Before we get into any specifics, let me share with you my personal experience. Growing up I faced a lot of problems “showcasing” my best self when it was important or to simply share an opinion or to stand up for myself, this goes with all areas of life, not only on field as a young athlete. Imagine you are the hardest worker in the training room, beating everyone like it’s nothing but when there’s a crowd and everything to judge you, you just freeze. Or act funny… The “nerves”, the “butterflies” spiral out of control.
Same thing applies to the process of public speaking or standing for an audition or an interview which you know is super important to you. But you stutter or say things you never meant and you simply underperform when it matters the most.
All these scenarios have a solution which needs to be seen in 2 parts; the first one is simply recreating the “pressure” environment to feel more calm and relaxed for when it comes, it can be through visualization in your own head of how things should unfold and asking your friends or colleagues to help you to create simulations of the exact situations when that is possible. Repeatedly exposing yourself to the difficult task of being judged will help you to perform with intent, without losing your ground.
Coming to the second part of the solution is about building your physical body in such a way that you are able to summon your best performance, your clear vision without shaking, without feeling anxious and feeling a literal “power” in your own legs when you’re trying to show up to the difficult task.
Let’s see how this works in science! This process changed my life for good and I cannot wait to share it with you.
To understand how optimized neural recruitment affects you in so many positive ways, let’s see what it is in simple terms.
There are nerve cells (motor neurons) which innervate or activate muscle fibers. These motor neurons transmit impulses in the form of electrochemical signals from the spinal cord to the muscles. (In order to get a response from the muscles when you sit/stand/move.) So far, so good? These activities do not require you to exert much force as your muscles are adapted to your body’s weight. But imagine you are now standing on extremely slippery moss, you are given a 15kg baby to hold and now you have to walk just 20 meters further to find sturdy ground. Your entire movement pattern will have to change! This ability to vary or gradate force is essential for performance of smooth, coordinated patterns of movement.
Training with weights which are heavy enough that can be lifted for only between 3-8 reps do wonderful things to this system,
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Heavier loads optimize neural recruitment.
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Increase the cross-sectional area of muscles involved in the desired activity. (Muscle gain!)
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Improves bone mineral density. (Better lifespan)
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Improve glucose metabolism.
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Better when you can perform multi-muscle, multi-joint exercises that can be done with more explosive actions to optimize fast-twitch muscle requirement.
The exercises as examples of these are- Weighted squats, bench press, weightlifting movements like power cleans and overhead presses to name a few. In order to see a direct translation of this training for a sport, you still need to continue to practice all the specific movements of the sport.
This translates to directly being able to harness your power when you really need it and to hold your ground when you absolutely must.
I can tell you all about how learning to produce a greater force in your muscles will in turn strengthen your entire neurological function as a human being but this is one of those things that you cannot read about to understand. The only way to really grasp it is to learn exercise form and technique for a couple months and then proceed to apply the loading techniques to experience all the benefits.
As always, remember that it is a process and not a quick solution. To see results and form strong neural connections you need to show up and train with intent.
