The methods of training we use can accurately be described as Nervous System Training. It is one of the most powerful tools for athletic development, in fact chapter one of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Encyclopedia of Strength Training and Sports Rehabilitation is written about “Neural contributions to changes in strength” stating dozens of scientific studies supporting the importance of the role the nervous system plays in developing strength.
It is well known the Russian Scientists have been on the forefront of nervous system training for years. Their are many reasons they dominate sport, one of them is the amount of time and research they have invested into sports performance training, more importantly the physiological and neural side of training.
Nervous system training encompasses a broad spectrum of areas often overlooked by most strength and conditioning coaches/personal trainers such as involuntary response, proprioception, rate of force development, balance, coordination, focus, timing, neuromuscular efficiency, biomechanics, kinesthetic awareness, etc…
Here are some basic facts about the Nervous System that may help you get a better idea as to why we advocate this type of training:
The Nervous System
Nerves – Sensory nerves send information to the brain to process stimuli, equilibrium/balance, hot and cold, heavy and light, this signal is then sent to the spinal chord then to the brain and is processed, “instructions”are then transmitted to motor nerves on how to react to the stimuli. This happens very quickly, BUT can be trained to become even faster.
By focusing on increasing sensory stimulation as well as sensory/motor nerve communication we can increase the frequency and speed of their communication signals so that reaction can actually be processed within the spinal chord, bypassing the brain. This keeps the body in a “stand-by mode”, ready to react quicker if necessary. In fact sometimes so quickly you wont even realize you reacted until a second or so after the action.
Ex: If you were walking on ice and your foot slipped, without even thinking your hands/arms would most likely flail to maintain balance, without you having to even think about it, the body reacts. We can train you to react this quickly for sports.
The Nervous system controls the speed at which a person can maximally contract a muscle and produce force otherwise known as Rate of Force Development (RFD).
“Rate of force development, rather than absolute force itself, is the crucial factor in successful athletic performance.” Vladimir Zatziorsky
Our methods focus primarily on training athletes to develop a higher rate of force than traditional weightlifting. Compare a heavy bench press to a light medicine ball throw. A heavy bench press causes muscles to become very tense and the rate at which it produces strongest muscular contraction is very slow.
A light medicine ball throw quickly contracts the muscle maximally and the rate of force development is greater than the bench press.
Recently we tested : The amount of force produced by a 300lb bench press vs.the amount of force produced by a 35lb throw. The muscular contraction for the 35lb throw produced over three times as much force despite throwing a weight almost 10 times less. Continuous heavy training of a muscle to contract at a slow speed will decrease the amount of RFD of the unloaded muscle. (Kotz,1976,)
The nervous system controls proprioception
Proprioception refers to the body’s ability to sense movement within joints and joint position. This ability enables us to know where our limbs are in space without having to look. It is important in all everyday movements but especially so in complicated sporting movements, where precise coordination is essential. This coordinated movement is a result of the normal functioning of the proprioceptive system.
An example of proprioception is when someone throws you a pass, you put one hand in the air to catch it without having to watch it land in your palm. Or when you walk, your feet seem to know exactly where the ground is without having to watch where you step, this is another example of proprioception. This too can be trained and advanced to a higher level by stimulating and speeding up the signals relayed between sensory and motor nerves. We can create better hand eye coordination for catching, and better accuracy for throwing, blocking, jumping, dancing, etc..
To summarize, we can help you become a better athlete. You can become more coordinated, and stronger, more powerfful and explosive, develop a quicker first step, become more flexible, improve your posture, improve throwing velocity, and develop an overall balanced body. We have the tools and strength training equipment to so do so.
Make your appointment today. Come see our sports injury clinic and pain management clinic and meet our team of pain management doctors in Brooklyn. Experience, skill, knowledge and compassion. Get the pain relief you need in the safe, reassuring hands of the best rated pain management doctors and specialists in Brooklyn.