Focus on the movement and not the exercise

It's been a while since I wrote about athletic performance enhancement so I figured I'd go ahead and do it today.  In case you haven't gathered from my recent posts, I am focusing on the Nervous System which is pretty cool. 

My colleagues are a little perplexed, maybe even a little intimidated by this topic because it is VERY in-depth. Muscles, joints, fascia, are all fascinating subjects, don't get me wrong and for MANY, MANY years coaches have been focusing on those because it's the easiest to see (and maybe understand). However, as I look at my preparation for training my athletes this summer, I see an advantage to being much more MINDFUL of movements and not exercises. 

If you have been a long time reader of the blog, you will see that I am heavily involved in biomechanics and the movements of the joints, eccentric loading/concentric unloading of muscles, etc. Both are very important to performance enhancement because we need to know what is going on at any given time during the movement. That way, if our athlete is experiencing a physical limitation, we have some kind of starting point with the movement. We take into considerations like GRAVITY, GROUND REACTION FORCES, MASS, MOMENTUM. All of those physics-based variables. Biologically, we understand arthrokinematics and muscle function. We also need to take into account the other bodily systems like Endocrine, Immune and Nervous systems. If an athlete is hitting a plateau, those integrated systems are the places to look. Not more weight/load on the athlete. 

Is it possible that the allostatic load of the athlete is unbalanced from all of the training?I have seen athletes being driven into the ground during off season workouts only to crack under the pressure of the season. All that work for nothing! 

At 3-D Optimal Performance we offer a program that takes into consideration the needs and wants of the athlete and balances them out in a week long program that consists of:

Strength Training

Cardiovascular Conditioning

Aquatic Conditioning

Yoga/Pilates

Martial Arts

Speed and Agility Training

We do this to stimulate performance enhancement by providing novel stimuls to the athletes system so that it is not able to adapt unlike the painful and repetitive Bench Press-Squat-Deadlift routine. 

Our athletes CONSISTENTLY score high on the strength tests their schools put them through despite never lifting heavy and stay injury free (minus trauma based injuries). 

Challenge the body by challenging the brain. 

Highs and Lows in Training.

Make them think.

Make them adapt.

Make them love movement so when they get on the field it's there without hesitation.

Make them breathe and be calm so when they are in clutch situation, they don't panic.

Educate them on proper nutrition. Basic physiology doesnt change. Eat crap. Play like crap. 

Focus on the movement and not the exercise. 

Simple? Simple.