Under Construction

Five rounds of:

20 GHD Sit-ups

5 Push jerk

Michelle Kinney 5:52 with 115lbs wmv/mov

The last four physcial skills listed on our Big Whiteboard are:  accuracy, coordination, agility and balance.  These skills are neurological adaptations and improve through practice.  One of my favorite nerdy lines is, “We’re building neural pathways!”  I was thinking about that concept and found a great website discussing how the brain works:

Every time you learn something, neural circuits are altered in your brain. These circuits are composed of a number of neurons (nerve cells) that communicate with one another through special junctions called synapses. When you learn something, it is actually these synapses whose efficiency increases, thus facilitating the passage of nerve impulses along a particular circuit. For example, when you are exposed to a new word, you have to make new connections among certain neurons in your brain to deal with it: s…

The strength of this association may of course depend on several factors…The pathways along which information travels through the neurons (nerve cells) of the brain can be compared with the paths through a forest. As people keep taking the same route through a forest, they wear out a path in it. And the more people who take this path, the more deeply it is worn and the easier it becomes to follow. The same goes for our memories: the more we review them in our mind, the more deeply they are etched in our neural pathways.

This is important for two reasons. First, we cannot get frustrated when learning a new movement, rather we need to commit ourselves to praticing it regularly to build these connections within our brain.  Performing a movement well is more than just talent and the reason you need to be consistent.

  Secondly, this is why it is so important to work on proper form!  If you continually perform a movement incorrectly, focusing more on your time than doing it correctly or with the correct standards, then those are the connections you are reinforcing in your body!  Take the time to do it right, build those neural pathways and you will become a rock star in no time!