Learning From Great Athletes

I’ve been thinking quite a bit lately about great athletes and what it is that makes them better than the average athlete.

I feel that there is an incredible amount to learn from these greats, and that these learnings can be applied to the business world - and even your personal life, for that matter.

When I speak of great athletes, I am thinking about those that have rewritten the record books in their particular sport - Barry Sanders and Walter Payton come to mind from the world of football.

To look at them, they aren’t all that impressive.

Huh???

Obviously, watching them play was impressive, but to look at their personal stats (height, weight, bench press, 40 yard dash time, vertical jump, etc.), they’re not that impressive.

They were short, undersized, and not particularly stronger or faster than their counterparts – even their counterparts that were benchwarmers.

Some would say that the differentiating factor was that they had natural instincts that made them better than their peers.

Phooey!

Instinct is a much over used term. Instinct implies an inborn pattern of behavior that all members of a species have access to. We as humans have very little instincts.  We have to learn everything it is that we do, especially in terms of movement.

So, then, what is it that they’ve learned that makes them better than the large majority of average athletes?

From my point of view, a large part of what makes the Walter Payton’s and the Barry Sanders’ of the world so much better than their counterparts is that they learned to how to be masters over their own muscular tension.

Let me explain a bit.

Barry Sanders and Walter Payton had the ability to turn tension on and off in their bodies like a light switch. They could go from tense to loose and back to tense quicker and more efficiently than their competition.

That ability is what allowed them to contribute to so many highlight reels throughout their careers. It allowed them to make those trying to tackle them look silly – they couldn’t get their hands on them.

They could stop on a dime. They could change direction quicker than anyone - and it often left opposing defenses grasping for air.

And they made it look easy…….

So then, how does this apply to the business world - to your personal life?

As I’ve written about many times before, stress is experienced throughout your entire self.

Each of us has an individual body pattern that accompanies the feelings of stress, anxiety, and fear - a pattern of movement, of breathing, of structural alignment – all of which is controlled (by your brain) through the muscular tensions in your body.

And those patterns have been learned throughout the course of our lives.

And from how I understand that our mind works, we cannot become conscious of a feeling before it is expressed by a motor mobilization. Therefore, there is no feeling so long as there is no body attitude.

That’s a HUGE statement. You might want to read it again.

There is no feeling so long as there is no body attitude (they are basically the same thing).

Heck, you can’t be an “uptight” person unless you are literally uptight!

The good news is that you have the ability to learn a better way.

You can learn to release those tensions in your body that aren’t serving you. You know, the ones that cause the muscles in your neck and back to “scream" at you by the end of the day. Those patterns that serve as the basis for fear, anxiety, and stress. Which, in many folks, will eventually lead to repetitive stress injuries and cumulative trauma disorders.

So, by learning to apply what the great athletes throughout history have, you can:

- Face your fears – and let them go

- You can stymie stress.

- And you can ace anxiety.

And by doing so, you prevent those people and situations from “tackling” you so that you can make that big play!

And if you make enough big plays, you will be inducted into your own hall of fame.

LET ME ASK YOU THIS…
What have you learned (and applied) from those outside of your chosen field in order to better yourself?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
Leave a comment with your thoughts on this article.


*****

Chad Estes
Movement Specialist
cestes@etmconsultants.com

Strengthen & Stretch or Learn How to Move?

I’ve often heard that in order to correct a bad back, you must:

- strengthen it
- strech it
- hold your belly in
- learn to lift with your legs
- keep your stomach muscles tight – all the time
- carry objects close to your body
- “brace” the entire area through muscular contraction
- lose weight

Blah, blah, blah…

An overwhelming majority of back pain is due to the effects of chronically inefficient movement patterns.  Movement patterns that cause us to not use our skeletons correctly.

Huh?

Yes, by not using our skeletons correctly.

Let me explain…

The most efficient way to use ourselves is to have our skeletons do the brunt of the work in keeping us upright.

You see, we are in a constant ebb and flow in our dance with gravity.

Our reactions to the daily stresses of life, along with poorly learned movement patterns cause us to get “out of alignment” with our skeleton.

When we get “out of alignment”, our skeletons aren’t carrying their share of the load, which in turn contributes even more to chronic, habitual muscular contractions that aren’t necessary.

Which causes those “tight" backs (and shoulders, and necks, and hips, etc., etc., etc.)

And it causes joints to be in awkward and inefficient positions, and bear more of the load than they were designed for.

Which creates more wear and tear.

Oh, and let’s layer even more stress over top of all of that, which, as we’ve discussed before, is a somatic experience.

Repeated stress results in even more chronic muscular contractions.

And let’s face it, life is stressful.

It's a vicious circle.

When you put those together, you have the ingredients for repetitive stress injuries.

Chronic back pain is, in a large number of cases, a result of repeatedly being out of alignment with your skeleton.

It’s … a … Repetitive … Stress ... Injury.

Or a cumulative trauma disorder.  You can pick how you want to label it.

The good news is, is that it doesn’t have to stay that way.

But initially, you don’t need to strengthen it.

You don’t need to stretch it.

You need to engage in a process that allows you the opportunity to learn how to use yourself better.

Start moving like a kid again – but take it easy initially.

Roll around on the floor for a small amount of time each day.

Listen to what your body’s telling you.

Get away from repetition and seek out variation - in everything that you do.

What you’ll notice is that those repetitive stress injuries start to fade.

Then if you want to strengthen, then strengthen.

If you want to stretch, then stretch (just a little, though).

But learn how to move first.

LET ME ASK YOU SOMETHING…
What are you doing to avoid back problems and repetitive stress injuries?

LET ME SUGGEST…
For an article on how deal with back pain, send us an email and we’ll send it to you for free.

*****

Chad Estes
Movement Specialist
cestes@etmconsultants.com

Why is Back Pain So Prevalent?

Musculoskeletal Disorders are on the Rise

At the core of the majority of musculoskeletal disorders such as carpal tunnel syndrome and low back pain are poor movement patterns.

Poor movement patterns cause excess wear and tear on our joints, our ligaments, our tendons, and our muscles because we are calling on parts of ourselves to do more than they were designed to do.

In addition to the structural damage, there are high levels of stress and anxiety that normally accompany these issues.

Human beings have very little instincts - we have to LEARN everything it is that we do in order to become self-sufficient.

In terms of movement, we don’t have any “programs” in our brains from birth that inform us how most efficiently to: sit, stand, lift, walk, etc. - all of these are learned over time. What we do learn, more often than not, isn’t the most efficient method of doing something.

While we are young, we are seldom aware of those things that that cause us harm, especially in terms of movement. Our recuperative capacities, as well as our awareness, are such that we don’t recognize those things that cause us harm until we are at the point where the damage that has occurred consciously affects us.

Up to that point, however, there has been a progressive deterioration in our ability to function – we become less and less productive over time.

We unknowingly cause incremental damage to our structures that, in the long term, affects our capacity to produce.

Because movement is so intertwined with everything we do, when movement becomes affected, many other aspects of our functioning become affected as well.

It’s a downward spiral that can only be corrected by providing our nervous system with better “data” in order to make better choices.

And with better choices come better results.

And better results lead to better, more effective business.

LET ME ASK YOU THIS…
Have you ever experienced the symptoms of a musculoskeletal disorder?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
Send me an email and let me know how you dealt with it.

*****

Chad Estes
Movement Specialist
cestes@etmconsultants.com