Want to know more about us?
Understandably, you want to know what exactly we do? Can we help, and do I need this type of service? The short answer is that every skill we perform in life is controlled by your neurology, as a result if you have a physical goal we can help you achieve it smarter, faster and with less effort.
From hitting a tennis ball, to squating, or just climbing stairs pain free, you could not do any of these things without proper muscular and neurological function. I include “muscular” because most people do not understand that simple strength work is neurologically based. When you contract your left biceps, the act requires your left cerebellum and right frontal lobe, in addition to intra and inter muscular coordination. The motor units in charge of your biceps’ strength improved every time you performed a dumbbell curl throughout your life. The brain to muscle connection increases in potentiation and the amount of motor units activated increases with practice, along with increased myelination/insulation for your musculocutaneous nerve. So yes, we do strength train at Athletic 4 LIfe, just not always the same way you are acclimated to.
This same process occurs in a golf swing, tennis stroke, or when we step up stairs. When appropriately loaded in a way the brain is able to learn, you can improve at any skill. This is where we excel, as most health professionals and athletes are only taught biomechanical and kinesthetic models (i.e. lift a heavier weight, change the angle of the load, change the speed of the movement). Fortunately, there are many different ways to affect one’s neurological pathways involved in movement proficiency. For example:
-the brainstem affects muscle tone (how tight your hamstrings, hip flexors, and IT bands remain is a function of how well your brainstem works)
-your cerebellum controls the accuracy, balance and coordination of your movements (how jerky, smooth, and controlled you step up, golf swing, overhead press, and balance are is a result of cerebellum function)
-your parietal lobe controls your ability to perceive sensation (and a good ability to feel your body is widely acknowledged to impact upon movement – hence physical therapists emphasis on E-stim, massage, hot and cold, etc.)
-your insular lobe controls your body’s interoception, periaqueductal gray affects pain, rubrospinal tract impacts shoulder swing…neurology is everywhere.
What does your training look like?
When you come in to work with us we assign simple drills as homework for you to regularly implement a few times a day (on average 5-10 min). These homework assignments improve different areas of your brain’s function and result in a better ability to perform your given movement skill. We also will work with you through more traditional training methods to create strength, speed, power, etc., so expect to sweat and put in work in addition to thoughtful action. But every session is different – as every brain is different, and therefore requires different inputs.
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