Jackie Edwards a five time Olympian represented the Bahamas in the long jump in the 1992 (Barcelona), 1996 (Atlanta), 2000 (Sydney), 2004 (Athens) and 2008 (Beijing) Olympic Games. In 2003, Edwards was ranked 5th in the world in the long jump. Other athletic accolades include her induction into Stanford University’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008. Twenty years after her graduation she still ranks as the school’s indoor and outdoor record holder. Edwards retired from professional competition in 2009 due to an achilles tendon tear. In her post competitive career she is enjoying being a partner in Urban Safari Design.
Edwards shares insights that enabled her career longevity which includes an inner motivation to push herself to improve as an athlete, good health, and a Master’s Degree in Sport Psychology. This is part two of a three part interview.
SZ: After turning pro in 1992 what new responsibilities entered your life? Were you surprised by any of the changes from amateur to professional?
JE: There were some surprises working with sponsors. Oakley sunglasses was a sponsor. My government (Bahamas) began paying me in 1998, so there was period of time when my government wasn’t paying me to represent them. I had a manager and I felt that I didn’t want to let him down. During my pro career I had sponsorship with Mizuno and the last nine years of my career Puma was a sponsor. Because I was receiving money or equipment I felt like I needed to earn the right to have all these things.
That act of turning pro wasn’t hard because in track it’s not like competing in the NBA or NFL where people are ooing and awing about the income an athlete is making, or the performances of the athlete. The most difficult part was time management. In college athletes have a structured schedule year to year. Coaches are telling the athlete what to do, when to do it. There are specific practice times. A professional track athlete is in control of their schedule. What meets to enter, arranging transportation to get there, paying for entry fees, all the details. In college you don’t need to think about these details you just show up.
SZ: In college you are told to meet at a certain spot at a certain time, transportation and the details are in place.
JE: Yeah. As a pro there were responsibilities and arrangements I never had to think about before.
SZ: Were there obligations to appear at special sponsor events and make yourself visible?
JE: To some degree yes. I didn’t realize that sponsors paid such close attention to the athletes. For example I like to wear the same spikes when I jump. I don’t care if I have new one’s when the one’s I am wearing are comfortable. At the time I was sponsored by Mizuno and I remember receiving a piece of mail from them telling me that I was to stop wearing the dirty spikes I had been competing in because it was the reason they gave me new ones. At the time I didn’t realize sponsors cared so much what I had on my foot.
SZ: How would they even notice it?
JE: That’s what I was thinking. Like who’s watching? When you jump your shoes get dirty. Unlike a sprinter whose shoes are going to look pretty clean for a long time. A long jumper shoes get dirty very quickly. Mizuno was clear that they didn’t like that I was walking around on these dirty spikes. When you are just concerned about performing you are not thinking about all that stuff.
SZ: You competed in the Olympics for the Bahamas in the long jump in 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008. Each Olympic has its own energy. Was there one Olympic year that was more meaningful to you?
JE: Each Olympic is definitely different in it’s own way. One of the things that always stood out for me was the way the torch was lit. In 1992 (Barcelona) the archer stood in the infield and shot the arrow over the torch from the center of the field. I couldn’t believe he got it right because it was so far away. We had been hearing up to the moment of the torch lighting in practice he had kept missing. So I was thinking what if this dude misses? We were all standing there waiting and then he was successful. He got it right. In 1996 (Atlanta) Muhammad Ali lit the torch. He has Parkinson’s disease so his hand was really shaking. It almost looked like the flame was going to burn him because he couldn’t get the thing lit.
Aside from the torches being lit the 2000 (Sydney) Olympics was the most special for me. It was my best finish, 6th place. Leading up to the Olympics in April during my first outdoor meet which was held at Stanford University I was competing in the triple jump for training purposes. During one of my jumps my fibula head popped out of my left knee. It was like this loud cracking noise and I thought I had broken my shin. I’d seen that happen so I was afraid to look because the shin would protrude through the skin. When I did finally look down I was relieved to see my leg fully intact. I went to stand up and I realized the noise that I had heard was my knee popping out. It required a chiropractor to put it back into place. It’s not an injury that requires surgery. I didn’t get my knee put back into place for ten days. I was basically dragging my leg around because my chiropractor wasn’t trained to make this type of adjustment.
I had flown back to Texas and was at the track talking with my coach and this guy who created this chiropractic adjustment just happened to show up at the track. My coach spotted him and said this guy can fix my knee. He put my knee back in five minutes. It was very painful but he put it back in place. But through the injury I had done damage to the area around my knee. I decided to compete in a meet ten days later and had a really good jump probably 2-3 inches off the qualifying mark for the Olympics. But I still needed to qualify and I think I did more damage than good by competing in that meet because afterwards my knee just went. I competed poorly for the next 2-3 months and I hadn’t yet qualified for the Olympics. It came down to the last meet that I was going to try and jump in to qualify. I needed to jump 21’ 10” to qualify. On my last jump of the last meet to quality I did it. To this day I don’t know how it happened.
SZ: This jump qualified you for the 2000 (Sydney) Olympics.
JE: Yes, and so my preparation for that Olympic Game was not what it should have been because my leg was not whole. It was the Olympics where I went in with the least amount of physical preparation because from when I qualified the Olympics were only a month away. But my country put me on the team and I went. The thing that helped me was I had just completed my Master’s Degree in Sport Psychology. Through-out the period of time leading up to the Olympics I couldn’t train and my body was failing me. I prepared by visualizing. I pictured myself performing the jumps even though I couldn’t physically do them. I visualized myself mentally executing a certain technical performance and when I arrived in Sydney my coach specially told me, “Jackie you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. You don’t have to jump some super outstanding jump to make the finals.” There is a set mark and if a jumper reaches that mark no matter how many jumpers reach it, you qualify for the final. We knew what the mark was and my coach said, “You can jump that. All you have to do is do what you have been doing.” I knew I was really technically sound just from my mental training not off of anything physical. Sure enough I went in and did what I knew I could do on the very first jump. On that jump I qualified for the finals.
Unfortunately between the qualifying round and the finals there is a day in between and I got sick with the worst cold I’ve ever had. The day of the finals my coach said, “You’re pretty much going to have to get whatever jump you are going to get right away because you will have no more energy.” There were twelve jumpers in the final. Jumpers take three jumps and then the top eight out of those twelve get another three jumps. I just hung onto what my coach told me and I put everything into my first jump and that was enough to get me into the top eight.
Next week Jackie talks about visualization, new technologies that helped extend her career, and her plans for the future.
*Featured guests are not former nor current clients of Susan Zaro
*This article may also be read @ www.examiner.com
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Jackie Edwards - 5X Olympian
Jackie Edwards a five time Olympian represented the Bahamas in the long jump in the 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympic Games. In 2003, Edwards was ranked 5th in the world in the long jump. Other athletic accolades include her induction into Stanford University’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008. Twenty years after her graduation she still ranks as the school’s indoor and outdoor record holder. Edwards retired from professional competition in 2009 due to an achilles tendon tear. In her post competitive career she is enjoying being a partner in Urban Safari Design.
In this three part interview Edwards shares insights that enabled her career longevity which includes an inner motivation to push herself to improve as an athlete, good health, and a Master’s Degree in Sport Psychology.
SZ: You’ve enjoyed a stunning 20 year career competing, which includes five Olympics, first qualifying in 1992. How did you manage your schedule in between Olympics to remain motivated and maintain the mental/physical endurance to compete at this level?
JE: One thing most people aren’t aware of is that track and field is a professional sport. You compete year in and year out. The fact that the Olympics come around every four years is an addendum to being a professional athlete every year. I was on the circuit in Europe competing indoors from January to March, then outdoors from May to September every year. My motivation was that I was competing on the professional circuit with the same athletes that I would be competing against in the Olympics, or in the World Championships. The events I competed in each year were how I made my living. In the sport of track and field the athlete is paid either through a shoe company, bonus money based on how the athlete finishes at each competition and appearance fees. I earn a living I traveled to meets all over the world. I’ve competed in 56 countries.
World Championships are held every two years, every odd year there is a World Championship. I qualified nine consecutive times from 1991 through 2007. World Championships for track and field competitors are as important as the Olympics. There is prize money at the World Championships which there is not at the Olympics. There is significant motivation to do well and your shoe contracts and other sponsorships are based on how well an athlete performs at the both the Olympics and the World Championships.
The motivation to keep going isn’t like having to wait four years for the next Olympics. It’s an ongoing process. I trained 10 1/2 months out of every year for all those years and I would have six weeks off per year to rest and regroup.
SZ: When you compete in the Olympics for the Bahamas do they pay you to be on the team?
JE: No country pays their athletes specifically to be on the team. There is no prize money from the Olympics. The way an athlete receives any sort of money out of the Olympics is if they make the finals. Usually the shoe contract will have a stipulation that the athlete will receive “x” amount of money if they make the finals or receive a medal. I competed for the Bahamas and my government paid me to represent them and included incentives that included a year round monthly stipend. Additionally the athletes had bonuses stipulated for winning gold, silver, bronze or reaching the finals.
SZ: Twenty years of competing professionally is a long time.
JE: I really enjoyed it. I always felt like I had not yet quite jumped as far as I was capable of jumping. I was healthy for the majority of my career. Injury prevents a lot of people from reaching their peak. I was luckily blessed to be relatively healthy because you’re never 100%. I didn’t have major setbacks that prevented me from making progress in my sport year to year. Other than a couple of years in there, I just always felt I could do better. It was like proving something to myself certainly much more so than proving something to anyone else. There are always people who would say, “Why are you still competing? Shouldn’t you get another life?” If I listened to those people maybe I would have stopped ten years into my career.
SZ: At your level of expertise and accomplishment it seems like after 10 years any athlete in whatever sport starts to receive those questions. How did you address the retirement questions particularly after a subpar result? Frequently the media jumps on it.
JE: Right, and being from a small country it’s magnified. In the U.S.A. if a track and field athlete has a poor track result you, your coach and a few people in your immediate circle pay attention. But being from a small country where track and field is the sport, people care and make commentaries about your performance. What kept me going is when there are really good results in training you know what your body is physically capable of. Week in and week out I was achieving things in practice that sometimes audiences didn’t get to see in the meet. My challenge was to duplicate that training performance in a competition. I knew what I was physically capable of, my coaches had a belief in my athletic ability. There are certain components to a long jump, that is speed and power. At one point in my career I could squat 350 lbs, that shifted to 375 lbs. In practice I was running 60 meters in 7.35 seconds, and then I was able to run it in 7.28 seconds that means something in regard to how far I can jump.
SZ: You kept your sights on your goals and your capabilities, screening out the distractions.
JE: Absolutely. I knew what I was capable of and I knew that there were jumps where I fouled and they were never measured. Even though it wasn’t measured I knew that my body actually went that far so I knew my capabilities.
SZ: So it remained exciting.
JE: Absolutely. Everyday, well let’s not say everyday. Most days when I woke up in the morning I was ready to go and train. Fall training was a challenge. No-one is going to tell you Fall training is fun. It hurts. You’re tired, you’re exhausted. I knew that three or four times a week my body was going to be at its limit. In six weeks it’s amazing how much the body can return to a civilian body. In six weeks I was almost back to ground zero and then it took another 2-3 months to get back to where I was before I stopped training and competing. But I still needed to take that six week break.
SZ: For body and mind?
JE: Yes.
SZ: Were there phases of your competitive life where things were going on and you didn’t mentally or physically feel like competing? How did you pull yourself up through those segments of time?
JE: Personal situations, dealing with some sort of relationship sometimes made training harder. The last thing I wanted to do if I felt sad or upset about something was to run around a track.
SZ: (both laughing) Didn’t running around help you feel better?
JE: It might help in that hour or so, but leaving the house to get there, sometimes I didn’t want to do that. If I was having a series of poor results that made me question myself. I’ve had times when I over trained. I always wanted to do so much in practice sometimes to my detriment. When I was doing intensive training and the results weren’t showing it I knew people must be thinking, “What’s going on with her. Why doesn’t she retire.” There was a year I over trained and I was jumping at a high school level. It was embarrassing for me. This was leading up to my national championship in the Bahamas. I felt I couldn’t go home jumping this poorly. I made the decision not to train for seven days. I didn’t go to the track. I didn’t jog. I just laid around. I had been doing so much in practice and it wasn’t helping.
SZ: Did you shift mentally as well?
JE: Yes, I did everything that had nothing to do with track. I read books, went to the movies, went shopping, stayed up late, overslept. At the end of the seven days I flew home to the Bahamas. I jogged at the track one day and the following day was the national championship meet. I don’t know what happened but the prior to this meet the last jump I had jumped was 19’10” which is what a talented high school athlete can jump, to during the national meet, I jumped 22’3”, which is significantly different. I just think my body had become so exhausted. I hadn’t been listening to my bodies fatigue. I had kept training and jumping worse. My body reacted positively to the shift.
If I had not stopped to rest I don’t know what I would have done that season with my career because I was at wits end. Sometimes you have to step back and listen to your body. I always want to do more but sometimes you need to do less and it’s hard to pull back.
SZ: After that meet did you scale back and adjust your workout program?
JE: For an athlete like myself I can be hard headed. But it was so tangible to see I needed to scale back. Sometimes when I was struggling during competitions or not having good results I questioned what I was doing professionally. I attended Stanford with classmates who were using their brains and making 5x’s the money I was making competing in track and field.
SZ: What helped you make the decision to stick it out? Was it having free time, travel, the unique challenges?
JE: All of that. I enjoyed the lifestyle. I enjoyed to some degree having control over my own schedule and time. Even though I had a coach and when we scheduled a practice at 11a.m. I had to be there. But if I decided I wanted to go visit my friend for a week I could do that as long as there was a track nearby, or a weight room. It’s not like having a job where you can’t just go and do what you wish. I also enjoy being outside, interacting with people, traveling and the physical/mental challenge. Aside from the money disparities, the experiences that I gained were not comparable to any sort of money I could earn.
Next week 5X Olympian Jackie Edwards discusses, responsibilities as a professional athlete, unique Olympic moments and new technologies that enhanced her career.
*Featured guests are not former nor current clients of Susan Zaro
*This article can also be read @www.examiner.com
In this three part interview Edwards shares insights that enabled her career longevity which includes an inner motivation to push herself to improve as an athlete, good health, and a Master’s Degree in Sport Psychology.
SZ: You’ve enjoyed a stunning 20 year career competing, which includes five Olympics, first qualifying in 1992. How did you manage your schedule in between Olympics to remain motivated and maintain the mental/physical endurance to compete at this level?
JE: One thing most people aren’t aware of is that track and field is a professional sport. You compete year in and year out. The fact that the Olympics come around every four years is an addendum to being a professional athlete every year. I was on the circuit in Europe competing indoors from January to March, then outdoors from May to September every year. My motivation was that I was competing on the professional circuit with the same athletes that I would be competing against in the Olympics, or in the World Championships. The events I competed in each year were how I made my living. In the sport of track and field the athlete is paid either through a shoe company, bonus money based on how the athlete finishes at each competition and appearance fees. I earn a living I traveled to meets all over the world. I’ve competed in 56 countries.
World Championships are held every two years, every odd year there is a World Championship. I qualified nine consecutive times from 1991 through 2007. World Championships for track and field competitors are as important as the Olympics. There is prize money at the World Championships which there is not at the Olympics. There is significant motivation to do well and your shoe contracts and other sponsorships are based on how well an athlete performs at the both the Olympics and the World Championships.
The motivation to keep going isn’t like having to wait four years for the next Olympics. It’s an ongoing process. I trained 10 1/2 months out of every year for all those years and I would have six weeks off per year to rest and regroup.
SZ: When you compete in the Olympics for the Bahamas do they pay you to be on the team?
JE: No country pays their athletes specifically to be on the team. There is no prize money from the Olympics. The way an athlete receives any sort of money out of the Olympics is if they make the finals. Usually the shoe contract will have a stipulation that the athlete will receive “x” amount of money if they make the finals or receive a medal. I competed for the Bahamas and my government paid me to represent them and included incentives that included a year round monthly stipend. Additionally the athletes had bonuses stipulated for winning gold, silver, bronze or reaching the finals.
SZ: Twenty years of competing professionally is a long time.
JE: I really enjoyed it. I always felt like I had not yet quite jumped as far as I was capable of jumping. I was healthy for the majority of my career. Injury prevents a lot of people from reaching their peak. I was luckily blessed to be relatively healthy because you’re never 100%. I didn’t have major setbacks that prevented me from making progress in my sport year to year. Other than a couple of years in there, I just always felt I could do better. It was like proving something to myself certainly much more so than proving something to anyone else. There are always people who would say, “Why are you still competing? Shouldn’t you get another life?” If I listened to those people maybe I would have stopped ten years into my career.
SZ: At your level of expertise and accomplishment it seems like after 10 years any athlete in whatever sport starts to receive those questions. How did you address the retirement questions particularly after a subpar result? Frequently the media jumps on it.
JE: Right, and being from a small country it’s magnified. In the U.S.A. if a track and field athlete has a poor track result you, your coach and a few people in your immediate circle pay attention. But being from a small country where track and field is the sport, people care and make commentaries about your performance. What kept me going is when there are really good results in training you know what your body is physically capable of. Week in and week out I was achieving things in practice that sometimes audiences didn’t get to see in the meet. My challenge was to duplicate that training performance in a competition. I knew what I was physically capable of, my coaches had a belief in my athletic ability. There are certain components to a long jump, that is speed and power. At one point in my career I could squat 350 lbs, that shifted to 375 lbs. In practice I was running 60 meters in 7.35 seconds, and then I was able to run it in 7.28 seconds that means something in regard to how far I can jump.
SZ: You kept your sights on your goals and your capabilities, screening out the distractions.
JE: Absolutely. I knew what I was capable of and I knew that there were jumps where I fouled and they were never measured. Even though it wasn’t measured I knew that my body actually went that far so I knew my capabilities.
SZ: So it remained exciting.
JE: Absolutely. Everyday, well let’s not say everyday. Most days when I woke up in the morning I was ready to go and train. Fall training was a challenge. No-one is going to tell you Fall training is fun. It hurts. You’re tired, you’re exhausted. I knew that three or four times a week my body was going to be at its limit. In six weeks it’s amazing how much the body can return to a civilian body. In six weeks I was almost back to ground zero and then it took another 2-3 months to get back to where I was before I stopped training and competing. But I still needed to take that six week break.
SZ: For body and mind?
JE: Yes.
SZ: Were there phases of your competitive life where things were going on and you didn’t mentally or physically feel like competing? How did you pull yourself up through those segments of time?
JE: Personal situations, dealing with some sort of relationship sometimes made training harder. The last thing I wanted to do if I felt sad or upset about something was to run around a track.
SZ: (both laughing) Didn’t running around help you feel better?
JE: It might help in that hour or so, but leaving the house to get there, sometimes I didn’t want to do that. If I was having a series of poor results that made me question myself. I’ve had times when I over trained. I always wanted to do so much in practice sometimes to my detriment. When I was doing intensive training and the results weren’t showing it I knew people must be thinking, “What’s going on with her. Why doesn’t she retire.” There was a year I over trained and I was jumping at a high school level. It was embarrassing for me. This was leading up to my national championship in the Bahamas. I felt I couldn’t go home jumping this poorly. I made the decision not to train for seven days. I didn’t go to the track. I didn’t jog. I just laid around. I had been doing so much in practice and it wasn’t helping.
SZ: Did you shift mentally as well?
JE: Yes, I did everything that had nothing to do with track. I read books, went to the movies, went shopping, stayed up late, overslept. At the end of the seven days I flew home to the Bahamas. I jogged at the track one day and the following day was the national championship meet. I don’t know what happened but the prior to this meet the last jump I had jumped was 19’10” which is what a talented high school athlete can jump, to during the national meet, I jumped 22’3”, which is significantly different. I just think my body had become so exhausted. I hadn’t been listening to my bodies fatigue. I had kept training and jumping worse. My body reacted positively to the shift.
If I had not stopped to rest I don’t know what I would have done that season with my career because I was at wits end. Sometimes you have to step back and listen to your body. I always want to do more but sometimes you need to do less and it’s hard to pull back.
SZ: After that meet did you scale back and adjust your workout program?
JE: For an athlete like myself I can be hard headed. But it was so tangible to see I needed to scale back. Sometimes when I was struggling during competitions or not having good results I questioned what I was doing professionally. I attended Stanford with classmates who were using their brains and making 5x’s the money I was making competing in track and field.
SZ: What helped you make the decision to stick it out? Was it having free time, travel, the unique challenges?
JE: All of that. I enjoyed the lifestyle. I enjoyed to some degree having control over my own schedule and time. Even though I had a coach and when we scheduled a practice at 11a.m. I had to be there. But if I decided I wanted to go visit my friend for a week I could do that as long as there was a track nearby, or a weight room. It’s not like having a job where you can’t just go and do what you wish. I also enjoy being outside, interacting with people, traveling and the physical/mental challenge. Aside from the money disparities, the experiences that I gained were not comparable to any sort of money I could earn.
Next week 5X Olympian Jackie Edwards discusses, responsibilities as a professional athlete, unique Olympic moments and new technologies that enhanced her career.
*Featured guests are not former nor current clients of Susan Zaro
*This article can also be read @www.examiner.com
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Dr. Erik Peper discusses Bio & Neurofeedback - Part 3
Dr. Erik Peper is an internationally known expert on biofeedback (applied psychophysiology), holistic health and stress management. Since 1976 he has taught at San Francisco State University where he was instrumental in establishing the Institute for Holistic Health Studies, the first holistic health program at a public university in the United States. Dr. Peper is President of the Biofeedback Foundation of Europe and past President of the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback (AAPB). He holds Senior Fellow (Biofeedback) certification from the Biofeedback Certification International Alliance (BCIA) and was the behavioral scientist (sport psychologist) for the United States Rhythmic Gymnastic team in the early 1980's. Dr. Peper lectures and teaches frequently through-out the world and has a biofeedback practice at BiofeedbackHealth in Berkeley, CA.
This is part 3 of a 3 part interview with Dr. Peper discussing how the tools of bio and neurofeedback are utilized to enhance sport performance, age appropriateness, technological advancements and simple products available for consumers.
SZ: What are some simple products an athlete can purchase to practice self-regulation techniques at home?
EP: Before I list the products let me say that biofeedback is helpful for concentration training, muscle training to minimize misdirected efforts and users can also benefit from this for injury recovery. Inexpensive devices I recommend are portable devices, and those that can be used with a laptop or desk top computer. These devices show heart rate variability. When attached to a finger or ear sensor the athlete can see their heart rate going up or down. They can learn to breathe at about six breaths a minute which helps them with sympathetic/parasympathetic balance. In addition, the equipment helps the athlete learn mindfulness training, staying present without trying. Devices include, Stress Eraser, HeartMath/EmWave for Desktop, Thought Technology/GSR2, MyCalmBeat (app for I-pads/pods, droids).
SZ: You mentioned the uses for these products are helpful for centering oneself, concentration, muscle training to minimize misdirected efforts and injury recovery.
EP: Heart rate variability is useful for recovery, quickly letting go, and being centered while temperature feedback devices show that control is possible. The athlete holds an inexpensive temperature device and quickly learns that her or she can increase finger temperature by passively or actively visualizing. If the athlete breathes slowly or can imagine his hands are heavy and warm, very often the temperature will rise. If the athlete breathes quickly and hyperventilates usually the temperature will drop. Women tend to have cooler hand temperatures then men and it’s often said they have poor circulation. In fact the cooler temperature occurs because they are more thoracic breathers. When women tend to breathe diaphragmatically their hands warm up. The concept of warming is used to treat injury. Warming can also be used by athletes or musicians who need tactile dexterity in their performance. When the fingers are warm the performer has better control. Although it takes awhile to learn, with extensive practice, performers learn this as a routine. First it’s learned in a safe environment, once it’s over learned they practice in environments that resemble playing conditions, then progressively apply it in more challenging playing conditions.
SZ: You co-author a chapter in the recently published book, “Biofeedback and Neurofeedback Applications in Sport Psychology.” There is a sentence that says, “Each sport may require a different set of physiological and psychological states to be triggered in order for the individual to perform in that sport.” Can you give an example?
EP: There is a significant difference between a 100 meter race and a marathon. In the 100 meter competition the runners must have great explosiveness at the beginning of the race - how quickly they can explode out of the blocks the more successful they will be. In a marathon it makes no difference how the runners begin since there is a significant amount of time within the race to catch up. It’s a different type of race. In a marathon the runner has to focus on resource management. The runner must hold their focus for a great length of time.
There is a big difference between individual sports versus team sports. In skiing or skating although snow conditions may vary more than the ice conditions the athletes are performing independently of others and this is also true for running. Compare running, skiing, skating, golf to team sports such as baseball, soccer, football, hockey, basketball where it’s an interactive dynamic between team-mates and opponents. Some sports require continued output while some sports like golf are performed for a moment then there is a long recovery period while in soccer there is a short window of time to recover between movements.
SZ: How will 3d virtual reality simulation coupled with bio or neurofeedback impact sports training in the near future?
EP: It will be superb. Let’s use the example of baseball, 3d will allow the player to simulate seeing a type of pitch coming and practice hitting or catching the ball. It can especially be useful to increase the environmental factors so that there is no novelty. 3d can make the training situation experience quicker and more real.
SZ: And introduce more variables?
EP: Yes. Years ago Pavlov said, “novelty interferes with performance.” You will be able to train the athlete to hold their attention. If the athlete is celebrating he’s not attentive. If he’s depressed or anxious he’s not attentive. If he’s distracted by something in the playing environment he’s not attentive. The challenge for the athlete is to stay on task. 3-d can simulate all those situations which could distract the athlete.
SZ: You’ve worked in this field for a long time. Do you have any favorite quotes, stories or tips that have guided you on your professional path of expertise?
EP: I am totally persuaded that we have more potential than we often know. The limits of our mental abilities are limits of our experience. I have become more impressed with with the power of our own language. Our own language is the unconscious self-suggestions and forms the template of future performance.
SZ: Dr. Peper thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to share you knowledge and experience.
*Featured guests are not current nor former clients of Susan Zaro
This article can also be read at www.examiner.com
This is part 3 of a 3 part interview with Dr. Peper discussing how the tools of bio and neurofeedback are utilized to enhance sport performance, age appropriateness, technological advancements and simple products available for consumers.
SZ: What are some simple products an athlete can purchase to practice self-regulation techniques at home?
EP: Before I list the products let me say that biofeedback is helpful for concentration training, muscle training to minimize misdirected efforts and users can also benefit from this for injury recovery. Inexpensive devices I recommend are portable devices, and those that can be used with a laptop or desk top computer. These devices show heart rate variability. When attached to a finger or ear sensor the athlete can see their heart rate going up or down. They can learn to breathe at about six breaths a minute which helps them with sympathetic/parasympathetic balance. In addition, the equipment helps the athlete learn mindfulness training, staying present without trying. Devices include, Stress Eraser, HeartMath/EmWave for Desktop, Thought Technology/GSR2, MyCalmBeat (app for I-pads/pods, droids).
SZ: You mentioned the uses for these products are helpful for centering oneself, concentration, muscle training to minimize misdirected efforts and injury recovery.
EP: Heart rate variability is useful for recovery, quickly letting go, and being centered while temperature feedback devices show that control is possible. The athlete holds an inexpensive temperature device and quickly learns that her or she can increase finger temperature by passively or actively visualizing. If the athlete breathes slowly or can imagine his hands are heavy and warm, very often the temperature will rise. If the athlete breathes quickly and hyperventilates usually the temperature will drop. Women tend to have cooler hand temperatures then men and it’s often said they have poor circulation. In fact the cooler temperature occurs because they are more thoracic breathers. When women tend to breathe diaphragmatically their hands warm up. The concept of warming is used to treat injury. Warming can also be used by athletes or musicians who need tactile dexterity in their performance. When the fingers are warm the performer has better control. Although it takes awhile to learn, with extensive practice, performers learn this as a routine. First it’s learned in a safe environment, once it’s over learned they practice in environments that resemble playing conditions, then progressively apply it in more challenging playing conditions.
SZ: You co-author a chapter in the recently published book, “Biofeedback and Neurofeedback Applications in Sport Psychology.” There is a sentence that says, “Each sport may require a different set of physiological and psychological states to be triggered in order for the individual to perform in that sport.” Can you give an example?
EP: There is a significant difference between a 100 meter race and a marathon. In the 100 meter competition the runners must have great explosiveness at the beginning of the race - how quickly they can explode out of the blocks the more successful they will be. In a marathon it makes no difference how the runners begin since there is a significant amount of time within the race to catch up. It’s a different type of race. In a marathon the runner has to focus on resource management. The runner must hold their focus for a great length of time.
There is a big difference between individual sports versus team sports. In skiing or skating although snow conditions may vary more than the ice conditions the athletes are performing independently of others and this is also true for running. Compare running, skiing, skating, golf to team sports such as baseball, soccer, football, hockey, basketball where it’s an interactive dynamic between team-mates and opponents. Some sports require continued output while some sports like golf are performed for a moment then there is a long recovery period while in soccer there is a short window of time to recover between movements.
SZ: How will 3d virtual reality simulation coupled with bio or neurofeedback impact sports training in the near future?
EP: It will be superb. Let’s use the example of baseball, 3d will allow the player to simulate seeing a type of pitch coming and practice hitting or catching the ball. It can especially be useful to increase the environmental factors so that there is no novelty. 3d can make the training situation experience quicker and more real.
SZ: And introduce more variables?
EP: Yes. Years ago Pavlov said, “novelty interferes with performance.” You will be able to train the athlete to hold their attention. If the athlete is celebrating he’s not attentive. If he’s depressed or anxious he’s not attentive. If he’s distracted by something in the playing environment he’s not attentive. The challenge for the athlete is to stay on task. 3-d can simulate all those situations which could distract the athlete.
SZ: You’ve worked in this field for a long time. Do you have any favorite quotes, stories or tips that have guided you on your professional path of expertise?
EP: I am totally persuaded that we have more potential than we often know. The limits of our mental abilities are limits of our experience. I have become more impressed with with the power of our own language. Our own language is the unconscious self-suggestions and forms the template of future performance.
SZ: Dr. Peper thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to share you knowledge and experience.
*Featured guests are not current nor former clients of Susan Zaro
This article can also be read at www.examiner.com
Monday, December 19, 2011
Dr. Erik Peper discusses Bio & Neurofeedback: Part 2
Dr. Erik Peper is an internationally known expert on biofeedback (applied psychophysiology),holistic health and stress management. Since 1976 he has taught at San Francisco State University where he was instrumental in establishing the Institute for Holistic Health Studies, the first holistic health program at a public university in the United States. Dr. Peper is President of the Biofeedback Foundation of Europe and past President of the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback (AAPB). He holds Senior Fellow (Biofeedback) certification from the Biofeedback Certification International Alliance (BCIA) and was the behavioral scientist (sport psychologist) for the United States Rhythmic Gymnastic team in the early 1980's. Dr. Peper lectures and teaches frequently through-out the world and has a biofeedback practice at
BiofeedbackHealth in Berkeley, CA.
This is part 2 of a 3 part interview with Dr. Peper discussing how the tools of bio and neurofeedback are utilized to enhance sport performance, age appropriateness, technological advancements and simple products available for consumers.
SZ: What age is bio or neurofeedback effective for young athletes to begin using as a training tool?
EP: I don’t think there is any systemized data on this. I can only speculate. Some people can work with young children and some cannot. I would say by 5 or 6 years old biofeedback techniques can be used fairly easily. You have to make it fun. I’ve worked with children 8 years old and younger. You can teach them to warm their hands by using visualization and teach them to shift their breathing. The critical part is that biofeedback equipment shows the child that they have control. That the shifts that they are making in their bodies with breathe and visualization is something that can be quantified. It is in the seeing the change that they believe and know control is possible and there is an effect.
SZ: When a child is anxious because he is distracted by worrying about outcomes engaging the child in a visualization or having them focus on their breathing interrupts their worry thought processes by redirecting their attention to an internal awareness.
SZ: An individuals brain continues to grow well into their 20’s. Does the developmental growth stage of brain development affect the usefulness of utilizing bio or neurofeedback?
EP: In youth neuroplascity is more possible. On the pragmatic side the brain is growing and changing into our mid 20’s. It means I can give biofeedback feedback of electrical patterns produced by the brain (electroencephaphy feedback/neurofeedback) which are equally behavioral patterns, thinking patterns or blood flow patterns in the brain. The learning process seems quicker when the person is young although it may relate more to just doing the practices without judgement with a playful attitude.
SZ: You are saying at a younger age it’s more effective.
EP: It’s much easier to teach a new habit than to inhibit an old one. When you think of sports athletes have done the same movement thousands and thousands of times. When you are attempting to alter the move you have to first undo it. It’s totally possible and that’s the exciting part. However, it is easier to learn a new movement than correct an over learned response. What makes athletes really easy to work with is there is less of a question of “Should I do it?” Instead, if they experience and know it is useful, they are more likely to ask, “How many times should I do it?”
SZ: To implement the change?
EP: The athlete is more willing. They understand the concept and the type of attention it takes. The underlying theme for some beginning athletes and I’ve worked with many of them, is that the one’s who struggle often are trying too hard. Part of doing well in a sport is having a certain type of trust in your skills.
Years ago I worked with a woman who had to pass a physical for her job that required a running test. She would quickly run out of breath and it affected her ability to pass this part of her test. As I observed her I could see that she was breathing very rapidly and high in her chest and people who breathe like this often hyperventilate. They may run a couple of blocks then are too out of breathe to continue. First in the lab I taught her how to breathe lower, she could do it walking but not running. After teaching her to breathe lower and slower while walking and running in place, we would go to a track and I would run behind her and remind her to breathe lower. I essentially became her biofeedback machine. After a few practices on the track she was able to transfer her awareness and breathing mastery to do it for herself. She mastered breathing more diaphragmatically without effort by attending to her breathing while running. She passed her physical.
SZ: What technological advancements in the equipment utilized in bio and neurofeedback have made instruments easier for qualified professional administrators to use with clients?
EP: The computerized systems have become very small. I can take a laptop with me to the location of the athlete. I can use a system of telemetry and see how the person behaves in real time while engaged in their sport. The systems can keep track of multiple signals at the same time and easily quantify the data. What athletes like is feedback, it quantifies what is going on and it demonstrates mastery. They want to know that they are doing better and the equipment can measure how they are doing. More recently there has been a trend to track heart rate variability. We used to think that a heart rate of 60 beats per minute was a good sign. It’s now known that a healthy heart rate should have variability. When the heart beat can go up and down by itself that is a sign of health.
SZ: Why is this a good sign?
EP: The heart should be responsive to the demands of the body. If it no longer can quickly speed up or slow down then damage may occur. Health is flexibility with the ability to respond to the demands of the body and environment as well as rapidly allowing recovery. The heart rate changes, commonly called heart rate variability, is easily demonstrated by taking a fairly large breath the heart rate would tend to speed up its natural rhythm. That is sympathetic activation. Then during the exhalation the heart rate slows down again it’s shutting down the sympathetic activation, which is called parasympathetic activation. What you want to see is a heart rate variability balance of sympathetic and parasympathetic. Heart rate variability is used to track an athletes ability to center themselves and recover/regenerate after exerting themselves within a physical performance such as scoring points, between races, etc. The key is to learn to monitor and modulate the appropriate energy level needed for a performance. For example gymnasts have to learn to modulate their energy level. They have to check in and notice if they are too tight, too anxious or too relaxed and if so bring that level down to or up to where it’s most effective to perform well. They can’t worry about falling. If they worry about a performance they are not present and usually perform worse. This type of destructive worrying can be identified during mental rehearsal of the performance when the athletes brain waves are monitored, as has been discovered by Vietta S. Wilson Ph.D. in her work with athletes. When a gymnast is connected to an EEG (electroencephalograph) during the relaxation and mental rehearsal and if there is a 18hz pattern in the recording the biofeedback/neurofeedback practitioner can interpret this as a worry spike. Other biofeedback can also be used to identify unaware muscle tension patterns.
Muscle tension is monitored and also given feedback with an EMG (electromyography). EMG’s are useful in practicing mental rehearsal as it can indicate the subtle body responses associated with imagery of a performance. For example in baseball a player can imagine taking a perfect swing at a fastball. The player will see it, and feel it yet the observer may not see any muscles twitch a tiny bit as the athlete is visualizing the movement. The EMG can record the very low level muscle tension which is invisible to just looking at the athlete. If the EMG registers movement from the players muscles then it's likely that the visualization is effective. If no EMG activity is observed in the appropriate muscles that should have been activated by the specific motor skill movement of the performance, then you would then go back and work to train the athlete to visualize more effectively.
Next: Dr. Peper shares ideas for simple biofeedback products and the impact of 3D virtual reality combined with biofeedback.
*Featured guests are not current nor former clients of Susan Zaro
This post can also be read at www.examiner.com
BiofeedbackHealth in Berkeley, CA.
This is part 2 of a 3 part interview with Dr. Peper discussing how the tools of bio and neurofeedback are utilized to enhance sport performance, age appropriateness, technological advancements and simple products available for consumers.
SZ: What age is bio or neurofeedback effective for young athletes to begin using as a training tool?
EP: I don’t think there is any systemized data on this. I can only speculate. Some people can work with young children and some cannot. I would say by 5 or 6 years old biofeedback techniques can be used fairly easily. You have to make it fun. I’ve worked with children 8 years old and younger. You can teach them to warm their hands by using visualization and teach them to shift their breathing. The critical part is that biofeedback equipment shows the child that they have control. That the shifts that they are making in their bodies with breathe and visualization is something that can be quantified. It is in the seeing the change that they believe and know control is possible and there is an effect.
SZ: When a child is anxious because he is distracted by worrying about outcomes engaging the child in a visualization or having them focus on their breathing interrupts their worry thought processes by redirecting their attention to an internal awareness.
SZ: An individuals brain continues to grow well into their 20’s. Does the developmental growth stage of brain development affect the usefulness of utilizing bio or neurofeedback?
EP: In youth neuroplascity is more possible. On the pragmatic side the brain is growing and changing into our mid 20’s. It means I can give biofeedback feedback of electrical patterns produced by the brain (electroencephaphy feedback/neurofeedback) which are equally behavioral patterns, thinking patterns or blood flow patterns in the brain. The learning process seems quicker when the person is young although it may relate more to just doing the practices without judgement with a playful attitude.
SZ: You are saying at a younger age it’s more effective.
EP: It’s much easier to teach a new habit than to inhibit an old one. When you think of sports athletes have done the same movement thousands and thousands of times. When you are attempting to alter the move you have to first undo it. It’s totally possible and that’s the exciting part. However, it is easier to learn a new movement than correct an over learned response. What makes athletes really easy to work with is there is less of a question of “Should I do it?” Instead, if they experience and know it is useful, they are more likely to ask, “How many times should I do it?”
SZ: To implement the change?
EP: The athlete is more willing. They understand the concept and the type of attention it takes. The underlying theme for some beginning athletes and I’ve worked with many of them, is that the one’s who struggle often are trying too hard. Part of doing well in a sport is having a certain type of trust in your skills.
Years ago I worked with a woman who had to pass a physical for her job that required a running test. She would quickly run out of breath and it affected her ability to pass this part of her test. As I observed her I could see that she was breathing very rapidly and high in her chest and people who breathe like this often hyperventilate. They may run a couple of blocks then are too out of breathe to continue. First in the lab I taught her how to breathe lower, she could do it walking but not running. After teaching her to breathe lower and slower while walking and running in place, we would go to a track and I would run behind her and remind her to breathe lower. I essentially became her biofeedback machine. After a few practices on the track she was able to transfer her awareness and breathing mastery to do it for herself. She mastered breathing more diaphragmatically without effort by attending to her breathing while running. She passed her physical.
SZ: What technological advancements in the equipment utilized in bio and neurofeedback have made instruments easier for qualified professional administrators to use with clients?
EP: The computerized systems have become very small. I can take a laptop with me to the location of the athlete. I can use a system of telemetry and see how the person behaves in real time while engaged in their sport. The systems can keep track of multiple signals at the same time and easily quantify the data. What athletes like is feedback, it quantifies what is going on and it demonstrates mastery. They want to know that they are doing better and the equipment can measure how they are doing. More recently there has been a trend to track heart rate variability. We used to think that a heart rate of 60 beats per minute was a good sign. It’s now known that a healthy heart rate should have variability. When the heart beat can go up and down by itself that is a sign of health.
SZ: Why is this a good sign?
EP: The heart should be responsive to the demands of the body. If it no longer can quickly speed up or slow down then damage may occur. Health is flexibility with the ability to respond to the demands of the body and environment as well as rapidly allowing recovery. The heart rate changes, commonly called heart rate variability, is easily demonstrated by taking a fairly large breath the heart rate would tend to speed up its natural rhythm. That is sympathetic activation. Then during the exhalation the heart rate slows down again it’s shutting down the sympathetic activation, which is called parasympathetic activation. What you want to see is a heart rate variability balance of sympathetic and parasympathetic. Heart rate variability is used to track an athletes ability to center themselves and recover/regenerate after exerting themselves within a physical performance such as scoring points, between races, etc. The key is to learn to monitor and modulate the appropriate energy level needed for a performance. For example gymnasts have to learn to modulate their energy level. They have to check in and notice if they are too tight, too anxious or too relaxed and if so bring that level down to or up to where it’s most effective to perform well. They can’t worry about falling. If they worry about a performance they are not present and usually perform worse. This type of destructive worrying can be identified during mental rehearsal of the performance when the athletes brain waves are monitored, as has been discovered by Vietta S. Wilson Ph.D. in her work with athletes. When a gymnast is connected to an EEG (electroencephalograph) during the relaxation and mental rehearsal and if there is a 18hz pattern in the recording the biofeedback/neurofeedback practitioner can interpret this as a worry spike. Other biofeedback can also be used to identify unaware muscle tension patterns.
Muscle tension is monitored and also given feedback with an EMG (electromyography). EMG’s are useful in practicing mental rehearsal as it can indicate the subtle body responses associated with imagery of a performance. For example in baseball a player can imagine taking a perfect swing at a fastball. The player will see it, and feel it yet the observer may not see any muscles twitch a tiny bit as the athlete is visualizing the movement. The EMG can record the very low level muscle tension which is invisible to just looking at the athlete. If the EMG registers movement from the players muscles then it's likely that the visualization is effective. If no EMG activity is observed in the appropriate muscles that should have been activated by the specific motor skill movement of the performance, then you would then go back and work to train the athlete to visualize more effectively.
Next: Dr. Peper shares ideas for simple biofeedback products and the impact of 3D virtual reality combined with biofeedback.
*Featured guests are not current nor former clients of Susan Zaro
This post can also be read at www.examiner.com
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Dr. Erik Peper discusses Bio & Neurofeedback
Dr. Erik Peper is an internationally known expert on biofeedback (applied psychophysiology), holistic health and stress management. Since 1976 he has taught at San Francisco State University where he was instrumental in establishing the Institute for Holistic Health Studies, the first holistic health program at a public university in the United States. Dr. Peper is President of the Biofeedback Foundation of Europe and past President of the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback (AAPB). He holds Senior Fellow (Biofeedback) certification from the Biofeedback Certification International Alliance (BCIA) and was the behavioral scientist (sport psychologist) for the United States Rhythmic Gymnastic team in the early 1980's. Dr. Peper lectures and teaches frequently through-out the world and has a biofeedback practice at BiofeedbackHealth in Berkeley, CA.
This is part 1 of a 3 part interview with Dr. Peper that discusses what is bio and neurofeedback? How these tools are utilized to enhance sport performance, age appropriateness, technological advancements and simple products available for consumers.
SZ: You are an expert in the field of biofeedback and also work with neurofeedback. What events captured your interest to bring you into this field of study?
EP: There are a number of events that captured my interest. One there was an opportunity to study with some remarkable people who weren’t athletes but studied pain control. In 1971 I studied an interesting person who voluntarily put a skewer through his cheeks and through the sides of his body and reported zero pain.
SZ: You studied this?
EP: Yes, here was a person that took a skewer and we made the skewers by taking bicycle spokes, sharpened and sterilized them. The first thing he did at the lab, this was at NYU, he dropped the sterilized spokes onto the floor took his dirty shoes, which he had been walking around with outside and he sterilized the spokes in his own terms by taking his dirty shoes and rolling over these at that time sterilized spokes. Once the spokes were really messed up with all these outside germs then he began his skill demonstration.
SZ: This person took a skewer and poked it through his cheek?
EP: Through one cheek and out the other and also another one through one side of his body through the flesh and out the other side.
SZ: This person did this exhibit for the sake of doing it?
EP: He did it more for the concept you can have voluntary control. I had heard about this skill initially through the New York Academy of Sciences where the discussion was can you have voluntary control? This was the era where people did not even believe you could warm your hands with voluntary control, through the use of imagery. This idea was very much in
dispute at the time. Through the years I’ve known other people who could do this discipline. Recently, at San Francisco State, a 62 year old Japanese yogi, Mr. Kawakami with thirty seven years of experience practicing various forms of yoga demonstrated this discipline. Mr. Kawakami, pushed unsterilized skewers through his tongue. Sitting calmly with skewers in his tongue and throat, he showed no signs of discomfort; rather he radiated peace. Removal of the skewers left neither open wound nor bleeding.
SZ: Why did he choose to demonstrate this discipline?
EP: A major reason people with this type of mind control do this is often for themselves to point out they’ve learned these meditation techniques, and feel they need to prove it to themselves. and second reason yogi Kawakami wanted to do this was to demonstrate to his students that the limits of their beliefs are the limits of their experience. If you have other beliefs you may have other outcomes. (Yogi Kawakami is founder and chief executive director of own school of yoga and the Institute for Research of Subconscious Psychology in Fukuoka and Tokyo, Japan).
SZ: These people have conditioned themselves for this particular exercise.
EP: They have learned how to control their attention. Any good sports performance is where you are able in most cases to control your attention and not have negative thoughts or distracting thoughts. Historically athletes went to a sport psychologist when they were performing poorly. That is still often the case, but the field has shifted to how can you use these concepts of Sport Psychology to optimize performance? A slightly different way of thinking. When you look at the word “motor rehearsal” that’s the use of imagery and if you talk with top athletes as a rule they generically say, “when I am in competition, it’s 95% mental control.” If athletes are standing in a line with their competitors in most cases at the top level of sport all the athletes can win. In most competitive sports there isn’t that much unique difference and so the key is how is the athlete thinking? If you think of psyching out in sports where the athlete could basically win but somehow gives up. We came up with a series of strategies to try and shift that.
When I think of peak performance one skill for athletes is mental rehearsal, how can you show athletes how to use their brains in a sense to improve their performance, and how can you teach them to recover quickly during and after performances? I learned this in a sense not from sports initially but around 1971 I worked with a well known Opera singer who was singing at the Met. After a performance the performer would be excited which is normal. The performer would go out for a late dinner around 11pm and having another performance the next day there wasn’t enough recovery time. The question became how do you recover more quickly? This is a theme in sports regardless of where you are, what happens, whether you win or lose, you need to be able to shift back.
One of the uses of bio and neurofeedback are for recovery and regeneration both on the cognitive side, letting go of whatever happened and the physical side getting your body to recover. It involves learning to let go of muscle tension and breathing slower.
SZ: The terms biofeedback and neurofeedback can seem a bit mysterious for some people. Please define the terms in simple form.
EP: Let me start by saying feedback is just immediate information usually about what is going on. When someone plays basketball and they take the ball and are trying to shoot it through the hoop. They receive immediate visual feedback. If they miss the target they keep adjusting, by throwing higher, lower, sideways etc. They may get coached by people who have other hints and eventually they get it right and make it in the hoop. They keep doing this until they become better at the skill. That is what feedback is.
Biofeedback is monitoring what happens in the body and displays it back on a device. The person then can either use that information or not. A classic example of biofeedback is if a person goes to a doctor and they take his blood pressure and the machine reads back that the person has high blood pressure. If the doctor just writes down “high blood pressure” then it’s just information for the doctor. If the doctor on the other hand tells the person to sit quietly and take a couple breaths. Now the blood pressure is taken again and the persons blood pressure drops. The person can see that they did something that affects the blood pressure. Biofeedback is really ongoing measurements of some process in the body where the person can see changes, or that there aren’t changes. Hopefully as in this example with information the person can try new things to affect their blood pressure. Different biofeedback systems can monitor, heart rate, muscle tension, brain wave activity.
Example: In class I have my students perform an exercise where they are instructed to relax, let their arms hang and bend forward to touch their toes. I ask them if they are relaxed and most students say “yes.” But if you are observing them from the side you will notice many students are slightly lifting their heads. They don’t notice they are doing this. We then place electrodes on their necks while they are standing. There will be a little bit of tension on their neck because the neck muscles have to hold their head’s up. I have them hang forward and touch their toes again, the muscle tension in their neck should be close to zero, little muscle activity, however ten out of eleven health students will register significant muscle tension in their neck when they are saying they are relaxed. All we do now is add an auditory sound which is the biofeedback and I tell the students when they are doing the exercise that if they are relaxed there will be no auditory sound when they are bending forward. What typically occurs is that the student will life their head many times and each time they will trigger the auditory tone which gives them information that they are tensing their neck muscles. But the average student can learn to shift and do this correctly with about five minute of practice, even without prior training.
Often people are unaware of tension patterns in their body and that makes sense because they are interacting in the world. They are not focusing on what is happening within their bodies.
SZ: They have an external focus.
EP: Correct. What biofeedback does is make the unaware aware. The undocumented documented. One of the early pieces we observed in biofeedback is that people are highly unaware of what they are doing. They aren’t aware they are shifting position or shaking. They don’t observe their internal language where they may be using lots of buts, and negatives.
SZ: How is neurofeedback different?
EP: Neurofeedback is a subset or specialization in the field of feedback where you only record from different areas of the skull. Historically there wasn’t a separation between the two practices. A practitioner would do muscle feedback, heart rate feedback, temperature feedback and brain feedback. In 1995 the field separated. The neurofeedback scientists record with different electrodes on the head and look at these patterns. From my perspective the two, bio and neurofeedback are not really apart. Neurofeedback is a specialization. However the brain and body are one. Changes in the body affect your brain. Changes in your brain affect your body.
*Featured guests are not current nor former clients of Susan Zaro
This article can also be read on www.examiner.com
This is part 1 of a 3 part interview with Dr. Peper that discusses what is bio and neurofeedback? How these tools are utilized to enhance sport performance, age appropriateness, technological advancements and simple products available for consumers.
SZ: You are an expert in the field of biofeedback and also work with neurofeedback. What events captured your interest to bring you into this field of study?
EP: There are a number of events that captured my interest. One there was an opportunity to study with some remarkable people who weren’t athletes but studied pain control. In 1971 I studied an interesting person who voluntarily put a skewer through his cheeks and through the sides of his body and reported zero pain.
SZ: You studied this?
EP: Yes, here was a person that took a skewer and we made the skewers by taking bicycle spokes, sharpened and sterilized them. The first thing he did at the lab, this was at NYU, he dropped the sterilized spokes onto the floor took his dirty shoes, which he had been walking around with outside and he sterilized the spokes in his own terms by taking his dirty shoes and rolling over these at that time sterilized spokes. Once the spokes were really messed up with all these outside germs then he began his skill demonstration.
SZ: This person took a skewer and poked it through his cheek?
EP: Through one cheek and out the other and also another one through one side of his body through the flesh and out the other side.
SZ: This person did this exhibit for the sake of doing it?
EP: He did it more for the concept you can have voluntary control. I had heard about this skill initially through the New York Academy of Sciences where the discussion was can you have voluntary control? This was the era where people did not even believe you could warm your hands with voluntary control, through the use of imagery. This idea was very much in
dispute at the time. Through the years I’ve known other people who could do this discipline. Recently, at San Francisco State, a 62 year old Japanese yogi, Mr. Kawakami with thirty seven years of experience practicing various forms of yoga demonstrated this discipline. Mr. Kawakami, pushed unsterilized skewers through his tongue. Sitting calmly with skewers in his tongue and throat, he showed no signs of discomfort; rather he radiated peace. Removal of the skewers left neither open wound nor bleeding.
SZ: Why did he choose to demonstrate this discipline?
EP: A major reason people with this type of mind control do this is often for themselves to point out they’ve learned these meditation techniques, and feel they need to prove it to themselves. and second reason yogi Kawakami wanted to do this was to demonstrate to his students that the limits of their beliefs are the limits of their experience. If you have other beliefs you may have other outcomes. (Yogi Kawakami is founder and chief executive director of own school of yoga and the Institute for Research of Subconscious Psychology in Fukuoka and Tokyo, Japan).
SZ: These people have conditioned themselves for this particular exercise.
EP: They have learned how to control their attention. Any good sports performance is where you are able in most cases to control your attention and not have negative thoughts or distracting thoughts. Historically athletes went to a sport psychologist when they were performing poorly. That is still often the case, but the field has shifted to how can you use these concepts of Sport Psychology to optimize performance? A slightly different way of thinking. When you look at the word “motor rehearsal” that’s the use of imagery and if you talk with top athletes as a rule they generically say, “when I am in competition, it’s 95% mental control.” If athletes are standing in a line with their competitors in most cases at the top level of sport all the athletes can win. In most competitive sports there isn’t that much unique difference and so the key is how is the athlete thinking? If you think of psyching out in sports where the athlete could basically win but somehow gives up. We came up with a series of strategies to try and shift that.
When I think of peak performance one skill for athletes is mental rehearsal, how can you show athletes how to use their brains in a sense to improve their performance, and how can you teach them to recover quickly during and after performances? I learned this in a sense not from sports initially but around 1971 I worked with a well known Opera singer who was singing at the Met. After a performance the performer would be excited which is normal. The performer would go out for a late dinner around 11pm and having another performance the next day there wasn’t enough recovery time. The question became how do you recover more quickly? This is a theme in sports regardless of where you are, what happens, whether you win or lose, you need to be able to shift back.
One of the uses of bio and neurofeedback are for recovery and regeneration both on the cognitive side, letting go of whatever happened and the physical side getting your body to recover. It involves learning to let go of muscle tension and breathing slower.
SZ: The terms biofeedback and neurofeedback can seem a bit mysterious for some people. Please define the terms in simple form.
EP: Let me start by saying feedback is just immediate information usually about what is going on. When someone plays basketball and they take the ball and are trying to shoot it through the hoop. They receive immediate visual feedback. If they miss the target they keep adjusting, by throwing higher, lower, sideways etc. They may get coached by people who have other hints and eventually they get it right and make it in the hoop. They keep doing this until they become better at the skill. That is what feedback is.
Biofeedback is monitoring what happens in the body and displays it back on a device. The person then can either use that information or not. A classic example of biofeedback is if a person goes to a doctor and they take his blood pressure and the machine reads back that the person has high blood pressure. If the doctor just writes down “high blood pressure” then it’s just information for the doctor. If the doctor on the other hand tells the person to sit quietly and take a couple breaths. Now the blood pressure is taken again and the persons blood pressure drops. The person can see that they did something that affects the blood pressure. Biofeedback is really ongoing measurements of some process in the body where the person can see changes, or that there aren’t changes. Hopefully as in this example with information the person can try new things to affect their blood pressure. Different biofeedback systems can monitor, heart rate, muscle tension, brain wave activity.
Example: In class I have my students perform an exercise where they are instructed to relax, let their arms hang and bend forward to touch their toes. I ask them if they are relaxed and most students say “yes.” But if you are observing them from the side you will notice many students are slightly lifting their heads. They don’t notice they are doing this. We then place electrodes on their necks while they are standing. There will be a little bit of tension on their neck because the neck muscles have to hold their head’s up. I have them hang forward and touch their toes again, the muscle tension in their neck should be close to zero, little muscle activity, however ten out of eleven health students will register significant muscle tension in their neck when they are saying they are relaxed. All we do now is add an auditory sound which is the biofeedback and I tell the students when they are doing the exercise that if they are relaxed there will be no auditory sound when they are bending forward. What typically occurs is that the student will life their head many times and each time they will trigger the auditory tone which gives them information that they are tensing their neck muscles. But the average student can learn to shift and do this correctly with about five minute of practice, even without prior training.
Often people are unaware of tension patterns in their body and that makes sense because they are interacting in the world. They are not focusing on what is happening within their bodies.
SZ: They have an external focus.
EP: Correct. What biofeedback does is make the unaware aware. The undocumented documented. One of the early pieces we observed in biofeedback is that people are highly unaware of what they are doing. They aren’t aware they are shifting position or shaking. They don’t observe their internal language where they may be using lots of buts, and negatives.
SZ: How is neurofeedback different?
EP: Neurofeedback is a subset or specialization in the field of feedback where you only record from different areas of the skull. Historically there wasn’t a separation between the two practices. A practitioner would do muscle feedback, heart rate feedback, temperature feedback and brain feedback. In 1995 the field separated. The neurofeedback scientists record with different electrodes on the head and look at these patterns. From my perspective the two, bio and neurofeedback are not really apart. Neurofeedback is a specialization. However the brain and body are one. Changes in the body affect your brain. Changes in your brain affect your body.
*Featured guests are not current nor former clients of Susan Zaro
This article can also be read on www.examiner.com
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Kimberly Jones - Athletic Training Programs
Kimberly’s experience with sports performance training include Division I Universities, (UCLA, Cal State Northridge), high school varsity sports, and the U.S. Tennis Association. She designs fitness programs for weekend warriors, artists in the entertainment industry, Functional Adult Training Camps, (F.A.T.), onsite team sports performance training, and partners with Bright Horizons providing fundamental skills programs to kindergarten classes at child development centers in Los Angeles.
SZ: What sports did you play/compete in while growing up? Describe the fitness programs attached to your youth participation when you were actively competing. What made training in your junior days fun?
KJ: I played basketball, ran track, and was on a competing dance team. Outside of conditioning, rarely was any kind of fitness/strength program implemented. My track coach implemented strength training during our workouts. Because we practiced on a college track, and there was a weight room on campus. Based on what I know now, it was not periodized through training cycles, and it was mainly open chain, machine based exercises. Fortunately,I grew up with three older brothers, and we had a leg extension and weight bench in our garage. Since I had some prior experience with weights I definitely enjoyed lifting for track. Overall it was a fun experience and I respected the fact that our coach was trying to get the team stronger.
SZ: What are some influences that helped you decide to become a strength and conditioning specialist? Were there certain events that pulled you in the direction of becoming a strength and conditioning coach?
KJ: Ultimately, it was my attendance at Cal Berkeley’s Basketball Coaching Clinic in 2004 that sealed the deal. At the time I was a Health/PE teacher and Head Varsity Basketball Coach at my alma mater, Notre Dame Academy. While at the coaches clinic I saw the strength and conditioning coach taking the women’s basketball team through some agility and plyometric drills. To be honest, at that time I had no idea it was even a profession. I knew there were personal trainers, and I was certified as one at the time. However, I was not aware of strength and conditioning as a professional field. After the clinic I did realize it greatly enhanced performance in athletes. Within the next year I became certified as a CSCS and began implementing pre-season training with my basketball team. I also trained varsity women’s volleyball as well.
SZ: Have there been trainer/mentors in your professional field that have influenced your training methods? How have you broadened these influences to form your unique program offerings.
KJ: I have had the opportunity to work and train under remarkably talented strength coaches. While I interned with UCLA Football in their Athletic Performance program I learned a great deal from their talented staff. Jill Robinson taught me how to perform Olympic Lifts. John Farr, who trained women’s tennis, helped them achieve their first NCAA Championship in the school’s history. He imparted a great deal of knowledge about periodization, and the types of exercises and metabolic conditioning methods he preferred to use with men’s and women’s tennis. Daniel Kohn was the head strength coach at California State University, Northridge. We were the only members of the strength staff, so I was able to pick his brain about exercise selection, periodization, and relative intensity. I cannot say that I had one single mentor. There have been a number of people who have influenced me throughout the years. I am a lifelong learner, so I take in helpful information whenever possible.
SZ: Prior to beginning your company Jones Strength, you were a strength and fitness specialist at the U.S.T.A. Training Center - West located at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA. What was the age range of junior players you trained? How many times a week are elite level junior tennis players physically training off-court to improve their power, speed, strength, and endurance levels?
KJ: The age range of Junior players was 9 – 17. The USTA juniors trained four days a week. Twice a week they did on court agility followed by conditioning, which targeted the phosphagen and fast glycolysis energy systems. The other two days they did strength training in the weight room followed by speed endurance or aerobic based conditioning. Sessions usually began with pre-hab exercises to target shoulder and hip mobility. Shoulder pre-hab entailed scapular activation, some variation of resisted external and internal exercises, and/or high volume upper body pulls with resistance bands. Hip mobility either entailed closed chain exercises such as hurdle step overs and mini-band lateral and linear walks, or open chain exercises like glute bridges, clam shells, scorpions or fire hydrants.
SZ: What are some of the main physical stress differences between junior boys and girls that trainers need to be cautious of to avoid training injuries with this age group?
KJ: Different muscles become more prominent in boys and girls after they hit puberty. Girls tend to become more quad dominant, and guys develop stronger upper bodies and more hamstring and glute strength. Common feedback is knee pain in girls, and shoulder pain for both guys and girls. Boys are developing stronger upper bodies, so they tend to muscle the ball to generate force instead of loading the hips properly. Girls do this as well as they mature. Girls are also lacking strength in the muscles in the posterior chain that stabilize the knee. Their quad dominance does not allow them to generate power by loading the glutes and hamstrings efficiently.
When trainers program double and single leg lower body pushes (squats, lunges, step ups, Bulgarian squats etc.), it is vital that they watch for a lack of knee stabilization, in both pre and post pubescent athletes. Valgus, or the collapsing of the knee towards the body’s mid line, is an obvious sign. If knee stabilization is lacking, trainers should focus on programming more pre-hab exercises that will strengthen the athletes’ glutes, hamstring, and core muscles surrounding the trunk (transverse abdominals, erector spinae, obliques etc.) Trainers must also teach both guys and girls how to generate force through their legs. That power will transfer into the ball, which hopefully will limit overuse injuries in the muscles and tendons in the shoulders, elbow, and/or forearms.
In general, tennis players tend to have strong lats, but significant weakness in the scapular region. Strengthening muscles in the mid-traps and rhomboids should be imperative in every trainer’s program. Improvements in scapular stabilization will definitely benefit any tennis player, as it will correct the forward rounding of the shoulders and slight kyphosis in the upper back. Trainers must also ensure that they program an equal ratio of upper body push and pulling movements. Otherwise, they run the risk of neglecting areas in their trainings that can help keep tennis players shoulders healthy.
SZ: How are exercises/work-outs conducted to avoid soft-tissue and bone/joint development injuries?
KJ: Overuse injuries are common in sports. Athletes must listen to their bodies. Fatigue and pain should be warning signs signaling athletes to rest their bodies. With that being said, there is a high incidence of injury during the deceleration phase of movement. Muscle imbalances and muscle weaknesses can negatively impact athletes as they change directions, land from explosive types of movements, or follow through with their rackets on forehand shots and serves. Therefore, acute injuries must be addressed properly. Athletes need proper recovery time so any inflammation, strains or sprains have time to heal efficiently. Returning to sports prematurely can possibly worsen the condition. Once the injury has been diagnosed by an Athletic Trainer or Sports Physician, athletes must be diligent about performing rehabilitative exercises. If the athletic trainer or sports physician has given me the green light, I usually have athletes continue strength training with all of the healthy limbs. This way they do not lose a significant amount of strength during this recovery period.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zS6NpjMWhsU
Implementing a proper warm up is important as well. Athletes should perform an active dynamic warm up prior to practice sessions or matches. This will increase the core temperature of the body, and raise the heart rate, which increases blood flow and oxygen to the muscles. Dynamic warm ups also increase flexibility in the muscles and allow the joints to move through ranges of motion that are similar to movements on the court.
Trainers must also be aware of joint pain during growth spurts, and Osgood Schlatters. I train a freshman male tennis player with this condition, and we never squat during our strength training sessions. Instead, we deadlift and occasionally I will program lunging type movements if his pain is not substantial that week. This also means I cannot program many lower body plyometric exercises, since jumping and flexing the knee prove to be too painful. Instead we perform variations of an Olympic Lift called Clean Pulls. The goal is to recruit as many muscles as possible in the least amount of time. We get the same force production through this exercise as we would with plyos.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9HYJHolObk
SZ: What are some exercises you find to be useful and fun for the juniors in off court training to increase, reaction time, speed, agility, flexibility, balance, without using weights?
http://youtu.be/XgZXQB4pDBU
KJ: I have found that fun on court agility exercises such as ball drops, competitive relays, and reactive type drills keep kids excited and engaged. Closed drills require an athlete to perform a specific pattern of agility. Open drills are less predictable and they force athletes to think, react, and execute specific movements as fast as possible. At the USTA I would form teams and have players compete for points. I also have the kids help me judge the execution of certain drills so that they can see what it looks like to do drills the right way and the wrong way. They enjoy this because it teaches them to be efficient with their movements.
For instance there is an agility drill called Side Shuffle. One athlete is straddling the center service line on each side of the court facing each other. When I yell go, the athlete side shuffles to the doubles line, crosses over and shuffles back to the other doubles line, and finishes with a crossover and side shuffle back to the center service line. Sometimes athletes side run during this drill. This means their bodies are not square to the net, so the toes are turning out, and the hips are turned diagonally in the direction they are moving. The minute an athlete sees the opposing team side running they alert me and, they can no longer win a point for that rep.
SZ: Competitive junior tennis players spend a lot of time on the tennis court drilling, playing, and practicing. The routine of court to gym can become quite tedious physically and mentally. What are your methods for creating a fun, entertaining, stimulating environment for juniors so they will continue to participate?
http://youtu.be/DZpP12VSx6E
KJ: Using a variety of drills keeps athletes engaged. Monotony will definitely bore the players. I change drills about every two weeks. I program similar drills for the first two weeks of the month, so players can familiarize themselves and work on improvements. Then I switch the exercises for the next two weeks. I also allow players to give input for drills, particularly for agility sessions. Sometimes I will incorporate a different element to a drill of which they are already familiar. For instance, for ball drops, one of my players said he had been working on “touch” with his coach. He asked if he could incorporate hitting the ball with his racket, instead of sprinting to catch the ball before it bounced twice. I enjoyed the new element and welcome that find of feedback. Though not all parts of training are democratic, I think it is great for players to communicate with me about enhancing the specificity of agility drills. Players really enjoy the Mirror Drill as well. They have to react to the person across from them and sprint/shuffle/back pedal to the same cone their competitor sprints to. Usually players go head to head with this drill, but players can also react to a coach as well.
SZ: What psychological role does periodization play in the athletic training experience?
KJ: As players go through different cycles of a periodized program they begin to feel the effects of the training. As their strength grows they experience physical and psychological rewards both on and off the court. Athletes get excited when they move up in weight on exercises because it is a testament to their strength gains. They also notice enhancements in their performance on the court as well. They can hit heavier balls, change directions faster and react to shots quicker than they did before. These are all added incentive to stay consistent in the weight room. Players also become more confident in their ability to compete against strong competitors. As they get stronger and begin to move better on the court they feel they have a better shot at beating opponents who are bigger and stronger. This is why it is important that the strength coach is knowledgeable about the different training cycles (max strength, hypertrophy, power, maintenance), so that it doesn’t negatively effect a players game. There have to be unloaded weeks, so athletes don’t over train and the volume has to be appropriate for the training intensities. If players feel for a second that weight training is making them slower, less flexible, or too tired for their matches, they question the program. Therefore, having athletes buy in is heavily dependent on how well the training is transferring onto the court.
SZ: Do you have any favorite quotes, stories, or tips that have guided you on your path as a professional trainer?
KJ: The biggest lesson I have learned is that you have to be very observant during training. No matter what is programmed for that day, if an athlete is becoming sick, is tired, or burned out, it is up to the strength and conditioning coach to adjust the workout accordingly. Some of the ways to do this include: lowering the volume, decreasing the load/weight, utilizing dumbbells instead of a barbell, decreasing the number of exercises, or even having a recovery day, with foam rolling and/or ice baths instead of a regular workout. Sometimes athletes also have tough practices with their coaches, or days with very long match play. Sometimes they have been studying for tests, or have had a lot of homework and have not been getting much sleep. If trainers are observant of players body language, they can modify workouts, and spare players from placing any extra stress on their bodies.
Kimberly thank you for taking time to share your insights regarding athletic training. This post can also be viewed as published on www.Examiner.com
*Featured guests are not current nor former clients of Susan Zaro
SZ: What sports did you play/compete in while growing up? Describe the fitness programs attached to your youth participation when you were actively competing. What made training in your junior days fun?
KJ: I played basketball, ran track, and was on a competing dance team. Outside of conditioning, rarely was any kind of fitness/strength program implemented. My track coach implemented strength training during our workouts. Because we practiced on a college track, and there was a weight room on campus. Based on what I know now, it was not periodized through training cycles, and it was mainly open chain, machine based exercises. Fortunately,I grew up with three older brothers, and we had a leg extension and weight bench in our garage. Since I had some prior experience with weights I definitely enjoyed lifting for track. Overall it was a fun experience and I respected the fact that our coach was trying to get the team stronger.
SZ: What are some influences that helped you decide to become a strength and conditioning specialist? Were there certain events that pulled you in the direction of becoming a strength and conditioning coach?
KJ: Ultimately, it was my attendance at Cal Berkeley’s Basketball Coaching Clinic in 2004 that sealed the deal. At the time I was a Health/PE teacher and Head Varsity Basketball Coach at my alma mater, Notre Dame Academy. While at the coaches clinic I saw the strength and conditioning coach taking the women’s basketball team through some agility and plyometric drills. To be honest, at that time I had no idea it was even a profession. I knew there were personal trainers, and I was certified as one at the time. However, I was not aware of strength and conditioning as a professional field. After the clinic I did realize it greatly enhanced performance in athletes. Within the next year I became certified as a CSCS and began implementing pre-season training with my basketball team. I also trained varsity women’s volleyball as well.
SZ: Have there been trainer/mentors in your professional field that have influenced your training methods? How have you broadened these influences to form your unique program offerings.
KJ: I have had the opportunity to work and train under remarkably talented strength coaches. While I interned with UCLA Football in their Athletic Performance program I learned a great deal from their talented staff. Jill Robinson taught me how to perform Olympic Lifts. John Farr, who trained women’s tennis, helped them achieve their first NCAA Championship in the school’s history. He imparted a great deal of knowledge about periodization, and the types of exercises and metabolic conditioning methods he preferred to use with men’s and women’s tennis. Daniel Kohn was the head strength coach at California State University, Northridge. We were the only members of the strength staff, so I was able to pick his brain about exercise selection, periodization, and relative intensity. I cannot say that I had one single mentor. There have been a number of people who have influenced me throughout the years. I am a lifelong learner, so I take in helpful information whenever possible.
SZ: Prior to beginning your company Jones Strength, you were a strength and fitness specialist at the U.S.T.A. Training Center - West located at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA. What was the age range of junior players you trained? How many times a week are elite level junior tennis players physically training off-court to improve their power, speed, strength, and endurance levels?
KJ: The age range of Junior players was 9 – 17. The USTA juniors trained four days a week. Twice a week they did on court agility followed by conditioning, which targeted the phosphagen and fast glycolysis energy systems. The other two days they did strength training in the weight room followed by speed endurance or aerobic based conditioning. Sessions usually began with pre-hab exercises to target shoulder and hip mobility. Shoulder pre-hab entailed scapular activation, some variation of resisted external and internal exercises, and/or high volume upper body pulls with resistance bands. Hip mobility either entailed closed chain exercises such as hurdle step overs and mini-band lateral and linear walks, or open chain exercises like glute bridges, clam shells, scorpions or fire hydrants.
SZ: What are some of the main physical stress differences between junior boys and girls that trainers need to be cautious of to avoid training injuries with this age group?
KJ: Different muscles become more prominent in boys and girls after they hit puberty. Girls tend to become more quad dominant, and guys develop stronger upper bodies and more hamstring and glute strength. Common feedback is knee pain in girls, and shoulder pain for both guys and girls. Boys are developing stronger upper bodies, so they tend to muscle the ball to generate force instead of loading the hips properly. Girls do this as well as they mature. Girls are also lacking strength in the muscles in the posterior chain that stabilize the knee. Their quad dominance does not allow them to generate power by loading the glutes and hamstrings efficiently.
When trainers program double and single leg lower body pushes (squats, lunges, step ups, Bulgarian squats etc.), it is vital that they watch for a lack of knee stabilization, in both pre and post pubescent athletes. Valgus, or the collapsing of the knee towards the body’s mid line, is an obvious sign. If knee stabilization is lacking, trainers should focus on programming more pre-hab exercises that will strengthen the athletes’ glutes, hamstring, and core muscles surrounding the trunk (transverse abdominals, erector spinae, obliques etc.) Trainers must also teach both guys and girls how to generate force through their legs. That power will transfer into the ball, which hopefully will limit overuse injuries in the muscles and tendons in the shoulders, elbow, and/or forearms.
In general, tennis players tend to have strong lats, but significant weakness in the scapular region. Strengthening muscles in the mid-traps and rhomboids should be imperative in every trainer’s program. Improvements in scapular stabilization will definitely benefit any tennis player, as it will correct the forward rounding of the shoulders and slight kyphosis in the upper back. Trainers must also ensure that they program an equal ratio of upper body push and pulling movements. Otherwise, they run the risk of neglecting areas in their trainings that can help keep tennis players shoulders healthy.
SZ: How are exercises/work-outs conducted to avoid soft-tissue and bone/joint development injuries?
KJ: Overuse injuries are common in sports. Athletes must listen to their bodies. Fatigue and pain should be warning signs signaling athletes to rest their bodies. With that being said, there is a high incidence of injury during the deceleration phase of movement. Muscle imbalances and muscle weaknesses can negatively impact athletes as they change directions, land from explosive types of movements, or follow through with their rackets on forehand shots and serves. Therefore, acute injuries must be addressed properly. Athletes need proper recovery time so any inflammation, strains or sprains have time to heal efficiently. Returning to sports prematurely can possibly worsen the condition. Once the injury has been diagnosed by an Athletic Trainer or Sports Physician, athletes must be diligent about performing rehabilitative exercises. If the athletic trainer or sports physician has given me the green light, I usually have athletes continue strength training with all of the healthy limbs. This way they do not lose a significant amount of strength during this recovery period.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zS6NpjMWhsU
Implementing a proper warm up is important as well. Athletes should perform an active dynamic warm up prior to practice sessions or matches. This will increase the core temperature of the body, and raise the heart rate, which increases blood flow and oxygen to the muscles. Dynamic warm ups also increase flexibility in the muscles and allow the joints to move through ranges of motion that are similar to movements on the court.
Trainers must also be aware of joint pain during growth spurts, and Osgood Schlatters. I train a freshman male tennis player with this condition, and we never squat during our strength training sessions. Instead, we deadlift and occasionally I will program lunging type movements if his pain is not substantial that week. This also means I cannot program many lower body plyometric exercises, since jumping and flexing the knee prove to be too painful. Instead we perform variations of an Olympic Lift called Clean Pulls. The goal is to recruit as many muscles as possible in the least amount of time. We get the same force production through this exercise as we would with plyos.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9HYJHolObk
SZ: What are some exercises you find to be useful and fun for the juniors in off court training to increase, reaction time, speed, agility, flexibility, balance, without using weights?
http://youtu.be/XgZXQB4pDBU
KJ: I have found that fun on court agility exercises such as ball drops, competitive relays, and reactive type drills keep kids excited and engaged. Closed drills require an athlete to perform a specific pattern of agility. Open drills are less predictable and they force athletes to think, react, and execute specific movements as fast as possible. At the USTA I would form teams and have players compete for points. I also have the kids help me judge the execution of certain drills so that they can see what it looks like to do drills the right way and the wrong way. They enjoy this because it teaches them to be efficient with their movements.
For instance there is an agility drill called Side Shuffle. One athlete is straddling the center service line on each side of the court facing each other. When I yell go, the athlete side shuffles to the doubles line, crosses over and shuffles back to the other doubles line, and finishes with a crossover and side shuffle back to the center service line. Sometimes athletes side run during this drill. This means their bodies are not square to the net, so the toes are turning out, and the hips are turned diagonally in the direction they are moving. The minute an athlete sees the opposing team side running they alert me and, they can no longer win a point for that rep.
SZ: Competitive junior tennis players spend a lot of time on the tennis court drilling, playing, and practicing. The routine of court to gym can become quite tedious physically and mentally. What are your methods for creating a fun, entertaining, stimulating environment for juniors so they will continue to participate?
http://youtu.be/DZpP12VSx6E
KJ: Using a variety of drills keeps athletes engaged. Monotony will definitely bore the players. I change drills about every two weeks. I program similar drills for the first two weeks of the month, so players can familiarize themselves and work on improvements. Then I switch the exercises for the next two weeks. I also allow players to give input for drills, particularly for agility sessions. Sometimes I will incorporate a different element to a drill of which they are already familiar. For instance, for ball drops, one of my players said he had been working on “touch” with his coach. He asked if he could incorporate hitting the ball with his racket, instead of sprinting to catch the ball before it bounced twice. I enjoyed the new element and welcome that find of feedback. Though not all parts of training are democratic, I think it is great for players to communicate with me about enhancing the specificity of agility drills. Players really enjoy the Mirror Drill as well. They have to react to the person across from them and sprint/shuffle/back pedal to the same cone their competitor sprints to. Usually players go head to head with this drill, but players can also react to a coach as well.
SZ: What psychological role does periodization play in the athletic training experience?
KJ: As players go through different cycles of a periodized program they begin to feel the effects of the training. As their strength grows they experience physical and psychological rewards both on and off the court. Athletes get excited when they move up in weight on exercises because it is a testament to their strength gains. They also notice enhancements in their performance on the court as well. They can hit heavier balls, change directions faster and react to shots quicker than they did before. These are all added incentive to stay consistent in the weight room. Players also become more confident in their ability to compete against strong competitors. As they get stronger and begin to move better on the court they feel they have a better shot at beating opponents who are bigger and stronger. This is why it is important that the strength coach is knowledgeable about the different training cycles (max strength, hypertrophy, power, maintenance), so that it doesn’t negatively effect a players game. There have to be unloaded weeks, so athletes don’t over train and the volume has to be appropriate for the training intensities. If players feel for a second that weight training is making them slower, less flexible, or too tired for their matches, they question the program. Therefore, having athletes buy in is heavily dependent on how well the training is transferring onto the court.
SZ: Do you have any favorite quotes, stories, or tips that have guided you on your path as a professional trainer?
KJ: The biggest lesson I have learned is that you have to be very observant during training. No matter what is programmed for that day, if an athlete is becoming sick, is tired, or burned out, it is up to the strength and conditioning coach to adjust the workout accordingly. Some of the ways to do this include: lowering the volume, decreasing the load/weight, utilizing dumbbells instead of a barbell, decreasing the number of exercises, or even having a recovery day, with foam rolling and/or ice baths instead of a regular workout. Sometimes athletes also have tough practices with their coaches, or days with very long match play. Sometimes they have been studying for tests, or have had a lot of homework and have not been getting much sleep. If trainers are observant of players body language, they can modify workouts, and spare players from placing any extra stress on their bodies.
Kimberly thank you for taking time to share your insights regarding athletic training. This post can also be viewed as published on www.Examiner.com
*Featured guests are not current nor former clients of Susan Zaro
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Dancing at the Palomar
Jeremy Pilling is the owner of the Palomar Ballroom in scenic Santa Cruz, CA. Jeremy has won several Rising Star Rhythm and Open Professional Rhythm competitions during his professional dance career. Jeremy has been teaching and performing ballroom for 11 years. His teaching style is very technique-oriented while still achieving the goal of having fun.
SZ: What events led to your decision to become a professional dancer?
JP: I started dancing at age 8 with tap & ballet, but only for two years. After that, I had no formal training until college where I took my first ballroom group classes. I didn’t become interested in professional dancing until after I completed my internship in corporate fitness, which I needed to do to complete my degree in sport science. I was working in the fitness industry and just dancing socially and a friend of mine who I used to go swing dancing with told me that a nearby studio was looking for male dance teachers. Of course, I didn’t know how to teach, but she said they would train me for free, so I said why not. Six months later, I was teaching beginners to dance.
SZ: What sports did you compete in while growing up? Were you playing these sports and dancing at the same time?
JP: I competed in baseball and basketball in elementary school, soccer, track and basketball in junior high, and track, cross country, and basketball in high school. I wasn’t dancing during my junior high or high school years other than the school dances for fun.
SZ: Who are some of the dancers you’ve admired through the years and why?
JP: My idol and one of my inspirations for dance was Jose DeCamps. He is the current National American Rhythm champion. His musicality, presence on the floor, and Rhythmic dance style is what made me want to dance ballroom. He is very masculine and confident on the dance floor. I used to watch videos of him and his partner.
SZ: A large community of dancers come to the Palomar Ballroom for classes and dance parties. One group are competitive amateur dancers. What are some entry level skills that dancers need to acquire to have a positive experience competing? What basic information and training is useful for people to be aware of prior to participating in competitive dancing?
JP: I have several competitive pro-am students who compete with me. Most of the dance technique is learned over time, some just pick it up faster than others. Two things that help are confidence and personality on the floor. These are things that can be learned, but if a student already has these qualities, they will excel much faster. Things that help set a good foundation for ballroom are other forms of dance including ballet and jazz. Flexibility is also important, so Pilates and yoga can also be beneficial. I believe anyone can compete, but it takes time, practice and of course money to succeed in the long run. Believing in yourself is half the battle.
SZ: Beyond learning the physical steps to dances, timing movement to the music, being in sync with your partner, what are the mental/emotional challenges to competing?
JP: The biggest mental block for most dancers is over thinking. When you step onto the floor to compete, you have to get rid of all the input in your head and focus on just the output, or dancing. As some would say, “putting emotions to motion”. The other thing is being able to “own the floor”. In other words, being confident in what you are doing. Every step or move should have intent, meaning and focus.
SZ: As a professional dancer/teacher you dance competitively with your students. What are frequent tips you offer to students to help them manage their emotional energy during competition?
JP: The hardest part of competition is getting students to relax and enjoy it. Performing in front of people can be nerve-racking and stressful and I always tell my students that the more they perform or compete, the easier it will get. I always encourage them with positive reinforcement and reassuring words before they go on the floor. When students get tense, they tend to hold their breath at times. Breathing and grounding yourself is also important.
SZ: What are common misperceptions people unfamiliar with ballroom dancing have regarding this sport?
JP: 1) "I can't dance." Most people think that because they don't have natural ability that they can't dance, when in fact hard work and dedication is all you need. Time and practice can make a great dancer.
2) "I want to learn to dance in a week/month."
There are many technical elements to learn in dancing, and to be good it takes longer than most people think. It takes a long time to be good at any sport or instrument. You can learn a few things in a month, but you need to use your muscle memory over time to learn posture, footwork, lead and follow techniques, music/timing, character and more.
3)"I need group classes." Personal attention is crucial in the learning process which is why individual attention in private lessons is the best way to supplement your group classes. There are many things that you cannot learn in a group lesson such as technique, lead/follow skills, musicality, etc.
SZ: Do you have a favorite quote, story or tip that has guided you on your professional path as a dancer and instructor?
JP: “Life is a journey, not a destination”…dancing is the same thing, there is always something more to work on, but enjoy each step of the journey.
Jeremy thank you for taking time out of your very busy schedule to participate in this interview.
*Featured guests are not former nor current clients of Susan Zaro
SZ: What events led to your decision to become a professional dancer?
JP: I started dancing at age 8 with tap & ballet, but only for two years. After that, I had no formal training until college where I took my first ballroom group classes. I didn’t become interested in professional dancing until after I completed my internship in corporate fitness, which I needed to do to complete my degree in sport science. I was working in the fitness industry and just dancing socially and a friend of mine who I used to go swing dancing with told me that a nearby studio was looking for male dance teachers. Of course, I didn’t know how to teach, but she said they would train me for free, so I said why not. Six months later, I was teaching beginners to dance.
SZ: What sports did you compete in while growing up? Were you playing these sports and dancing at the same time?
JP: I competed in baseball and basketball in elementary school, soccer, track and basketball in junior high, and track, cross country, and basketball in high school. I wasn’t dancing during my junior high or high school years other than the school dances for fun.
SZ: Who are some of the dancers you’ve admired through the years and why?
JP: My idol and one of my inspirations for dance was Jose DeCamps. He is the current National American Rhythm champion. His musicality, presence on the floor, and Rhythmic dance style is what made me want to dance ballroom. He is very masculine and confident on the dance floor. I used to watch videos of him and his partner.
SZ: A large community of dancers come to the Palomar Ballroom for classes and dance parties. One group are competitive amateur dancers. What are some entry level skills that dancers need to acquire to have a positive experience competing? What basic information and training is useful for people to be aware of prior to participating in competitive dancing?
JP: I have several competitive pro-am students who compete with me. Most of the dance technique is learned over time, some just pick it up faster than others. Two things that help are confidence and personality on the floor. These are things that can be learned, but if a student already has these qualities, they will excel much faster. Things that help set a good foundation for ballroom are other forms of dance including ballet and jazz. Flexibility is also important, so Pilates and yoga can also be beneficial. I believe anyone can compete, but it takes time, practice and of course money to succeed in the long run. Believing in yourself is half the battle.
SZ: Beyond learning the physical steps to dances, timing movement to the music, being in sync with your partner, what are the mental/emotional challenges to competing?
JP: The biggest mental block for most dancers is over thinking. When you step onto the floor to compete, you have to get rid of all the input in your head and focus on just the output, or dancing. As some would say, “putting emotions to motion”. The other thing is being able to “own the floor”. In other words, being confident in what you are doing. Every step or move should have intent, meaning and focus.
SZ: As a professional dancer/teacher you dance competitively with your students. What are frequent tips you offer to students to help them manage their emotional energy during competition?
JP: The hardest part of competition is getting students to relax and enjoy it. Performing in front of people can be nerve-racking and stressful and I always tell my students that the more they perform or compete, the easier it will get. I always encourage them with positive reinforcement and reassuring words before they go on the floor. When students get tense, they tend to hold their breath at times. Breathing and grounding yourself is also important.
SZ: What are common misperceptions people unfamiliar with ballroom dancing have regarding this sport?
JP: 1) "I can't dance." Most people think that because they don't have natural ability that they can't dance, when in fact hard work and dedication is all you need. Time and practice can make a great dancer.
2) "I want to learn to dance in a week/month."
There are many technical elements to learn in dancing, and to be good it takes longer than most people think. It takes a long time to be good at any sport or instrument. You can learn a few things in a month, but you need to use your muscle memory over time to learn posture, footwork, lead and follow techniques, music/timing, character and more.
3)"I need group classes." Personal attention is crucial in the learning process which is why individual attention in private lessons is the best way to supplement your group classes. There are many things that you cannot learn in a group lesson such as technique, lead/follow skills, musicality, etc.
SZ: Do you have a favorite quote, story or tip that has guided you on your professional path as a dancer and instructor?
JP: “Life is a journey, not a destination”…dancing is the same thing, there is always something more to work on, but enjoy each step of the journey.
Jeremy thank you for taking time out of your very busy schedule to participate in this interview.
*Featured guests are not former nor current clients of Susan Zaro
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