they are the power source of the body.

HOW TO START YOGA FOR ATHLETES
Generally, the first physical movement pattern I teach is the Sun Salutation (or Surya Namaskar in Sanskrit). Now, every teacher will teach them a little differently but for the most part, it's the same.

Because of my biomechanics background, I absolutely INSIST on good form as bad form can also injure someone. No one wants to herniate a disk in their spines and especially not from something that is touted as a restorative/preventative aspect of their athletic development.

Below is a video showing the Sun Salutation "A" and Sun Salutation "A" with a Crescent Lunge, like in the above picture with Eddie George  Please make sure that you properly warmed up to do this. Never just jump into any movement especially one that takes you through to (or close to) your end range of motion. This Sun Salutation can be done every. It will take about 10 minutes but you will refreshed and energized afterwards.

If you have any questions regarding the movements, I'd love answer them as well as any questions you may have.

Thanks,

Will