sports training

THE WRONG WAY TO ACHIEVE PEAK PERFORMANCE

October 5, 2019 by radmin

“Mental toughness is to physical as four is to one.”

– Bobby Knight

Developing superior mental strength in young athletes is invaluable and can have lifelong benefits. However, it’s also worthwhile to discuss the wrong ways to develop mental toughness and what can happen when this critical attribute is underdeveloped.

In my book, “The World’s Greatest Sports Prodigies & How To Prepare Young Athletes For Success”, I detailed the cautionary tale of youth sport training gone wrong with the storied career of Todd Marinovich and his father/trainer Marv.

Marv was a former football player, who won a national championship in 1962 at USC and briefly played in the NFL, before retiring due to injuries. He became an expert on Eastern Bloc training philosophies and continued his career in football as a premier strength-and-conditioning coach. When Todd was born in 1969, he became Marv’s test subject in an experiment to see how well an athlete could be developed if raised in a perfect environment.

The training was demanding to say the least. Before he was born, Todd’s mom, Trudi, consumed no sugar, salt, alcohol, or tobacco. As a baby, the younger Marinovich’s diet consisted of only fresh fruit, vegetables, and raw milk. As he grew older, he was limited to beef without hormones and unprocessed dairy products. He was never allowed to consume sugar, refined white flour, or junk food of any type.

The physical conditioning was just as rigorous as the dietary portion of his training. Before he could walk, Todd was already being placed on a balance beam and Marv would stretch his hamstrings in the crib. By three, he could throw with both hands, kick with both feet and already was on a program that included push-ups, pull-ups, hand weights, and sit-ups. The day he turned four, he ran a four-mile run in 32 minutes. By junior high school, Todd’s weekly workout consisted of four days of weight training, three days of running, two days of work with a quarterback coach in addition to a daily two hours of football throwing sessions. Todd trained multiple hours a day, seven days a week.

Needless to say, the initial results were spectacular. As a quarterback of national prominence, Todd would go on to set a high school record for all-time passing yardage, racking up more than 9,000 yards in his illustrious career. In 1987, he was named the Touchdown Club’s National High School Player of the year, and earned a scholarship to USC. He would even go on to briefly play professional football for the Oakland Raiders.

While those are all amazing accomplishments, the toll it put on Todd was incredibly strenuous and probably not worth the price. Looking for a release from the suffocating control exerted by Marv, Todd began to experiment with drugs and alcohol in high school, which would lead to greater problems in college. He was arrested for possession of cocaine in his final year at USC, and continued to battle drug problems throughout his NFL career. After failing his third drug test at the beginning of his third season with the Raiders, Marinovich was suspended and his professional career was basically over. Even after his football career ended, he continued to have legal problems related to illegal substances. On top of all that, he went through an extended period of estrangement from his father.

There is little doubt that Marv Marinovich was both innovative and forward-thinking in his approach to physical conditioning in young athletes. Where he failed miserably was in his failure to develop the mental side of Todd’s development. Some notable mistakes stand out.

Mistake 1 – Making Failure in Any Form Unacceptable

Todd once mentioned that Marv had a saying, “Perfect Practice Makes Perfect.” All throughout his youth career, failure was simply not an option. The answer was always more work and training and effort until success was attained. Quite simply, a young athlete should never be made to feel that success is the only acceptable outcome. The kind of undue pressure that demanding parents can exert onto their children can prove to be a crippling detriment that some struggle to overcome their whole lives. This in itself is a leading contributor to Youth Sports Burnout. This is probably also a leading factor in what caused Todd to spiral so far out of control once he reached college and was out of his father’s grasp.

Mistake 2 – Revolving Everything Around a Child’s Sports Career

Everything in Todd’s young life revolved around his training. It is said Marv lost jobs because of his obsessive need to train Todd, and it eventually caused marital issues which led to divorcing Todd’s mother. Imagine the incredible pressure Todd must have felt to succeed after seeing how much time, money, and personal relationships that were exhausted in Marv’s dream. This is a toll that no young athlete should have to bear. Youth sports are meant to be fun and rewarding, but should never take precedence over the more important things in life.

Mistake 3 – Not Allowing the Athlete to Make Decisions

Todd was never given a choice in Marv’s dream to develop a perfect athlete. Before he was born, Marv had already mapped out a plan for his entire career. Keep in mind that just because someone may be good at something doesn’t necessarily mean they love it. Todd may have been a great football player, but there is no indication he ever had a passion for it. By choosing that passion for him and creating a rigidly structured life that did not allow Todd the ability to make decisions for himself, Marv did him a tremendous disservice and the problems he exhibited later in life related to poor decision-making probably stemmed from this. Allowing a young athlete the ability to make choices, helps to develop strength of will. In the event those choices happen to be the wrong ones, it then provides an opportunity for one to learn from their mistakes. It is natural to want to protect our kids as we always feel we know best, but letting them make important decisions, when the time is warranted, helps them to grow into stronger, more mentally mature individuals.

In the end, this sad story clearly illustrates the long-term consequences of peak performance training when the focus is geared too heavily towards the physical and not nearly enough towards the mental side. By learning from these mistakes, we can hope to avoid the pitfalls suffered by Todd and help to better prepare young athletes to establish the requisite amount of mental toughness needed to thrive.

THE IMPORTANCE OF MENTAL TOUGHNESS IN ELITE ATHLETES

August 31, 2019 by radmin

“Nothing on earth can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.”

– Thomas Jefferson

In my book, “The World’s Greatest Sports Prodigies & How To Prepare Young Athletes For Success”, I examined the careers of a number of high-profile young athletes. In almost every case, the ones who found long-term success were the one with the greatest mental resiliency, while those who lacked mental toughness or discipline were often victims of burnout or careers that were perceived to be failures.

As if one needed more evidence of the importance of mental toughness in sports, you need only to look at players considered to be the best to ever play their chosen sport and see great examples. Athletes like Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, and Muhammad Ali were all superstar sports competitors who married physical excellence with mental dominance to achieve a peak level of performance. Here is a look at how each used mental toughness to take their impressive physical abilities to a world-class level.

Michael Jordan

“Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.”

– Michael Jordan

Some consider Michael Jordan the greatest player to ever play basketball. With six NBA championships, five Most Valuable Player awards, two Olympic Gold Medals, and numerous other personal accolades to his name, a case can definitely be made to support his claim to greatness. Standing a towering 6’6” tall with impeccable quickness and a reputed 48-inch vertical leap, there is little doubt that even amongst elite athletes, Jordan possessed rare physical gifts that few if any have ever matched. Despite all of this, what probably set Jordan apart from any other player of his generation was his legendary mental toughness.

Looking at his career, numerous examples of mental toughness stand out. In one of the most infamous stories from his youth, it has been said that Jordan was cut from his own high school team as a sophomore at Laney High School in Wilmington, North Carolina. This was not technically true. While he was cut from the Varsity team, he did play on the Junior Varsity squad. For many players though, this would have been a devastating blow. Some would probably even consider giving up the game. Not Jordan. He used this so-called “slight” to fuel his training and prove that he did belong. Jordan would go on to dominate on the Varsity level in his junior and senior years and earn a scholarship to the University of North Carolina, one of the most prestigious basketball programs in the country.

Certainly, you can’t accomplish all that Michael Jordan accomplished in his career without a high measure of mental toughness. This is an athlete, who as a freshman in college in 1982, made the game-winning shot in the National Championship game against a favored Georgetown squad. This is also a player who would go onto to dominate the NBA, winning the Rookie of Year award in 1985 and eventually lifting the lowly Chicago Bulls franchise to six NBA championships. He was a player who never lost a championship series. Quite simply, Michael Jordan was a competitor who never was overwhelmed by the biggest moments and was able to succeed under immense pressure, where others would mentally crumble.

Near the end of his legendary career, Jordan played one of the most iconic games of his career in the 1997 NBA Finals versus the Utah Jazz in what is referred to as “The Flu Game”. With the series tied 2-2, game five would prove to be a pivotal match that would give one team the upper hand in claiming the championship. Unfortunately for the Bulls, Jordan was suffering from a stomach virus and severe dehydration. For an ordinary player this would be debilitating and a reason to skip the game entirely. As we all know though, Jordan was no ordinary player and his iron will would not let him even consider skipping such a monumental game. While many players might be able to “tough it out” and play under such adverse conditions, they certainly would not be at 100% and likely would not be able to significantly impact such a big game. Jordan not only played but dominated the game. He scored 38 points, including a critical three pointer with 25 seconds remaining to lift the Bulls to an improbable 90-88 win. The team would go on to win the series in game six and allow Jordan to celebrate the fifth of his six championships. Truly, Jordan enjoyed a mental edge that separated him from anyone else in the game and it showed.

Tiger Woods

“My mind is my biggest asset. I expect to win every tournament I play.”
-Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods is another example of an athlete who dominated his chosen sport, Golf, by displaying unshakable mental toughness. From the time he turned pro in 1996 through 2008, Woods was a virtual force of nature on the Green and the most dominant player in the world. In that span he captured 14 major championships and seemed destined to shatter the record of 18 held by Jack Nicklaus. Standing at a chiseled 6’2 with an athletic build unmatched by any player on the tour, many might attribute his success to his impressive physical gifts. However, they are severely underestimating the mental strength and toughness possessed by Tiger.

As anyone who knows the sport can attest, it is a mentally demanding game requiring concentration, focus, and the ability to perform well under pressure. So imagine playing on the biggest stages, before the largest crowds and consider how much more the difficulty would be notched up. Woods’ mental resiliency is a huge reason why he was able to excel for an extended period of time in such a stressful sport. David Wells, a writer for the New York Times, observed “In a period that has brought us instant messaging, multitasking, wireless distractions and attention deficit disorder, Woods has become the exemplar of mental discipline. It is his ability to enter the cocoon of concentration that is written about and admired most.” Professional golfer Bob Mays added “Tiger is the most mentally tough guy in sports, from race car drivers to football players to anyone. You can never get him down, and he will never let himself get down. That’s where he really beats up on people.”

So how did he develop that famed mental acuity? Credit goes to his parents Earl and Kultida Woods. It is said that from an early age in his training, Earl would insert special tricks and challenges to keep Tiger focused, like dropping golf bags in the background as he would swing. By helping to learn to channel out distractions, Earl was able to keep Tiger singularly focused on his goals. Likewise, his mother Kultida was noted as the disciplinarian in the family and ran a tight household when Tiger was young instilling discipline and control in him from an early age. Obviously all of the mental training paid off, since Woods dominated his sport as much as any other athlete has in any sport ever.

In one of the most challenging moments of his career, Tiger again proved his mental toughness. In 2008, after being sidelined for much of the season recovering from knee surgery, Woods returned in time to compete in the US Open. It proved to be one of his most stirring victories as he defeated Rocco Mediate and captured the championship by winning a sudden death playoff on the final hole. In victory, Woods discussed the pressure he was under to make big shots down the stretch that allowed him to overcome Mediate. “Well, it’s pressure, there’s no doubt. I was nervous and that’s a good thing. That means you care. You can try and use that energy as best you can to heighten your focus and then get into the right situation and it worked out great for me this week.” Truly, being able to handle pressure can help to elevate you to the top of any profession.

Muhammad Ali

“To be a great champion you must believe you are the best. If you’re not, pretend you are.”

– Muhammad Ali

When it comes to supreme confidence, no athlete possessed that in greater abundance than Muhammad Ali. Aptly nicknamed “The Greatest”, Ali had an illustrious career that began when he captured the Olympic Gold Medal in Boxing in 1960 in Rome, Italy. As a professional, Ali compiled a record of 56-5 and was a three-time Heavyweight Champion of the World with incredible wins over a collection of legendary fighters including Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Sonny Liston, and Ken Norton. Standing at 6’3” tall with fast hands, impeccable boxing skills, and an incredible chin, he had all the physical tools to be a champion, but it was his unwavering bravado and mental acumen that made him the best of all time.

Muhammad Ali, born Cassius Clay, took up boxing at the age of 12. Though he possessed immense natural talent, he wasn’t content to rely upon that. His trainer, Angelo Dundee, commended Ali for not only his relentless drive to outwork his opponents, but also his curiosity to learn everything he could regarding the “Sweet Science”. From an early age, Ali had set a goal for himself to be a world champion and trained with that singular focus. So he not only developed the physical abilities he would need, but developed his mind as well. Ali sought out the legendary Dundee, because he wanted to know everything when it came to champions such as how they prepared, what they ate, how they thought, etc. No matter what obstacles were put in his path, Ali focused on his training, weeding out distractions and overcoming obstacles to accomplish what he set out to do. Ali expected so much of himself, he trained in a way that reflected that, not cutting corners, but instead putting in more work than anyone else thought necessary. The results were nothing short of extraordinary.

As a pro, he faced many challenging moments in his illustrious career. The first came when he battled the reigning Heavyweight Champion, Sonny Liston, in 1964. Liston was a powerful and intimidating fighter who had destroyed the previous champion Floyd Patterson and entered the bout as an 8-1 favorite. Few expected Clay (Ali) to survive, let alone win, but such was his mental toughness that he relished the challenge. Using his blazing hand speed and elusiveness, Clay thoroughly frustrated and dominated Liston, forcing him to retire on his stool after six rounds. Later in his career in 1974, Ali would face even more daunting odds when he met George Foreman, considered one of the most devastating punchers of all time. Foreman was fresh over destructive second round knockouts of Joe Frazier and Ken Norton, who had both proved stiff challenges for Ali. Plus, given the fact that Ali was no longer in his physical prime and notably slowed down, he would not be able to fight in the same manner he had used to overwhelm Liston. Again, the challenge was daunting and the chances for victory seemed nonexistent. Ali, however, would once more reach into his bag of tricks by employing an innovative and highly-questionable strategy called the “Rope-a-Dope”. Using this technique, Ali waited against the ropes as a stationary target and invited Foreman to wail away with his vaunted power shots. This strategy confounded all the experts who felt he was setting himself up to be massacred. However, Ali used effective defense to cover-up and clinch the bigger, stronger man, and counter-punch when opening arose. By the eighth round, an exhausted Foreman had essentially punched himself out, and Ali seized the opportunity to score an amazing knockout win. The mental toughness Ali displayed by having the fortitude to absorb Foreman’s punishing power shots and to stick to what many considered an ill-fated tactic was what set him apart from the rest of the pack.

Further proof of his extraordinary mental toughness came in 1967, when Ali refused to be drafted by the armed services to participate in the Vietnam War. As a result of his stance, Ali was fined and sentenced to five years in prison. While he never actually served any prison time, because the decision was eventually overturned, Ali would lose more than three years of his athletic prime in exile, for his decision. No matter what one’s stance is on his decision, Ali must be commended for fighting for what he believed in and refusing to cave in to the various forces pressuring him in the government, media, and throughout the world. Having the courage to stand up for what you believe in is definitely an important component of mental toughness.

These are only a few examples of athletes who possessed remarkable mental toughness.

HOW TO TRAIN LIKE LEBRON JAMES, KING OF THE NBA

August 25, 2019 by radmin

Lebron James is arguably the greatest basketball player of all-time and without question perhaps the most physically gifted player ever. At 6’8” tall and 250 pounds of chiseled muscle, James combines awesome power with speed, intelligence, and skill to devastating effect. From the time he arrived on the scene as one of the most-hyped high school prospects of all time, James has fulfilled that promise by winning multiple NBA championships, Olympic Gold Medals, NBA MVP Awards, and even working his way into a credible contender to Michael Jordan as the best to ever step on the court. So with almost superhuman physical gifts and abilities, it would be understandable for him to take the easy path and not put in the normal work needed to achieve legendary status.

However, that is not the way James approaches thing. Instead he invests an ungodly amount of time and money into ensuring he can maximize his abilities while at the same time keeping open a longer window to perform at an elite level

Lebron James’ Physical Training and Diet

As you would expect, James has a first class home gym and employs a veritable army of professionals chefs, trainers, and massage therapists to keep him firing on all cylinders. For his strength and physical conditioning program, Lebron uses of mixture of heavy weights, bodyweight exercises, and cable work to ensure a strong core, flexibility, and superior mobility. It is a balanced approach that doesn’t lean heavily in any one area, but mixes all methods into the ideal one for promoting the stability and endurance needed to go toe-to-toe with some of the world’s largest athletes on the hardwood.

When it comes to his diet, James has experimented with modified versions of the paleo diet that limits the intake of processed foods and high carbohydrates options, that is not his year round agenda. Instead he keeps a general focus on getting a good amount of lean meats and vegetables as the staples of his food regimen. So while the lifting and diet regimen are about what you would expect from an elite athlete, it is the exotic treatments that James utilizes that really set the bar for a premier training plan for for a King!

Cryotherapy

Cryotherapy is a treatment method where extremely cold temperature is used to reduce inflammation and pain while speeding up standard recovery time. It has been defined by some as “an ice pack on steroids”. With this treatment, the subject enters a chamber where liquid nitrogen is released to drop temperatures as cold as -250 degree fahrenheit. It is a somewhat trendy recovery method used not only by James, but elite athletes like Floyd Mayweather and Antonio Brown. It can be pricey though ranging up to $100 for a session that generally lasts only a few minutes. It is not without its dangers either, as Brown recently reported some frostbite damage to his foot after undergoing a similar cold treatment.

Hyperbaric Chambers

With the use of a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, air pressure is increased up to three times higher than normal, which in theory allows your lungs to gather more air. The result is that your blood carries oxygen throughout your system to fight bacteria and stimulate growth hormones and stem cell regeneration. Normally found in hospitals, elite athletes such as James can afford to build such chambers in their home at a cost of several hundred thousands of dollars. Obviously not a standard feature in most homes, but one that elite athletes swear by in the search to get that elusive physical edge over your competition.

Compression Gear

Compression gear is a unique type of garment that fits tightly against the skin and is specially designed to enhance athletic performance during short exercise sessions by improving blood flow and improving oxygenation of muscle tissue. While compression gear is not overly expensive, some of the more high end and cutting edge devices can be pricey for the average user.

Electrotherapy

Electrostimulation therapy is used in a number of different devices to provide electric energy for focused treatments. It is used to alleviate muscle spasms, combat atrophy, increase range of motion and address chronic pain. These devices can range in price as low as $100 for cheaper options up to hundreds of thousands for medical grade versions. As you can imagine, an athlete the level of James, has the resources to get world class treatment options.

How You Can Train Like The King

Most people, if any, are ever going to perform physically at the levels James has achieved. Still, you can utilize some more affordable versions of his unusual therapies to promote good health and improve your own athletic performance, Here are some lower cost options to consider if you want to apply some of the above-discussed treatments.

Cryotherapy Option

Cryotherapy Arctic Ice Cold Water Therapy With Large Back Pad (13" x 24")

Looking for a reliable ice treatment option on the go? Then try the Arctic Ice Cold Water Therapy unit. This versatile product allows you to enjoy the benefit of cryotherapy in an affordable package for effective relief of pain and swelling. SImply load it up with some ice, then use it to apply soothing cold therapy via universal treatment pads to the back, neck, or other achy joints. The unit has a timer as well to make sure your sessions are controlled and prevent any type of damage from overuse.

Electrostimulation Option

Beurer EM44 TENS Unit Muscle Stimulator with 50 Intensity Levels for Muscle Pain Relief, Muscle Stimulator Includes 4 Electrode TENS Pads, Belt Clip, and Batteries with Tens Machine

TENS PAIN RELIEF: The EM44 tens unit is non-invasive, drug-free muscle pain relief for the lower back, shoulders, elbows, knees, thighs, calves, or ankles – also a great sciatica pain relief device
TARGETED APPLICATION: TENS unit muscle stimulator works by providing targeted electrical stimulation to muscle pain, this current intercepts pain signals to the brain and provides natural relief
50 INTENSITY LEVELS: Our muscle stimulator comes with 15 pre-set programs, 3 customizable programs, an adjustable intensity of 1-50, a belt clip, 4 adhesive tens pads electrodes, and batteries
LCD DISPLAY GUIDE: The TENS machine features an on-screen electrode position guide, the best electrode placement for treatment will light up on the digital body map – an easy back pain relief device
CUSTOM PROGRAMS: 3 customizable programs to set your preferred intensity level – access your preferred setting quickly when you use the muscle stimulator for pain relief

The Beurer EM44 TENS device is designed to offer customized relief to pain points throughout the body and can also be used to stimulate and relax muscles. The package comes with four electrode pads which can be set to areas such as the neck, back, or knee and then used in tandem with one of 15 adjustable therapy programs to provide immediate results. The intensity setting can also be adjusted so that no matter your sensitivity level, you can find a viable option to address either chronic or acute pain. The unit itself is fairly user friendly and you can get set up in no time. It is also both compact and light which makes it ideal for taking to the gym, office, or wherever you want to get some relief.

Compression Boot Options

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The Rapid Reboot Recovery System is a powerful and versatile compression boot that utilizes dynamic air compression to improve circulation and speed up recovery times for athletes of all ages. Whether you are a runner, cyclist, or do any excessive exercise that taxes your legs, this is the system for you to recharge. Simply slip on the compression boots, attach them to the control panel, then customize your optimal settings for intensity and length to tailor the best treatment plan for you. The one drawback with this option is the price. Unless you are a serious athlete, you are probably not going to want to drop close to $1000 for the product. However, given the effectiveness and quality of the system, it is worth every penny in the results you will see and feel.

FIT KING Foot and Leg Massager for Circulation and Relaxation with Hand-held Controller 3 Modes 3 Intensities Helpful for Vericose Veins, Cramps, Swelling and Edema - FSA HSA Eligible

MASSAGE FROM FEET TO THIGHS - The leg and foot massager has 3+3 big airbags inside, can massage from your foot to thigh, to relieve fatigue and improve circulation. It also can be used to relieve Vericose Veins, cramps, swelling and edema.
3 MASSAGE MODES & LEVELS- There are 3 professional massage modes - Sequence, Circulation and Whole Modes with a total of 10 kinds of massage techniques and methods available, providing different massage experience and meet different usage scenarios and needs. And 3 massage intensity levels are adjustable, enjoy different massage experience from light to tight, fit for you and your family use.
INDEPENDENT AIR CHANNELS & LARGER MASSAGE CHAMBERS - this leg and foot massager has 3 larger massage chambers, which can massage more areas around feet and legs. The independent air channels allow separate massages of the feet, legs and thighs, and more massage techniques bring a better experience
EASY & CONVENIENT TO USE - The sizes of foot and legs are both adjustable via Velcros, and the size extensions we designed for this leg and foot massager can make the maximum calves size up to 28.5 inches, fits for most people to use. A portable storage bag inside, very easy to carry.
BEST GIFT FOR THE ONE YOU LOVE-FIT KING is well-known for the highest quality products and the best customer service. This leg and foot massager can be used at home or in the office, would be an excellent gift for people of all ages on birthday, Mother's day, Father's day, Thanksgiving day and Christmas.

For a more cost-friendly compress boot product that gets top reviews, you may want to give the Fit King Leg and Foot Massager a try. Though it doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of the Rapid Reboot Recovery unit, it does offer 10 different massage therapies which are surprisingly effective. The unit itself is a bit clunkier and a little less travel-friendly, but it does get the job done.If you are a competitive athlete or simply someone who spends a lot of time on their feet during the course of the day, this is a great option for alleviating pain and soreness while revitalizing tired muscles

Conclusion

With the resources at his disposal, Lebron James can truly train like a King. For those of us with more modest resources, who want to maintain peak athleticism, enjoy faster recovery time, and use cutting edge techniques to be our best physical selves, these are still some excellent options.

Combined with a healthy diet and the right combination of performance supplements, you can live your best life by applying smart fitness principles and making them a part of your every day regimen.

THE MIRACULOUS POWER OF BRAINSPOTTING AND HOW IT CAN HEAL TRAUMATIC SPORTS INJURIES

August 8, 2018 by radmin

As someone who is always interested in the latest developments regarding sports training, I was intrigued to learn about a powerful therapy technique called Brainspotting and how it can be used to help athletes overcome severe performance issues, especially those related to traumatic injuries. In my case, learning about this therapy was a very personal experience that had important implications for my family.

In October of 2015, my son, a promising sophomore basketball player suffered a painful and traumatic injury during an optional practice session. In an attempt for a layup, he hit a wet spot on the floor and came crashing back to the court which resulted in a severely dislocated left elbow and torn ligaments. While it was a disheartening injury, these types of things happen in sports, so he went through the time off and rehab in an effort to get back in time to finish the season.

When he had physically recovered from the elbow injury and was ready to return to practice, he found himself plagued by a mysterious fatigue in both his breathing and his legs. Where once he could play for hours at a time, he now found himself weak and winded within minutes of normal basketball activity. At first, we suspected deconditioning as he had been out nearly two months, but as the weeks progressed, he didn’t get any better. If anything, he felt like it was getting worse. He also had several episodes in training where he almost collapsed due to his legs giving out. In trying to describe what he was feeling, he said “my legs feel like they are asleep and won’t wake up.” Because he could not play for more than a few minutes at a time without fatiguing, he ended up missing the entire sophomore season for High School. It was frustrating for him to sit on the bench while the team made a run to the state tournament and not be a contributor.

Over the next few months, we tried a number of avenues to identify the cause of his performance issues. His primary doctor administered blood tests, as well as heart and lung tests which could identify no obvious problem. She referred him to a neurologist who then had him undergo two MRIs for his brain and spine, which found no issues either. While we were relieved that it was nothing like an autoimmune disease or things of that nature, every negative result made it more frustrating for us as we still had no answers. Next up was a month of chiropractic sessions as it was possible it was an alignment problem in his hips, but that proved fruitless, as well.

The next step was to meet with a physical therapist who specialized in sports performance issues. He diagnosed my son with extremely tight hamstrings and hip flexors which he felt could be shutting down the quads and causing the unusual fatigue issues. After several weeks of treatment, his flexibility vastly improved as did the strength in his legs, however he was still tiring rapidly on the court. The improvement was enough that he was able to attempt a comeback to club basketball in April, it was obvious he was nowhere near his normal performance levels. While the Physical Therapy work had helped to loosen up his legs and improve his leg strength, he was still suffering physically and would struggle to make it through games.

In June, approximately eight months after the original injury, he started HS Summer ball and had a great first game where he hit every shot and helped his team to an overpowering win. However after the game, he told me it felt like torture to play and that if it continued to be this much of a struggle, he didn’t want to continue playing basketball. For a child who is very skilled and passionate about the sport it broke my heart to hear this, but he simply was not enjoying it anymore because of the physical problems that were proving too challenging to deal with on a daily basis.

Shortly after this, my wife discovered a website by a doctor named Alan Goldberg who specialized in helping athletes overcome sports performance issues. In conjunction with another doctor, David Grand, they had developed a powerful training tool for athletes who have suffered traumatic sports injuries called Brainspotting. Their book, This is Your Brain on Sports: Beating Blocks, Slumps and Performance Anxiety for Good!, detailed a number of cases where they had successfully applied their therapy when all other avenues had failed to work.

In their own words, “Brainspotting is a powerful, focused treatment method that works by identifying, processing and releasing core neurophysiological sources of emotional/body pain, trauma, dissociation and a variety of other challenging symptoms. Brainspotting is a simultaneous form of diagnosis and treatment, enhanced with Biolateral sound, which is deep, direct, and powerful yet focused and containing.

Brainspotting functions as a neurobiological tool to support the clinical healing relationship. There is no replacement for a mature, nurturing therapeutic presence and the ability to engage another suffering human in a safe and trusting relationship where they feel heard, accepted, and understood.

Brainspotting gives us a tool, within this clinical relationship, to neurobiologically locate, focus, process, and release experiences and symptoms that are typically out of reach of the conscious mind and its cognitive and language capacity.

Brainspotting works with the deep brain and the body through its direct access to the autonomic and limbic systems within the body’s central nervous system. Brainspotting is accordingly a physiological tool/treatment which has profound psychological, emotional, and physical consequences.”

One of the most compelling stories dealt with the case of Mackey Sasser, a talented professional baseball player whose career was plagued by a strange mental block which prevented him from making normal throws from home plate to the pitcher. For years, Sasser worked with a number of therapists who were unable to find the root cause of his throwing issues, which ultimately led to a premature end to a promising career. However, years after his career had ended, he still hoped to be a baseball coach, but felt his throwing issue would prevent him from having success as a bullpen coach. After meeting with the authors Grand and Goldberg, and undergoing only a few Brainspotting sessions, Sasser was able to find the root causes behind his problems, and more importantly get treatment which completely relieved him of the throwing malady. For more info on this cases and several other applications check out their book at:

After reading the book, I was encouraged that my son’s troubles might be treated with this therapy and searched for any therapist in our area who might be skilled in the technique, but the closest one was over two hours away. After a call with her, she strongly believed the problems he was experiencing were linked to his traumatic injury and suggested we try a session. Figuring we had nothing to lose, we decided to take a chance.

During the two hour session, the therapist took some time to talk to my son about the injury and the feelings it caused with him. About thirty minutes in, she fitted him for some headphones that played Biolateral music. Then with the use of a pointer, asked him to envision the accident as if he was playing a movie in slow motion in his head, and moved the pointer to different spot to try to identify the spot in his vision where he had the most visible reaction to the injury.

Once she had identified the eye location and continued to encourage him to visualize the injury, something dramatic began to happen. I noticed that his legs, mostly his left leg, started to noticeably twitch. In discussing later with my son, he told me his legs involuntarily continued to contract. Over the next hour, this continued and the therapist explained the trauma that had been frozen on his psyche was being unlocked. As we approached the end of the session, the twitching started to noticeably slow down. My son was now sweating, and felt like his legs had went through a workout.

While something visually powerful had happened during the session, we had no way to know how this would translate into his actual performance. The therapist estimated that maybe 70% of the trauma might have been unlocked, and that a second shorter follow-up session might be needed based on how he felt in the following week. As it turned out, that was not necessary. In the following weeks, my son returned to the courts and had a marked improvement in leg strength and his conditioning level. Where he recently had struggled to play extended stretches and considered it “torture” he now was able to play almost entire games, where the fatigue he would experience would be normal. It’s not an exaggeration to say, this powerful therapy had an almost miraculous effect on his recovery and improved sports performance

If you have an athlete who is experiencing performance issues that you feel may be connected to a traumatic injury from the past, I would highly recommend seeing a certified therapist. I know for my family, months of frustration were put behind us after just a single session. Quite simply, this is a technique that worked for us, when all other avenues had failed.

For more information on the subject, please refer to the Brainspotting website: https://brainspotting.pro/

TAKE YOUR GAME TO A NEW LEVEL WITH VERTIMAX TRAINING

August 8, 2018 by radmin

WHY USE THE VERTIMAX?

Vertimax training is an excellent all-around fitness multiplier. If you are looking for a training tool that can assist you in making significant gains in your vertical leap, first-step quickness, and lower-body reactive power, you need to investigate the Vertimax. Quite simply, it’s a revolutionary training system designed for the competitive athlete to build core strength and balance, which is useful for whatever sport you play.

One of the best aspects of the Vertimax is that no matter what sport you play, it can improve your abilities. There are literally hundreds of different exercises you can perform on it to enhance your sport-specific training routine.

The Vertimax comes in a variety of different models ranging from the most basic unit, the V4, all the way up to the most advanced model, the V8+. The benefit of the more advanced models comes in the ability to use more cords simultaneously for highly-targeted workouts.

In testing the Vertimax, I was told to test my vertical leap before jumping on the machine, then testing it again directly after a short workout. The difference was immediately noticeable. I gained almost six inches on my jump immediately. Of course, this is not a permanent gain. Nothing comes that simply. Instead, consider it a preview of what you can achieve permanently with some dedicated time on this apparatus. From experience, I can testify that it works.

The downside of the Vertimax is that the basic training unit can be costly, and they are not the standard type of equipment that you can find in any gymnasium. However, if you are a competitive athlete, an investment in the Vertimax can do nothing but help you in achieving your maximum athletic potential.

LEARN THE VERTIMAX TRAINING BASICS

Without question, Vertimax Training basics can help any athlete improve their results when it comes to sport-specific training. No matter what your given sport, be it football, basketball, baseball, or even mixed martial arts, it’s important to prepare and customize your workout in such a way you will yield optimal results that can clearly be translated on to your chosen playing field. Learn the Vertimax training basics to translate star potential into star performance.

So how many Vertimax sessions should an athlete perform in a given week? Preferably, an athlete should try to engage in Vertimax training sessions at least three times a week with six resisted sets of exercise. For example, in a standard vertical leap-training session, you might perform four sets of Quarter-Quicks and two sets of Half-Quicks. A training session itself doesn’t need to take all that long. Just be sure to perform the sets as focused and quickly at possible at a maximum effort level. This will help you get the most out of each training session.
So how much should you rest between sets? Vertimax training is such that having too much time between sets is better than not having enough. The more time an athlete has to recover between sets, the more effort and speed he can generate on the next set. A recommended rest period of 35 seconds to two minutes is suggested between each set. Experts also suggest that between sets, the athlete not perform further lower-body exercises. This will help optimize muscle memory and post-training improvement. Instead allow the athlete to perform upper-body exercise or core training, during this time period.
One of the important factors in a successful Vertimax training program is using the proper resistance for a given exercise. Depending on which Vertimax training unit that you are using, you will have different options for cords and resistance levels. In general, it is optimal to find a level that resists the athlete enough to allow them to perform an exercise at 70% of the level they would perform without resistance. So for example if an athlete can jump 30 inches without resistance, they would be able to jump approximately 21 inches with Vertimax resistance. Fine-tuning resistance levels can take a bit of time, but the results will be well worth the effort. Just be sure to find a level that is challenging, but not overwhelming for a given user.