Raise your performance in 2020 by focusing on the all-important mind-body connection
We all know that if you love your sport and want to get better, you need to train your fitness, practice your technique and keep your mind positive, right?
Well, maybe this approach is getting a little passé; from my experience it certainly isn’t the quickest way to help you reach your potential and raise your enjoyment and performance levels so you can start winning more competitions.
Let me explain.
Elite athletes from all sports train their bodies and they train their minds but we constantly see them fall apart under pressure!
I’ve seen this again and again with the students who come to Chi-Performance training having tried every other approach from the mental game (which I call “thinking about thinking”) to changing or reworking their technique (which is just “thinking about movement”) but who are unable to perform at their best when it really matters.
More often than not, the worry brain is engaged and the adrenaline spirals out of control so there is absolutely NO WAY that they can move with fluidity and precision no matter how much they know about the technical aspects of their sport, no matter how good they are in practice or rehearsal and no matter how positive the thoughts in their mind.
I know you’ve had this experience yourself and it’s frustrating and demoralising, especially when you devote time and money to improvement but don’t seem to make any performance gains.
I’m passionate about helping you break through this barrier to elite performance, greater enjoyment and more trophy wins by showing you how to TRAIN YOUR MIND-BODY CONNECTION.
Effortless movement is entirely dependent on the quality of the mind-body connection and this is something you can develop with my 12 Week Mind-Body Performance Challenge.
Here’s a closer look at some of the principles and overall strategy of the programme.
EIGHT KEYS TO THE MIND-BODY CONNECTION
The challenge/programme is based on principles from the martial arts and meditation disciplines of the East which can help you to unify mind and body, neutralise the emotions and enable you to move in a way that is relaxed yet still powerful and precise, even when you’re under pressure.
It’s NOT about learning new movements or changing your technique but about working with the PRINCIPLES OF NATURAL MOVEMENT combined with a focused but quiet intent so that your body can intuitively respond to the picture you hold in your mind of the movement you’re about to perform whether this is a clutch putt, a second serve that simply has to go in or you’re about to make a back flip on the beam.
From my research I’ve identified EIGHT KEYS TO THE MIND-BODY CONNECTION.
The one that will be most familiar to if you are a follower of my work is BREATHING MEDITATION because as you know, when you train your breathing in the right way you reduce mental interference, shut off the worry brain, master your biochemistry, reduce anxiety and enable your body to move more freely.
Just take a look at all the comments about my bestselling book BREATHE GOLF and you’ll understand why this particular key in and of itself is crucial to performing under pressure. Training this key alone will make a tremendous difference to your game so get in touch if you’d like to work with me purely on learning more about correct breathing and enhanced performance.
Here’s a complete list of the EIGHT KEYS TO THE MIND-BODY CONNECTION with a brief overview of the first three (we’ll look at the remaining keys in the next couple of blog posts):
Key No. 1 – DIET, NUTRITION, HYDRATION AND SUPPLEMENTATION
Key No. 2 – CARDIOVASCULAR FITNESS AND CONDITIONING
Key No. 3 – SOFTENING AND FASCIA STRETCHING
Key No. 4 – LOWER BODY STRENGTH AND STABILITY
Key No. 5 – UPPER BODY FLEXIBILITY
Key No. 6 – ACTIVATION OF THE CHI-CORE (T’AN TIEN)
Key No. 7 – BREATHING MEDITATION
Key No. 8 – RAISING YOUR CHI/ENERGY LEVELS
DIET, NUTRITION, HYDRATION AND SUPPLEMENTATION
When you take the challenge we’ll look closely at your dietary habits and decide whether they’re fulfilling the optimum requirements necessary for two important areas – (i) your general health and fitness including finding out your body mass index and (ii) your sport, whether that’s a four hour round of golf, a two hour tennis match or a two minute downhill slalom, you need to eat appropriately depending on the demands you’re making on your body.
We’ll also look at the latest research around hydration (how much water should you be drinking?) and what (if any) sports supplements you should be taking to support your training and performance, including protein shakes, energy bars and creatine.
CARDIOVASCULAR FITNESS AND CONDITIONING
Part of the 12 Week Performance Challenge is about raising your overall fitness levels and this will include regular cardiovascular workouts with two important distinctions. The first type of cardio will be TEMPO training; maintaining a steady state that we’ll determine is right for you for a prescribed period of time. This will have the effect of gently raising your metabolism and strengthening your heart.
We will also plan some HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING which research shows is the ideal way to burn body fat for an incredible 48 hours AFTER you’ve exercised!! It also has the added advantage of helping to develop your physique so that your lean muscle is more defined.
That means you’re going to LOOK as well as FEEL spectacular by the time we’re through!
SOFTENING AND FASCIA STRETCHING
Now we’re getting into how this programme differs from anything else you might have done before with regards to fitness and sports training.
Remember when I said earlier that this challenge is based on the martial art traditions of the East? Well, we’re going to train your body in a way that is MOST CONDUCIVE TO PERFORMING FLUID MOTION UNDER PRESSURE and that means training flexibility, pliability and suppleness with some of the world’s oldest approaches to softening and stretching the fascia/connective tissue so you can move with more freedom than ever before.
You may have seen the Tai Chi phrase “Stand like a mountain, move like a river” in my writings?
Well, this is how we’re going to work your body so that your lower body is strong enough to provide a solid foundation yet your upper body (even with muscle) is flexible. I heard a squash player describe this recently as “go low and stay loose” and it’s exactly the right way to train your body BIO-MECHANICALLY.
With the addition of Key No. 6 – ACTIVATION OF THE CHI-CORE (T’AN TIEN) which uses the body’s centre of gravity to unite upper and lower body (I’ll share more about this next time) you’ll be training your body with NATURAL MOVEMENT PRINCIPLES that can WITHSTAND PRESSURE so your technique does not fall apart when you’re in contention.
To learn more about the 12 Week Performance Challenge please get in touch.
Places are strictly limited so act now to avoid disappointment. The training in this 12 Week challenge is a WORLD FIRST and nothing like it exists elsewhere.
I’ve got you covered when it comes to fast tracking to success so make a change for the better in 2020 by training the all-important mind-body connection.
Jayne
P.S. My 12 WEEK MIND-BODY PERFORMANCE CHALLENGE is going to be a really exciting and invigorating way to begin the new decade. You will get an initial one hour coaching call with me to identify your specific goals and needs related to your sport, a plan of each month with guidance including fortnightly videos and weekly texts from me plus continual email support, free access to my online material, plenty of bonuses, a WINNER’S CERTIFICATE upon completion of the challenge and an exciting free gift to help you keep up your momentum. Your challenge will be bespoke to you and you can start any time.
For more details please get in touch. All you need is access to a gym or some home workout equipment and we’re good to go!
We can meet in person or work on Skype. To request a brochure of other coaching options for 2020 including my ‘Taster’ session, Performance and Transformation programmes simply contact me using the details below or using the Contact form.
+44 (0) 7986 447 250 / jayne@chi-performance.com
