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Controlled Energy

With the NFL preseason underway and the MLB playoffs right around the corner it’s a great time to examine energy and how it impacts performance.

Energy levels can fluctuate depending on environment and situation, but the ability to control energy is essential for peak performance under pressure.  Increased energy can especially help with tasks like tackling or legging out an infield hit.  But that increased energy can also lead to tightening of muscles and cause tasks such as field goal kicking, throwing, and hitting seem much harder.  Home court advantage, momentum, and crowd noise are playoff buzzwords that are seemingly beneficial for player performance, but an increased energy does not always lead to increased performance.  The need to be calm and relaxed is evident in the three examples below.

A field goal kicker needs to be calm and collected so that they can kick in high-pressure situations.  If they are not relaxed, even the simplest of tasks may seem difficult.  Last year Baltimore Ravens Kicker Billy Cundiff missed a kick that would have helped his team go to Overtime and play for a chance to go to the Super Bowl.

The ability to control energy in pressure situations can often be the difference between making and missing a field goal.

Baseball pitchers normally strive to stay calm when they’re on the mound.   When they are too energized, they have a tendency to lose focus and be unable to recover from missed pitches.  On the mound, a pitcher needs to be able to stay relaxed and allow their arm to just “throw”.  If they get too jacked up it may cause them to lose control over the strike zone and become overly aggressive.  However, an increase in energy can also lead to throwing harder, so an increased energy certainly can be beneficial.  Like field goal kicking and pitching, hitting a baseball often requires a lowering of energy and a relaxed state.  Notice how a hitter tries to calm down before entering the batters box.

While raucous crowds, pregame speeches, and pressure situations can certainly dictate energy--none of those factors are actually in the athlete’s control.   An athlete’s ability to control their energy and realize when to get pumped up and when to calm down is a huge key to performance.

The Yerkes and Dodson Inverted U theory suggests there is an optimal level of arousal an athlete needs for performance.  It suggests that not enough energy leads to poor performance, but too much energy also leads to poor performance.  It points out that energy is tied to finding optimal performance.

So how can you apply this information to your sport?  Below are three ways to control energy.

Self-talk

Don’t take your own words for granted.  You have the ability to get yourself energized or calm yourself down by simply using words.  Before the game starts you should plan for when to be pumped up and when to be calm.  Have key words ready to use at your disposal.

Music

By now you’ve seen an elite athlete tied to their headphones before they perform.  Music has been synonymous with performance for a long time, but the choice of music is more important than actually using it.  Once you figure out what type of energy you need, make sure to align your music with it.

Breathing Exercises

Breathing is your number one ally for controlling energy in the moment.  Develop breathing patterns to use when you find yourself getting over energized and need to calm down.  Watch an NBA player at the free throw line, a pitcher on the mound, and a hockey goalie during timeouts, and you’ll see them often controlling their breathing.

Olympic Observations

The Olympics are a perfect time to observe how mentality impacts performance.  Many Olympians train 4 years to compete for a matter of seconds.  It’s the ultimate pressure cooker and other athlete’s can greatly benefit from watching.

This video does a great job of breaking down what previous Olympians did to prepare for Olympics.

When watching interviews take note of how many of them talk about their mental training and how it helped them perform.  You don’t have to be the next Phelps, Douglas, or Bolt, but you certainly can learn from them.

Olympic Swimming Gold Medalist Dana Volmer said, “The top cap came off, I have never had that happen before. I thought about it, and maybe it kept my mind off my legs hurting or something. I don"t know. It"s just so exciting, the whole thing."  Volmer also pointed out that dgfev online casino she made other mistakes during her world record-breaking race.  Mistakes happen.  Even when you think you need to be perfect.  Don’t be afraid of them.

US Silver Medalist Archer Jacob Wukie covered himself in mosquitoes when he was younger in order to learn how to handle distractions and direct his attention to needed actions.  While it’s certainly extreme, how are you learning how to be in control over your attention?  Rather then making excuses for distractions learn how to deal with them.

Oscar Pistorius who has become a major story due to his use of prosthetic legs said, “My mother used to tell us, ‘Carl, put on your shoes, Oscar put on your prosthetic legs.’ So I grew up not thinking I had a disability and thinking I had different shoes.”  You determine your own beliefs of yourself.  Limits are for others to place on you, don’t put them on yourself.

Experience can come in many different ways.  You don’t have to be at the Olympics to learn from them.  Be a student of your craft!

Directed Attention - Part 2

If you missed Part 1 - check it out here.Part 2:  Where to direct attention?

Nidiffer’s “Attentional and Interpersonal Style” shows the differences in directed attention.  Athletes should take note of how the attention choices interact with each other and figure out where to direct attention:

The ability to control attention is something that has become a hot topic in society.  In fact our society has become obsessed with focus.  Many believe the world of smart phones, tablets, and social media have created multi-tasking jack of all trades, but masters of none.  The lack of focus has created an ADHD epidemic with 5.2 million or 8.2% of American children aged 3-17 being diagnosed.  The ability to direct attention to needed actions seems to be getting harder and harder for our youth.

While the inability to focus continues to garner attention, athletes need to have a strong understanding of what is needed to perform.  There may be times to be very broad and internal with attention, but have the ability to change within moments to being narrow and broad—think a point guard who goes from scanning the floor to shooting free throws.

Athletes need to have a good grasp on their internal focus.  Often it’s imperative for athlete’s to direct their attention to what they can do rather than what they can’t do.  An athlete’s ability to internally direct their attention to needed actions rather than distractions is ultimately what determines concentration.

What are you going to direct your attention to today?  How can you make sure you’re in control of your attention?  Are you directing your attention to the steps needed for success or simply the end result?  These are questions to ask yourself as you continue to learn how to control where your attention is directed.  So the next time someone tells you, “FOCUS”, think about your attention and where to direct it.

Directed Attention - Part 1

Part 1:  What’s in a word?Focus!  Your teacher, coach, or parents have all snapped that word at you at some point, or a lot of points.  The word focus has become the standard to garner attention.  However, the word itself has become dull, unoriginal, and lost meaning.  Focus also has many different meanings, which makes it even less potent.

The word itself has become a bugaboo for athletes in particular.  Many athletes think they have to completely “lock in” to perform, which often leads to tension and self-doubt in ability.  Focusing solely on raising intensity and energy is often the wrong place for athletes to focus.  Additionally, the idea to just “focus” is so vague that athlete’s don’t believe they have control over their ability to do it.

The definition of focus, which is often used as a verb in athletics, is defined as one’s ability to direct attention.  When working with athletes, I often talk about directing attention rather than simply focusing.  When the athlete understands they can direct attention to a needed action they become more in control of what they need to do and have a better grasp of how to take ownership of their attention.

Many athletes become so focused on the result that they lose the ability to direct their attention to their needed process.  The ability for an athlete to direct their attention to things in their control, rather than things that are out of their control, often determines an athlete’s ability to perform in the moment.  By simply “focusing” and not directing attention, the athlete loses control over their own focus.  Giving them something to direct their attention to will allow them to get back to the moment when they drift awry.

Directing attention to controllables such as effort, attitude, and self-talk often give the athlete the best opportunity to succeed.

Next week in Part 2, find out how to direct and control your focus!

Happy Tuesday!

Happy Tuesday? I know, who says that.

Apparently, ladies who just gave birth.

I'm pretty low on sleep and have about a million work things to do before the next set of relatives join us for the rest of the week (t-minus 30-min, not looking good for me getting everything done).

So, I'm just going to do a short round-up of some miscellaneous posts and a personal update:

  • Alex Hutchinson has the breakdown of an interesting study regarding diet and hydration relating to workload at Sweatscience. It's title says it all: Nutrition and Hydration: Science 1, Experience 0. Pretty cool info, especially if you think your body operates on some different plane than everyone else (it doesn't).
  • This morning I received a link from Brian Levenson directing me to a Ted talk called Philippe Petit: The journey across the high wire. If you've got about 20-minutes to spare check it out, the main points are about magic (yes, like magic tricks), pursuing your passion, and doing the impossible.
  • My new favorite equipment supplier for both commercial and home applications is Rogue Fitness. Their stuff is made is the USA, comes at very reasonable prices, and - best of all - they don't "bend you over" on shipping rates. Sorry for the imagery. I just ordered a few things for our backyard and anticipate using them heavily for SAPT orders in the future.

Personal update: I know most people who read Saptstrength.com also frequent Stronggirlswin.com, so you're probably aware of the "self-experiment" I've been running on myself throughout this pregnancy.

Now, that the birth is over, I'm beginning a new self-experiment that will last from Duke's birthday of May 23rd through the beginning of the fall semester at Mason (August 27th). That's just short of 15-weeks.

My personal goal is pretty darn simple:see if I can get myself into a BodPod measured and confirmed 14-16% body fat level. Why? Well, over the last 3-years I've been pregnant for a total of 20-months and spent the other non-pregnant 16-months learning how to balance being a mom with work.

But, another EXTREMELYimportant goal for me is to provide proof of success and, eventually, a framework for other new moms to gain motivation and direction from.

I simply don't agree with the idea that once you have kids you have to accept a body that you don't really want.

I'm quite excited and anxious to spend some serious and focused time working on ME. I'll be documenting this process and progress over at Stronggirlswin.com.

Whoooo Hoooo, Happy Tuesday!

Bridging the Gap Between Rehab and Sports Performance Training

This morning, Sarah and I are meeting with a local physical therapy clinic, in order to discuss working together to better serve our athletes and clients. This reminded me of an article of mine that was published a couple years ago over at ElitefTS.com, that many of you may not have seen yet.

Bridging the Gap Between Rehabilitation and Sports Performance Training

One of the things we at SAPT pride ourselves in, and something that separates us from surrounding training facilities, is our ability and genuine desire to help people train around injuries they are currently experiencing and/or just coming off of. On top of this, we are well aware of the fact that if injured athletes fail to immerse themselves in a sound, science-based resistance training regimen immediately following physical therapy, the odds are quite high they'll be right back in the PT clinic, or, even worse, on the surgeon's table.

However, we also realize that we are not physical therapists, nor do we pretend to be. Which is why we seek to form and maintain symbiotic relationships with PTs. When the strength coach and physical therapist each work within their own, unique sphere of expertise, while simultaneously collaborate with one another, the athlete/client will be in much better hands than if they neglected either of the two options.

Anyway, while it's not the most "sexy" of topics, the article above dives into some practical solutions for the strength coach, physical therapist, and (most importantly) the injured athlete.