How to Harness Brain Neuroplasticity for Extreme Human Performance

Are We Missing the Boat?

Ever seen something that you were pretty sure was true and all the evidence was pointing in that direction, but you still felt a large chunk of the data was missing?

I always feel like that trying to explain some concepts in Z Health and how  your brain is in control of your performance in the gym and on the field.  Optimize your brain and your body HAS to follow.

How does the brain get information?

Eyes + Inner Ear (vestibular “balance”) + Joints (proprioception) = Extreme Human Performance

Optimize each one of these and you are set.   This will also allow you to add strength and not degrade your movement performance when done correctly.

If you come to me as an athlete that wants to be a D1 football player and coach says you need to get stronger.  Let’s say I add 100 lbs to your squat in 6 months, but in the process you move like you are dragging your right leg.  Did I make you stronger?  Yes!  Did I make you a better football player?  No!  Will coach (and you) be happy?  No!  What you are really saying is that you want to be a better football player and you and your coach think that strength is the ONLY way.

Strength is great and a huge component to athletics, but it should NOT come at the cost of movement efficiency.    How can we get an increase in performance without making you walk like Ethel?  THAT is the key and we need to look at the brain.

Data Please

Watch the slide show below.  It is a bit crazy, but hang in there

If you only get one thing, here is the take away

“The physical characteristics of your BODY IMAGE may affect how your brain works your body”

I would even go as far to say that they will instead of may (but we need more data of course).  If your brain is the key to performance, than maybe there is something to this body image thing.  The brain can actually change over time, so it is not fixed even if you are an older adult (concept of neuroplasticity).

Body Image, But I Already Look Good!

Not that type of body image there Fabio!  Body image is referring to the map that your body generates of yourself. When I busted up my ankle several years ago, I had a horrible map of my right ankle at the time. It just felt like a big lump and very “dumb.” It was not uncommon that I would bump it against things in my home (which does not help the healing process). My body image (map) of my right ankle was horrible. How do you think my ankle performance was at the time? Horrible! I could barely move it at all due to the injury.

To a lesser extent, this happens to all athletes. If your wrist wrist does not have 100% mobility, the body map is fuzzy because of it.

The Fix Is In

How do we fix it? For most, starting on the joints is key since they take a fair amount of abuse from desk jockeys with mousie right hand to elite athletes with crazy shoulders from throwing 90+mph fast balls to football players hitting each other at mach 2. Daily living takes its toll and getting all the joints to move through a full range of motion to clean up the body image (map) and allow more performance.

Remove the Brakes

Less than optimal joint mobility is breaking your current performance. I like the Z Health R Phase for mobility work since it targets the joints, but just plain movement is a great start.

Summary

We have evidence now that your body image will affect your performance. Fix your body image (movement map) by first starting off on some joint mobility and watch your performance sky rocket.

Rock on
Mike T Nelson
PS
Leave any comments below and tweet the heck out of this one! Much appreciate all the help!

REFERENCES
Full paper at
Interdependence of movement and anatomy persists when amputees learn a physiologically impossible movement of their phantom limb

References below taken from
Physiologically impossible movement of phantom limbs explained

1. Damasio A (2000) The feeling of what happens: body and emotion in the making of consciousness. (Vintage, London).
2. Churchland PS (2002) Self-representation in nervous systems Science 296, 308-310.
3. Ramachandran VS (1998) Consciousness and body image: lessons from phantom limbs, Capgras syndrome and pain asymbolia Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London – Series B: Biological Sciences 353, 1851-1859.
4. Price EH (2006) A critical review of congenital phantom limb cases and a developmental theory for the basis of body image Consciousness and Cognition 15, 310-322.
5. Moseley GL, Olthof N, Venema A, Don S, Wijers M, Gallace A, & Spence C (2008) Psychologically induced cooling of a specific body part caused by the illusory ownership of an artificial counterpart Proc Natl Acad Sci 105, 13169-13173.
6. Moseley GL, Parsons TJ, & Spence C (2008) Visual distortion of a limb modulates the pain and swelling evoked by movement. Curr Biol 18, R1047-R1048.
7. Parsons LM (2001) Integrating cognitive psychology, neurology and neuroimaging Acta Psychol. (Amst). 107, 155-181.

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