Mind’s eye.

Tuesday, January, 17, 2012

Mobility:
Shoulder prep (include plate walk)

Warm-up:
20 Double unders
10 KB swings
10 Ghd sit-ups
10 Hip extensions
20 Double unders
10 Ring pull-ups
10 Handstand shoulder taps
10 Dips

Skill:
Practice kipping Handstand push-ups

Workout of the day:
“Nate”
Complete as many rounds in 20 minutes as you can of:
2 Muscle-ups
4 Handstand Push-ups
8 2-Pood Kettlebell swings

Cool down:
3x 10 second Bridge hold
1 minute Pigeon each side
2 minute bottom of squat hold

It has been said that natural athletes learn by watching.  I believe this to be true through my own experience as an athlete and coach.  Even now, I will watch videos over and over while trying to imagine what that particular movement feels like. If I study it long enough, I should be able to mimic what my mind visualizes right?

I came across a study involving basketball players.  One group physically shot and practiced free throws for an hour every day.  The second group meditated and visualized shooting and making free throws.  The first group saw a 24% improvement and the second group saw a 23% improvement even though they never physically shot a basketball!

Meditation, visualization, guided imagery, whatever you want to call it, tapping into that mental aspect can be a huge performance enhancer.

  We talk a lot about creating neural pathways through consistent, physical practice, but can we think our way to performing better?

“With each experience, a neural pathway is formed. Neural Pathways in short, are clusters of neurons in the brain that work together to create a memory or a learned behavior. As your brain conceives of an act, it generates impulses that prompt neurons to ‘perform’ the movement being imagined by transmitting those impulses from the brain to the muscles. This in turn creates a habit, or neural pathway in the brain, programming your body’s actions as if you physically performed the activity…. “

I watched a ton of muscle up videos before I could do one.   Enjoy this video a few times and maybe a few pathways will be forged!