Neuroathletics - The training starts in your head

Research in the field of training science is already advanced and performance improvements through purely physical training appear to be almost at an end. In contrast, the integration of the psychological aspects into everyday training is still in its early stages. However, many positive effects have already been shown which suggest the potential of such combined training methods. Thus a training plan should consist of several components. This includes coordination, technique, tactics, nutrition but also mental processes. Neuroathletics is an innovative training method that integrates the psychological aspects. We have therefore taken a closer look at this topic and would like to introduce it to you in this article.

This method establishes a connection between brain and body. Therefore neuroathletics can not only be used to increase the performance of athletes, but also to improve the recovery process after an injury and to treat chronic pain in patients. An advantage of this is that the training can be continued into advanced age in order to remain learning-capable.

The idea behind the term neuroathletics is as follows: the activity of certain brain areas is increased by a strong and positive stimulus. This leads to the fact that the following training stimulus (the actual training) can have even stronger effects. Especially motor learning can be increased.

Neuroathletics training deals with 3 main dimensions: the input, the processing and interpretation as well as the final result of movements. Traditional training, on the other hand, deals only with the result. Therefore, this training method is not only an extension of already established methods, it can potentially serve as a baseline for the overall performance development.

On our website you will find a complete cartography of exercises, which deals with neuroathletics training entirely. This exercise plan for the improvement of neuroathletic abilities aims at the ability to organize different individual tasks or processes in such a way that they are connected in an optimal way and thus lead to the desired execution of the movement. Our sensorial system in particular has an important role in this process, as it has to work optimally with the body in order to link the various stimuli and influences as quickly as possible.

This can be important in all sports, but especially in team sports such as football, handball and basketball these skills appear to be essential. The reason is the challenging interaction with the sports equipment and the additional interaction of players and opponents. In order to succeed in football, for example, good three-dimensional vision, balance and body awareness are required. Often a 5-fold view is spoken of, since the overview of the ball, teammate, opponent, goalkeeper and the goal must be preserved. In addition, there are influencing factors such as hints from the coach, shouts from fellow players or other disturbing factors. All this must be coordinated so that the movement is executed in the best possible way. Even for high level athletes, pre-orientation is of enormous importance, as there is often not much time or space to react. All this can be trained with specific training to improve neuroathletics.

The illustration shows an example exercise. You can find a detailed description to the exercise as well as a video in the Kartothek.