WHY THESE DRILLS?

Great movement, great athletic ability depends on how well we can sense where our body is in space; how well we can see and interpret our surroundings; and how finely tuned our balance system is. These drills are designed to train these things and contribute to the high-definition brain-body map we need for efficient, pain-free movement.

To test the effect of brain-based drills:

• Do some range of motion tests (touch your toes, back bend, do a squat, etc.), something to test strength, or a specific skill

• Do the 5 drills (or reassess immediately after each one)

• Then reassess exactly the same thing you did initially and notice if you feel a difference

Any improvements are a result of creating a new input or activation of the brain, which processed and interpreted the input, then sent signals — or an output— to the rest of your body. Change the input, change the output… the core principle of Neuroathletic Training.

1) SENSORY WARM-UP

Our ability to move anything is in part affected by how well we can feel it. Our brain assigns a great deal of importance to the ability to sense where every body part is. By giving your body some sensory stimulus, your brain’s 3-D map of your body improves, and just like navigating with a GPS, the clearer your map is, the better you’ll move.

2) PENCIL PUSH-UP

Great athletes have great visual skills - competencies that go far beyond just seeing clearly. Our brain takes in more information from our eyes than any other system, so the faster and more accurately we can process our surroundings, the more efficiently we can move. The pencil push-up is a great basic coordination drill that often results in immediate physical changes. 

3) HORIZONTAL VOR (Vestibular Oculomotor Reflex… or just “YES” and “NO”)

Like our vision, our vestibular system plays an enormous role in how well we move. It’s our balance system, letting us know which way is up, and it stabilizes us as we move in any direction. Particularly for athletes, this drill helps your eyes maintain a clear target while your head and body are moving. Because it’s so critical to movement and performance, even small improvements to our vestibular map can create big changes.

4) FINGER CIRCLES & ANKLE FIGURE 8S

The amount of brain space devoted to our hands and feet (relative to the rest of our body) is HUGE because they’re so important to our survival. They’re also critical for almost every sport, yet how many times have you warmed up your fingers or done complex ankle movements behind the body? These exercises not only light up the sensorimotor map for your hands hands and feet — priming your brain for movement — they’re also a great way to activate the cerebellum, which is responsible for accuracy, balance and coordination.

5) THORACIC GLIDES + BREATHING

While the 3-D map of our brain has a lot of space dedicated to our hands and feet, very little is dedicated to our spine. Many athletes have low awareness and ability to isolate the thoracic spine, and having a ‘blurry map’ can lead to a lack of mobility and control. This exercise is not only a great way to clear up that map, but the improved awareness and ability to expand our rib cage in all directions also facilitates better breathing.