April 09, 2007
To view this ezine online please click here
First of all I would like to apologise for the delay in getting this month’s edition of The eZone to you. I have been having problems with my broadband link for the last two weeks and it's not until you don’t have something that you realise just how much you rely on it!This month we shall look at different ways to enhance your performance beyond training harder, because this is often not the best way to improve. If you know what you want to achieve and can observe closely cause and effect there is no reason why you cannot continue to get the right results.
regards
Roy
In this issue
1. Assessing Performance
2. Getting Off The Plateau
3. The Owl and The …Hare
4. Special April Offer
1. Assessing Performance
One great motivator is progress because when you can see improvements in your performance you are more likely to keep training. Maintaining a training diary or spreadsheet of your performances is a great way for you to spot trends and see what works for you. For example, I found I run better when I have eaten fruit for energy (especially apples and bananas) as opposed to pasta or rice by checking my diet against race times.But apart from recording the obvious such as times, distances, heights jumped or points scored, what other measures can you use? When I work with people on a one-to-one basis I find out what really motivates them and what exactly they are looking for from their training. When you know the real reasons why you train you can measure, set targets and focus on these aspects to ensure you are meeting those needs.
Some examples are weight loss, improving confidence, stress relief, enhancing personal status or even just having fun. Be honest with yourself and write down the reasons you train and check if you are satisfying them. During the course of your training these may change so be prepared to be flexible and recognise when your priorities need re-assessing. I touched on this subject in the last chapter of my first book which is now available free online, to read this chapter please click here.
Setting goals and measuring your progress toward that goal is another way to ensure progress. If you have not already downloaded my free guide to goal setting then please click here for your copy.
2. Getting Off The Plateau
Regardless of your ability you will at some stage feel you have reached your peak. This is very common and is often referred to as a plateau simply because the upward lines on your performance graph have suddenly flat-lined. This is nothing to worry about unless it becomes an escarpment, that is, the line starts to decline :0) This is the point where you will need to take your foot off the gas a little and take account of your approach. It may well be that you have reached the limits of your ability – but only using your current approach!
Regular readers of The eZone will be familiar with how our habits influence performance. In my ten years of teaching The Alexander Technique to athletes I see the habit of trying too hard as a big factor in ‘plateauing’. If you have not already done so, try my fitness test to get an idea of what I am talking about.
If you continue to use the same approach you will use the same technique and movement patterns that have got you to where you are now. A few subtle changes to your attitude combined with improving your self-awareness can lead to a massive leap forward in performance. The second experiment in the test above will give you a few pointers to where you may be making movement harder than it needs to be.
You can find more simple tips and techniques to breaking free from performance limiting habits in my free Five day online course
The old saying goes ’if banging your head against a brick wall isn’t working – don’t bang it harder!’ So don’t try training harder until you have assessed whether you are training efficiently and intelligently – see below.
3. The Owl and The …Hare
Owl: What are you measuring?Hare: The distance and how fast I can run it in.
Owl: Why?
Hare: Well they do say if you can’t measure you can’t manage.
Owl: But what you are measuring is the result and not the means.
Hare: Well yes, isn’t that the important bit.
Owl: Maybe, but what if your time isn’t getting any better? What do you do then?
Hare: I try to run faster.
Owl: How?
Hare: I put more effort in to move my legs faster.
Owl: Oh I see. But how do you know whether all that extra effort is actually moving your legs faster? Is it the best way to run? How are you measuring that?
Hare: By my stopwatch… Oh I see what you mean. I don’t know how to do that? I’ve never thought about how I run.
Owl: Well, perhaps you should. If you always take the same road you’ll always arrive at the same destination!
4. Special April Offer
This month I am giving away a free program to you when you order my book ‘Zone Mind, Zone Body’. To find out how you can get my book and a FREE program see here.If you already own a copy just email and tell me which program you would like ( click here for list ). You then need to answer a simple question about the book as proof of purchase and I will send you the program.
Please note this includes online support but excludes features such as video analysis.
Thank you...
Thanks to all of you who volunteered to trial my online postural assessment program. I will be looking at your photos and videos over the next month and sending you a personalised program shortly. I will ask you for feedback a few weeks later to assess whether it will work in this format.
Regards
Roy