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Learning how to improve your reflexes for fighting or martial arts is something you should take very seriously. While factors like technique and skill obviously play a big part in your success, the ability to react quickly is essential.

Having slower reflexes than your opponent gets punished harder in fighting than any other sport. A split second can be the difference between victory and defeat.

Luckily, there are a number of approaches you can take. Some involve training your mind and other focus on the body.

A mix of both will help you do things like dodge, see a punch coming, and strike quicker than ever.

Why Are Reflexes Important For Fighting?

While many spectators view combat-focused sports like MMA or boxing as a show of brute strength, that’s not the case. Sure, having impressive muscle strength will do you good in any fight. However, strength is useless if you don’t know what to do with it.

Truth is, fighting is all about how athletes react to one another in the heat of combat. Some say that it’s a battle of reflexes rather than strength. With every swing, strike, and step that your opponent makes in the ring, you must react accordingly to get the upper hand.

Having solid reflexes is crucial for fighting and martial arts. Not only is fighting a fast-paced sport but it’s also unpredictable.

Thus, you have to make split-second decisions based on every piece of stimuli received during a match. Slight delays in your reaction times can mean the difference between getting surprised by a strike and effectively counterattacking. Improving your reflexes can take your skills to the next level and increase the success of your combat techniques.

Contrary to popular belief, it is possible to improve your reflexes for fighting. There are several training techniques that fighters use to prepare themselves for the ring.

With that said, improving your reflexes isn’t just for reacting quickly. It’s also about strengthening that mind and body connection to help you react correctly to each move.

Humans are highly sensitive creatures. Thanks to our bevy of senses, it’s not hard to react to sudden stimuli. Most people will display the same “flight” response to loud noises or an oncoming fist.

Of course, as a fighter, you have to train your reflexes to react differently. You need to learn how to understand what your opponent is doing, train yourself to process that information quickly, and instinctively respond. All of this has to happen in an instant, making your reflexes one of the most important things you need to develop.

How Training Yourself To Stay Calm Makes You Quicker

By definition, a reflex is an action performed as a response to a stimulus without conscious thought. It’s that knee-jerk reaction to sharp pain, squinting at the sight of an unexpected flash of light, or the flinch to a sudden loud bang. Reflexes occur without ever having to think about making a reaction.

You can’t expect your reflexes to improve if you have to think about every single thing you do! Despite the important role your mind plays in contact sports, it’s best not to let it get in the way. The first step to improving your reflexes is to learn how to simply keep your head clear.

Regardless of the specific combat sport, the biggest problem that beginners have is overthinking. They worry way too much about their technique and taking all of the right steps. During those early matches, many also go into panic mode and start worrying about every little detail.

Unfortunately, all that worrying will slow down your reflexes significantly. Your mind has to be clear enough to react organically to things you’re experiencing. If you’re worried about your next step, you could miss open opportunities to strike or overlook those important signs that say a punch is coming.

Learning to “turn your brain off” during a match is no easy task. The first step is to make all of your techniques second-nature. You have to be able to make maneuvers without having to think about your form. That’s why fighters spend months or even years training before they even step foot into a ring.

Your techniques should already be bound to muscle memory so that you can truly react on impulse. No amount of analytical thinking will beat pure reflex.

Once you reach that point in your training, you can start to develop habits for keeping your head clear. Focus on your breathing and work to drown out all other distractions apart from your opponent. Before long, you’ll be thinking clearly and reacting naturally.

The Benefits Of Reaction Combination Training

Reaction combination training should be an integral part of your workout routine. It’s not enough to just speed up your reflexes. You also need to improve how you react.

Remember, reflexes are involuntary reactions. The trick with any combat-based sport is to have the right reaction to strikes from your opponent.

The best way to improve your skills in this area is with pad or mitt training. While many coaches will use pads and mitts to give fighters a moving target to practice on, not enough athletes are using these training tools to their full potential.

Pad holders should be doing much more than just changing spots every few seconds. Your opponent is going to be moving around the ring at lighting pace and making unpredictable moves at every turn! So, why train without any of those factors in play?

Controlled drills with complex combinations are the way to go. Your training partner or coach can simulate different kinds of attacks. You would then react defensively or execute a counterattack before resetting and repeating the process.

There’s no need for your mitt holder to perform a full attack. Seeing the start of a move alone is enough to train your brain to act instinctively. Over time, you can up the ante by increasing the pace and introducing more complex combination moves.

If your sport involves grappling, you can use the same technique to enhance your reaction times.

Those constant unpredictable simulated attacks force you to recognize patterns before they even occur. It strengthens that mind and body connection to improve your reflexes and make your reactions second-nature.

How Slow Sparring Improves Reflexes For Fighting

Slow sparring is exactly what it sounds like. It’s when fighters perform all of the same techniques they would use in a real fight in slow motion. It might look ridiculous and counterintuitive at first, but it’s one of the most effective ways to improve your reflexes.

This is because it gives you the opportunity to feel things out and take everything in. In a real match, things are happening so fast that it’s impossible to truly analyze movements and learn what your opponent is doing. It’s important to keep your head clear during a fight, but you still need to be able to predict your opponent’s moves.

Slow sparring is how skilled fighters learn to do just that. When you slow things down, you can take in all of that sensory information. Those tiny details, such as the power buildup for a jab, can be seen.

You’ll be able to study how your opponent moves and get comfortable sharing the ring with another fighter. It gives you time to develop your own strategies and even experiment with new techniques.

The great thing about slow sparring is that, despite the slow-motion movements, your brain learns how to identify those small physical signals that your opponent makes. So, when you’re in a real match, you can respond quickly without even giving it a second thought.

Slow sparring can be used with a wide range of techniques. Typically, it’s first used with defense training. However, you can easily implement counterattacks once your reaction times improve.

Add Reaction Balls To Your Training

Reaction balls are a unique training tool that has great benefits for all athletes. It’s not a tool that’s made specifically for boxing or martial arts, but it serves fighters well when it comes to hand-eye coordination and agility.

Essentially, a reaction ball is a large rubber ball with six round knobs. Because it’s not a perfect circle like a tennis ball, its movements are unpredictable when it bounces off the floor or wall. You can use this to your advantage to improve your reaction time.

There are many different ways to use a reaction ball. One of the simplest is to just drop it from waist level. After a single bounce, try to catch it. You’ll find that the routine is much harder than it sounds.

As you get better at this simple exercise, you can increase the drop height or try to catch the ball with a single hand. You can even start throwing it against a wall to give yourself a greater challenge.

The unpredictable nature of a reaction ball is great for challenging your mind without having to put too much thought behind it. You have to rely solely on your reflexes to catch the ball. Yet, you’re also utilizing the training tool to test your stance, footwork, arms, and hand control.

Doing Shadowbox Sparring

Shadowbox sparring is very similar to slow sparring. However, the difference is that you get to see your opponent’s movements in real-time. This can help you learn how to react and improve your reflexes over time.

With traditional shadow boxing, fighters will simulate moves and make strikes in the air. Some will also do this in front of the mirror to monitor form. While this option does have its advantages, it will do nothing to help you with your reflexes. To see improvements, you need to shadowbox with another fighter.

Basically, shadowbox sparring is when two fighters simulate a match without making any real physical contact. It’s a great way to prepare for a fight mentally. You don’t have to worry about wearing yourself out or treating injuries. Yet, you’re training your reaction time.

Just seeing another fighter in front of you can do wonders to help your reflexes. It exposes you to real-life sensory information. Not only can you react to your opponent’s movements, but they can react back to pose an even greater challenge. It’s the next step up from slow sparring and should be implemented into every fighter’s training regime.

Training With A Double-End Bag

If you can’t get a real person in front of you, a double-end bag is the next best thing. Double-end bags are small circular punching bags attached to the floor and ceiling with responsive elastic cords.

You’ll often see fighters using these bags to test their timing, coordination, and reflexes. Unlike heavy bags, which don’t move much at all, double-end bags bounce very quickly. The cords cause the ball to bob and weave, simulating the movements of an opponent.

Of course, there are more limitations with a punching bag. These bags tend to be on the small side and aren’t capable of moving around the ring. However, the quick movements of the ball after a strike do challenge your reflexes. It’s a moving target that can help you learn how to stay focused and responsive.

Raising Your Overall Awareness

For many novice fighters, their first match is always the hardest. The reason for this isn’t what you think. It’s not just inexperience that makes it difficult but also the surprising response that new fighters have to their opponents when they first step into the ring.

New athletes often go into their first match with all kinds of techniques they want to try out and intense training drilled into their brains. Yet, the moment the match starts, all of that hard works goes away and they spend their time avoiding blows that are getting thrown their way.

This is actually a good thing. It shows that the fighter stayed aware of what was happening during the match and was using their reflexes to avoid getting hit. The trick to turning those impulsive reactions into effective defense or counter moves it to increase your awareness.

A big part of successful fighting, whether it’s in an MMA Octagon or the boxing ring, is being able to read your opponent like a book. It’s about knowing what they are about to do before they even get a chance to do it. If you rely on seeing a fist or kick to know that a strike is happening, it’s already too late.

Every bit of reflex training works to improve your awareness. Remaining calm gives you the ability to stay focused on the sensory information in front of you while combination training and shadowbox sparring teach you to identify the signs of a strike.

Increasing your awareness lets you see those tiny signals that indicate your opponent’s next move. You’ll be able to see when they rotate their body to build power or pull back their arm to prepare a jab. When you pair your high awareness levels with your fast response times, you can react to every move with swift and efficient action.

Whether that reaction is to defend yourself or strike back, you’ll be prepared for whatever comes your way.

Training Your Brain

There are things you can do as an athlete to improve the performance of your brain. This means faster reflexes for fighting and more success.

How does this work?

Using a tool like Reflexion, athletes can use a mix of drills that stimulate your brain in different ways. These can focus on things like response time, visual accuracy, memory, and more.

This means you’ll have a faster processor between your ears that will help you see punches coming, dodge faster, and improve your reflexes across the board. More and more combat athletes are beginning to use tools like this to gain a competitive advantage.

If you’re interested in learning how you can speed up your brain and become a more dominant fighter, get in touch with us!

Neuropriming is something that’s been getting a lot of attention in recent years. It’s an interesting concept that athletes of all levels have been experimenting with.

But how does it work?

There’s a lot of confusion surrounding neuropriming and just how exactly it benefits athletes. In this post, we cover everything you need to know (and share some alternatives as well).

What Is Neuropriming?

Neuropriming is a unique approach to strengthening the connection between your brain and your body. Typically used by high-performance athletes, neuropriming is said to improve sports performance and produce measurable gains in less time.

Regardless of the sport you play, your brain has an important role in your success. While techniques and physical fitness exercises might come second-nature to you, that doesn’t mean that your brain isn’t working hard to help you along the way. The part of the brain that’s responsible for voluntary physical activity is the motor cortex.

With every movement you make, from casual walking to intense football drills, the motor cortex sends signals to your muscles. Neurons fire off at a rapid pace to make the muscle fibers contract, resulting in movement. All of this happens in an instant. Yet, it’s learned over time.

You see, the motor cortex develops pathways for neurons to travel. When you first acquire a new skill, such as performing a drill for the first time, you’re hyper-aware of what you’re body is doing to make it happen.

That’s because that neural pathway hasn’t been developed yet. As you continue to run the drill, the motor cortex will adapt and organize the pathway for better efficiency in the future. This is referred to as neuroplasticity.

Once those pathways have been established, you can continue to build your new skills. Your motor cortex will continue to adapt as you get better, pushing your skills to the next level.

So, how does neuropriming fit into all of this? Well, neuropriming directly affects your motor cortex. It’s designed to strengthen those pathways by increasing your neuroplasticity.

Neuropriming is designed to put your brain into a state of hyperplasticity. During hyperplasticity, neurons are firing off more frequently. The neurons are more stimulated and will fire off when stimulated by other neurons.

It’s this reaction and frequent firing that helps to improve performance. When neurons fire off together, those neural pathways can be established quickly. Plus, they will last with continued training.

To put it simply, neuropriming literally primes your brain for training. It puts your motor cortex in the perfect condition to learn skills and maximize your potential. While it’s predominantly used in the sports world, the training technique is said to be beneficial in everything from learning a new language to playing an instrument.

How It Works

Despite the complex nature of the brain and neuron activity, neuropriming is a relatively simple concept. At its core, this process involves manually activating neurons. To do this, electricity is used.

Currently, neuropriming devices come in the form of earphones. Of course, these aren’t your average earphones. Hidden within the band, there are multiple soft electrodes. They are designed to go through your hair and make contact with your scalp.

The electrodes then send electrical pulses to your brain, causing neurons to fire off manually. While this might sound intimidating, the process of sending electrical impulses through the brain has been around for over 100 years. It’s referred to as transcranial direct current stimulation. With proper guidance, it’s completely safe.

The position of the electrodes and the overall design of neuropriming devices is no mistake. The headphone makes it easy for the electrodes to make contact with the motor cortex, which happens to sit right above the ears.

When the device is turned on, the electrodes will send pulses to the motor cortex to put your brain in a state of hyperplasticity. According to athletes who have taken advantage of this unique training technique, the pulses do not hurt. Rather, they create a tingling sensation.

The good news is that you don’t have to wear the device and be subjected to electrical signals throughout your training session. Neuropriming is meant to be performed during a warmup.

Supposedly, a short 20 minute-workout while neuropriming can lead to lasting effects during your actual training session. The state of hyperelasticity lasts for up to an hour. Neurons will continue to fire off quickly after you have removed the device, allowing you to perform drills as you normally would.

During your supercharged workout session, your brain will work to reprogram itself. The technology is still in its early stages. However, professional athletes are already using it during their training routines.

Several studies were also performed by the company that developed the technology. Double-blind studies were done as well to test the efficiency of the technology. According to the findings, athletes saw a 31 percent improvement in their physical performance.

What Are the Benefits?

There are several ways that you can benefit from neuropriming. The biggest is the ability to learn new skills at a much faster pace. As we mentioned earlier, neuropriming prepares your brain and helps to create new neural pathways.

This applies to pretty much everything you do. That hyperplasticity supercharges your brain for better retention and recall. Typically, learning a new physical skill requires a lot of time and effort.

Any seasoned athlete will tell you that they got to where they are now by making small gains over a long stretch of time. The body has to learn how to make those movements. Drills are repeated thousands of times until a technique becomes second nature.

All that time is needed because the brain is trying to build those neural pathways. By increasing the frequency and efficiency of neural signals in the brain, you can cut back on your training time significantly.

Another big benefit is reaching your true potential. All athletes experience that dreaded plateau at some point. After years of practice, it can sometimes seem like you aren’t experiencing any improvements.

Truth is, everyone can see improvement. That plateau you’ve reached is not your true potential. The issue is that your motor cortex already has an established neural pathway. If you have been performing the same exercises and drills for years, shaking that pathway off is easier said than done.

This doesn’t just apply to athletes who are good at what they do. Have you ever tried your hardest at a sport or activity to only realize that you simply aren’t good at it? Well, you may have just developed bad techniques.

The motor cortex doesn’t care about whether the movements you’re making are right or wrong. If you have done the wrong moves enough to develop neural pathways, that’s the way you will be doing it until you take the steps to improve.

Neuropriming can help you overcome that plateau or performance hurdle you’re experiencing. In fact, many athletes during the studies reported that they were more aware of what their body was doing. This is pretty impressive considering that years of training often makes things “second nature.”

That hyperplasticity opens up a world of possibilities. Not only are you more aware of what you’re doing, but you’re at a prime state to make improvements. With multiple neuropriming warmup sessions and corrective training, you can get over those performance issues in no time.

You may also be able to benefit from greater endurance with neuropriming. Endurance and fatigue levels are affected by several factors. Genetics and your actual muscle activity come into play. However, the same goes for your brain.

A study in 2009 found that cognitive fatigue can limit your athletic performance. To put it simply, the rate in which neurons fire off to your muscles decreases the more you work out. This is what triggers that fatigued feeling.

With that said, feeling fatigued doesn’t always mean that your muscles have reached their capacity. Your brain is just telling you that you’re tired.

Neuropriming can help you push further by keeping those neurons firing. Your motor cortex stays in an excitable state, allowing you to keep central fatigue at bay and exert as much as you can.

Is There A Better Alternative?

While neuropriming can be an exciting thing for athletes and coaches to think about, it’s possible to take things even further.

Reflexion takes a more sophisticated approach when it comes to improving cognitive performance in athletes. Neuropriming is a relatively simple input that leaves little room for a customized approach.

Reflexion brings clear and tangible benefits to your peripheral vision, decision making, short term pattern memory, and hand-eye coordination. All of these aspects can be tailored to an athlete’s specific sport so the training stays specialized to what they can benefit from most.

Another neat thing about Reflexion compared to neuropriming is how fun it can be. The drills and exercises athletes go through are quite addicting and can be directly linked to improved performance in their particular sport. This makes it get athletes invested and using it consistently.

Wrapping Up

The interest in neuropriming comes from a large wave of athletes who want to do some form of cognitive training. The pros are doing it, and they want to as well.

However, neuropriming isn’t the only option. If you want to take your training even further we’d love to hear from you. Reflexion is the best cognitive training solution for athletes on the market, and we’re just getting started!

The phrase “sports performance training” is being used more and more among athletes and coaches. While it might seem like just another way to describe working out, there’s actually more to it than that.

In this post we cover everything you need to know about sports performance training (from the definition to the benefits). By the time you’re done reading it, you’ll understand what makes it so powerful, and why you should start doing it ASAP.

What Is Sports Performance Training?

In the sports world, there’s a lot of focus on improving general fitness and performing drills to simulate plays on the field. While those facets are certainly important, sports performance training can push athletes to the next level while also providing plenty of room to grow.

This specialized form of training is meant to enhance your overall athleticism and prepare you for the challenges that your sport presents. It’s all about conditioning your body for the activities you’ll be doing on the playing field.

The great thing about sports performance training is that it’s catered to your specific needs. One problem that many athletes face at some point in their playing career is that their skills plateau. This is especially true among younger athletes. These young sports enthusiasts will spend several years pushing their bodies to the limit in an attempt to become the strongest, fastest, and best-performing player on the field.

Unfortunately, going that route leaves very little room for continued development. It essentially stunts their progress. While those athletes may see some success with their chosen sport, much of the training they do to get to that point is geared toward general fitness levels rather than improved performance.

With sports performance training, you’re preparing your body to succeed in a specific competitive environment. Of course, good overall fitness is important for athletes. However, all sports are unique. Even within the same sport, you have different positions that require contrasting skills to succeed.

Therein lies the problem with basic fitness training. For example, there’s no point spending the majority of your time building muscle mass if the most important skill for your sport is agility or speed.

Sports performance training routines are designed to improve your overall athleticism while preparing you for your sport. Many trainers will create routines that emulate the movements you’ll do during a game. Whether your sport requires good agility, impressive coordination, or brute strength, your performance training regime will include exercises to help you see improvements in those key areas.

Sports performance training is also highly customized. Not just to your sport, but also to you as a person. Good trainers will spend time understanding your current abilities and fitness levels. They’ll consider your age, gender, and more to create a personalized plan that will benefit you on and off the field.

This high level of customization can prove to be beneficial in the long run. Trainers will continue to adapt to the training regime as your skills change. This presents a constant challenge to athletes and avoids the dreaded plateau effect.

Why Is It Better Than Traditional Forms Of Sports Training?

The biggest difference is in the name. Sports performance training is geared toward motions and exercises that directly translate to actions on the field. It’s hyper-focused.

Your performance capabilities are the foundation of your skills on the field. Good fitness levels and game knowledge are obviously incredibly important. But, what good will they do if your body is not prepared to go through the specific motions that your sport requires?

There are a few different areas that sports performance training focuses on. These include your strength, power, coordination, balance, speed, and more. All of these areas are crucial in any sport. The issue with traditional training is that routines often have a very narrow approach to addressing those areas.

For example, say that you are a lacrosse player who wants to improve your shooting power. In traditional training, coaches may have you perform shooting motions with resistance bands or a weighted stick. The thought is that the extra weight will develop more strength as you’re going through the motions. It’s not uncommon to see players spending hours just making practice swings.

While it may seem effective, you’re just teaching yourself to play with a different stick. It doesn’t address the root of the problem. To make matters worse, it can throw off your shooting mechanics and mess with your stick sensitivity. Ultimately, this kind of training can actually hurt your performance once you go back to your normal stick.

Sports performance training would address this problem by focusing on strength training and coordination. The goal would be to condition your body so that you can achieve more power during a swing. Coaches would work on correcting your technique and develop exercises that can help you see improvement in that particular area.

The great thing about sports performance training is that you’re working on enhancing key athletic characteristics rather than simply going through the motions. Participating in sports is more complex than what many people give it credit for. It’s not about being the strongest or most fit. To have a competitive edge, you must improve your overall athleticism and strengthen key performance areas.

Additional Benefits

Aside from desired improvements on the field, there are a number of additional benefits that sports performance training can bring to an athlete. These are benefits that a lot of people don’t consider at first, so it’s worth exploring them one by one.

Lower Chance Of Injury

One of the most underappreciated benefits of sports performance training is a lower chance of getting injured. Injuries are very common, even in youth sports. Torn ligaments, muscle pain, and damage to connective tissue happen all the time.

In many cases, these injuries are a direct result of poor training protocols. You see, general fitness training doesn’t put any stress on those important ligaments and tendons. Sure, you may be strengthening your muscles and improving your endurance. But that won’t make any difference when you’re suddenly faced with a complex maneuver on the playing field.

All it takes is one incorrect move to cause a tendon to snap. For example, torn ACLs are one of the most common injuries in fast-paced sports. An awkward rebound or twist of the leg puts extreme stress on this delicate tendon, causing it to tear and give out.

With performance training, you’re doing all of those complex maneuvers regularly. Whether you’re doing sprints, lunges, or making your way through an agility course, your body is performing smart resistance training. This helps to strengthen the ligaments and tendon, reducing the chances of injury during a game.

Plus, you’re improving your overall agility, flexibility, and motor control. By participating in similar movements during your regular training, your body is better prepared to support your maneuvers in a game setting.

Isolating Weaknesses

Another benefit of sports performance training is that it quickly exposes your weaknesses. Thanks to the fast-paced nature of competitive sports, it’s easy to overlook areas that need improvement. As a result, many athletes will just ignore the issue or blame an undesirable outcome on a bad play.

Because performance training is focused on performance and athleticism, trainers can find areas that need to be improved on. Whether it’s poor hand-eye coordination or a weak jump, this type of training can highlight that problem. Coaches can then develop a training routine that addresses the issue. You can incorporate focus exercises to strengthen those weak skills. This will result in a noticeable improvement in your technique and overall performance.

Mental Improvements

Sports performance training can also provide athletes with mental and emotional benefits. On the mental front, performance training is great for strengthening your mind-body connection. As you probably know, all sports require extreme mental coordination. You have to understand your surroundings, make decisions, and react. All of this happens in an instant.

When you’re just focusing your training on general fitness or going through plays, you’re not challenging your mind nearly as much. Performance-based exercises force you to think and synchronize complex movements to reach the desired outcome. This doesn’t just improve your coordination and reaction times. It can also teach you how to perform moves more efficiently.

That’s what makes using Reflexion so powerful. It allows you to train and improve your cognitive performance in ways that are tailored to your specific sport. This kind of sports performance training is rapidly growing in popularity due to the massive improvements athletes are seeing as a result.

More Enjoyment & Less Burnout

Many trainers will attest to the emotional benefits that performance training will provide. It can help you gain more love for the sport that you play. Many younger athletes give up on their sport after a few years because they’re not seeing the progress they want. This is especially true if the player felt that they have reached their peak. What’s the point in continuing if you’re not improving?

Because performance training is catered to your unique needs, your routines will continue to grow with you. You can adapt your program to address new challenges and push your abilities even further. Like we mentioned earlier, the best trainers take several factors into account when they’re developing a program. As you get older and your fitness levels change, so does your training program.

Many athletes experience a significant sense of accomplishment with performance training. They get to watch themselves improve and track changes in their abilities as they progress. You’ll be able to reap the benefits of your training, which will help you fall deeper in love with your sport.

Conclusion

As you can see, sports performance training is an incredibly powerful approach that all of the top athletes and coaches are using. The wide range of benefits and engaging approach make it a sticky methodology that athletes love.

If you’re interested in learning about how Reflexion can help you implement smarter sports performance training from a cognitive standpoint, head over to this page and get in touch.

Strobe light training and strobe glasses have gotten the attention of the sports world in recent years. With athletes like Steph Curry and Kawhi Leonard using them to improve reaction time and eliminate distractions, many other athletes are wondering if they should do the same.

In this post, we’ll cover the essentials of strobe light training and what benefits it can bring. We’ll also explore some alternatives that might be even more exciting!

What Are Strobe Glasses?

While strengthening the muscles and perfecting physical maneuvers is pivotal to the success of athletes around the world, improving brain functionality is important, too. Several studies have shown that well-trained athletes think and see the world around them a bit differently than non-athletes. When you think about how the body works during a fast-paced sports game, the idea is not as far-fetched as it originally seems.

You see, the connection between the eyes, brain, and body plays a very important role in how you react to stimulants you see. It’s that cycle of information that’s responsible for affecting how you move. For athletes, the process goes like this:

They see an opening or offensive technique that’s being pulled off by the opposing team. In only a fraction of a second, the brain processes the information it just saw and sends signals to the rest of the body to react accordingly. To make things even more difficult, players must also make decisions on their next course of action.

While the connection between visual stimulants and physical reactions seems instantaneous, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Your brain is like a muscle. Challenging your mind strengthens it, which could result in a slew of positive benefits that can improve your athletic performance tenfold.

Strobe light training via strobe glasses is an effective way of enhancing your mental prowess and improving your overall brain functionality on the field. This form of training, while still considered to be relatively novel, is not new.

Early forms of strobe glasses can be traced back to the peak of Michael Jordan’s NBA career. Back then, the famed basketball player used strobe lights to simulate the appearance of constant camera flashes during a game. Those camera flashes were known to be distracting and blinding. So, the strobe glasses helped Michael Jordan to overcome those performance issues.

Eventually, his trainer found glasses that could mimic the camera flashes without having to use physical strobe lights. Not only did the device help Michael Jordan avoid distractions, but he experienced several other performance benefits as well. Considering Michael Jordan’s sports legacy, it’s not hard to see why this unique form of training gained popularity in the sports world.

Since then, strobe glasses have been adopted by professional athletes across the world. It’s not just reserved for NBA players. Strobe light training is considered a great way to help any athlete who performs precise techniques.

How Does It Work?

The concept behind strobe glasses is pretty simple. Basically, the goal is to limit visual information. Think of how a strobe light operates in a dimly lit room. It flashes at a rapid pace, allowing you to only see for only milliseconds at a time.

Even though the room is only lit for a fraction of a second, you’re still able to get a good idea of what’s in the room and how it looks. Why is that?

Well, it’s because your brain is making up the difference. It’s working overtime to process as much information as possible about that tiny bit of stimulation you received.

Strobe light training is all about taking advantage of your brain’s ability to work off of limited information. One good way to look at strobe light training is to think of it as strength training for your mind.

Today, the easiest way to implement this unique training into your routine is to invest in strobe light glasses. At first glance, these glasses look like your average pair of sunglasses or ski goggles. However, they’re hiding discreet liquid-crystal technology within the lenses.

The technology turns the clear lenses into fully opaque lenses that you can’t see through. Depending on the particular model used, trainers may be able to initiate flashing sequences based on skill level.

The glasses may flash at a rapid pace for those who are new to strobe light training. Or, they can be set to stay dark for long periods of time for a bigger challenge.

When the LCD lenses flash, milliseconds of visual information is removed. Even still, your brain must process the information and make decisions on how you should react. By forcing your brain to work with only a small amount of visual data, you’re strengthening and improving it’s ability to work under pressure.

Over time, you can experience a significant performance improvement. You can then decrease the flash rate to push your limits even further.

Typically, athletes will wear strobe glasses while performing drills and mock games. This ensures that the brain is fully capable of making those split-second decisions in situations that matter.

What Are The Benefits?

There are several areas of your game that can see improvement with strobe glasses. Many athletes who give this training technique a try say that the game feels like it’s moving in slow motion. In reality, the brain is simply doing a better job of helping those athletes make sense of the events around them.

One of the biggest benefits you can experience is faster reaction times. In an intense game, every second matters. Human reaction time tends to wane as people get older.

Strobe glasses ensure that you’re able to process information quickly and efficiently, even when you have full visibility of the playing field.

Overall focus and visualization skills are improved as well. Whether the game is being played on a private court or a field surrounded by fans, most sports are riddled with distractions. Having the ability to stay focused on the task at hand is pivotal.

With strobe light training, you can train your brain into locking onto your target. You’ll be able to visualize the playing field and have a better understanding of the obstacles you need to get through to make a goal. All while staying focused on the ball at all times.

Mental performance isn’t the only thing that strobe glasses change. You may also notice significant improvements in the way that you see the game unfolding in front of you.

Take, for example, a fast-paced game of basketball. Without proper training or experience, you can easily lose your balance keeping track of the ball. This is especially true if you favor using one eye over the other. Ultimately, you might have to choose between staying stable on your feet and watching the events of the game.

Strobe light training can enhance every visual aspect of the sport. This includes your ability to detect movement in your peripheral vision, how your inner ear reacts to rapid eye movements as you track the ball, and more. You can even learn to take advantage of both eyes for effective tracking, virtually eliminating visual dominance.

Is There A Better Alternative?

At Reflexion, we think that strobe light training is just scratching the surface of what’s possible when it comes to improving athletic performance.

Unlike strobe glasses, Reflexion goes deeper to improve your neuro-cognitive abilities as an athlete. While strobe light training is geared mostly toward improving reaction time and susceptibility to distractions, Reflexion takes a more performance-driven approach.

Benefits like improved short term pattern memory, hand-eye coordination, peripheral vision, and decision making can be seen in addition to the reaction time improvements you see with strobe glasses.

The level of customization is far superior as well. With Reflexion, you can easily monitor data over time and track improvements. There are also a variety of training drills that can be utilized depending on what sport the athlete competes in.

It’s also quite fun! In our experience, traditional strobe light training feels very much like a chore. The exercises you put your brain through with Reflexion feel more like a game. That makes it easy to get athlete buy-in at all levels and easily start implementing neuro-fitness training with your team (or at your gym).

Conclusion

Strobe light glasses aren’t going away anytime soon. With more and more athletes turning to various forms of cognitive training, we can expect to see new technology like this being developed and implemented for a number of sports.

If you’re interested in the benefits of strobe light training but want to see even more benefits, click here to get in touch with us. Reflexion is the best cognitive training solution for athletes on the market, and we’re just getting started!

Improving athletic performance is easier than it’s ever been. With recent innovations in technology and training methodology, athletes are doing things we never thought were possible.

But if you’re trying to improve your athletic performance (or do so for others) where should you start? With so many options it can be overwhelming to decide what will be the most effective use of your time.

That’s why we put together this resource. In it, you’ll learn the best methods for taking your training to the next level without overcomplicating things.

1. Vary Your Workouts

For many athletes, functional exercises are the name of the game. Improving athletic performance isn’t about sculpting your body or dropping weight for the sake of it. It’s about improving your muscle strength, response time, and mental prowess on the field. Functional exercises are a great foundation and should always be a part of your workouts.

Basically, the goal of these exercises is to work out the muscles that you’ll be using during the game. Not only can they condition your body to react to different situations, but these exercises can do a lot to prevent muscle injuries.

Drills are important. However, functional exercises should be performed in the gym. This allows your body to experience the muscle stress and stimulation in a way that’s not immediately reminiscent of a specific sport.

In addition to functional exercises, it’s important to switch things up every once in a while. Performing the same exercises day after day, week after week is not the way to reach your full potential. Your body gets used to that stimulation. This can cause a plateau in your results.

It’s recommended that you mix your workout up every two to three weeks. Try performing different kinds of exercises. Do a different kind of cardio and keep things exciting. That muscle confusion can produce some amazing results. Plus, it’ll help you stay motivated and stave off boredom.

2. Track & Measure Your Performance During Training

There’s no shortage of monitoring equipment out there. Whether you invest in the most advanced wearable or jot down notes with simple pen and paper, keeping track of your performance during a workout is a great way to push your body further.

Hard data is an excellent motivator and will let you know just how much progress you’re making. You can keep track of your progress for a specific activity or workout. Use that data to set small goals. Before you know it, you’ll be miles ahead of where you were before.

Modern technology has made it incredibly easy to measure your performance. Fitness watches can act as an informational hub, constantly recording different parameters of your movement. The most advanced gear is capable of measuring running distance, heart rate, exercise reps, and so much more. Push that data to your computer, tablet, or smartphone and you’ll be able to analyze it fully.

Many professional athletes take advantage of tracking wearables to fine-tune their performance. It’s not uncommon to see athletes going through drills wearing high-tech vests that monitor their motions in real-time. Coaches can then see a frame-by-frame breakdown of what the athlete’s body is doing and what muscles are being worked. Workouts can then be modified to address techniques that need improvement.

While you might not be able to take advantage of some of the pricier systems, affordable fitness wearables can provide a ton of in-depth information. You can even record your workouts on camera for later review. Whatever you decide to do, it won’t take long for you to notice that something as simple as keeping track of your performance can make a huge difference.

3. Make Proper Hydration a Priority

It should go without saying, but staying hydrated needs to be your top priority during your workout. It’s not hard to get dehydrated. Whether you’re out on the field or in a cool gym, your body is going to lose fluids through sweat.

As you’re exercising, your muscles are producing heat. This increases your core body temperature by quite a bit. Sweating is just your body’s attempt at cooling you down.

During a particularly intense exercise routine, your body could lose up to 45 ounces of water an hour. It’s important that you keep some water within reach.

Dehydration can happen very quickly. You can start to lose consciousness in the middle of a hard rep and injure yourself. Or, you can experience heatstroke if you’re outside.

It’s recommended that you drink between 20 and 40 ounces of water per hour during your workout. Drinking plenty of water before and after exercising is also a must. Beforehand, it ensures that your body is hydrated enough to produce sweat. Afterward, the water will help with recovery.

With all that said, you should also avoid drinking too much water. Contrary to popular belief, drinking a gallon of water before you start working those muscles is not a good idea. It could lead to bloating and nausea, which will ultimately affect your performance.

Stick to the recommended 20 to 40 ounces and you should be good to go. If you’re someone who has a history of not getting enough water, addressing this should lead to a pretty significant increase in your athletic performance.

4. Dedicate Enough Time for Recovery

The recovery process is just as important as the workout itself. There are several reasons for this. One, it helps to prevent injury.

Your muscles need time to heal. Every time you exercise, your muscle tissue is experiencing tiny little tears. It’s a crucial part of getting stronger and bulking up.

If you choose to work through the pain and don’t give your body enough time to recover, you’re just asking for an injury. A lack of proper recovery is one of the most common causes of muscle tears and serious injuries. So, don’t push it.

Secondly, you need to replenish your store of energy. Muscle glycogen, which is basically the stored form of carbohydrates, is used when you exercise. It’s you’re muscle’s energy supply. During the recovery phase, you can restore your muscle glycogen supply for the next workout.

There are several ways to promote healing and properly recover. The easiest is to just take some rest days. Give specific muscle groups a day or two to recover before you push them any further. You can also avoid intense cardio or not work out at all a few days a week. Just stagger your exercise days to give your body all the time it needs.

Post-exercise stretching is another great idea. While most of us know to stretch the muscles to prevent injury before a workout, not too many people will go to that extra trouble after an intense exercise session. However, a few minutes of stretching can aid the recovery process significantly and improve your athletic performance the next time you’re on the field.

Stretching allows the muscles to cool down slowly instead of abruptly. What does this do for your body? Well, it prevents that awful feeling of muscle tightness and joint stiffness.

A few stretches can keep the muscles pliable. With regular practice, a good stretching regime could even improve your range of motion and give you some better performance results.

If you’re looking for a more intense recovery technique, consider getting a massage. Soft tissue massages can make a huge difference in recovery time. Many athletes swear by them.

Massages from a professional masseuse can help to realign muscle tissue, reduce inflammation, and get rid of tightness. Plus, it improves the circulatory system.

After intense exercise, lymphatic fluid builds up in the muscles. It’s a common cause for muscle stiffness and cramps. Massages can mobilize the lymphatic fluid, essentially flushing it from your system.

At the same time, your blood will have an easier time flowing around your body. As a result, your heart can pump oxygenated blood and essential nutrients directly to your sore muscles to speed up the recovery process.

If you don’t have the time or budget to get a professional massage, don’t fret! You can always use a foam roller. These inexpensive accessories are great for performing a self-massage.

Most rollers are fitted with thick grooves and unique surface designs. They make it easier for you to target specific muscle groups and painful connective tissue. All you have to do is place the device on the floor and roll your body over it. Your weight will do all of the work for you.

5. Train Your Brain

You may have heard the phrase, “The mind is the body’s most powerful muscle.” While the brain technically isn’t a muscle, that powerful saying has a lot of truth to it.

In fact, training your brain is one of the most effective ways to improve your athletic performance and gain an advantage over the competition.

Here’s why:

Sports and athletic endeavors aren’t just about well your muscles perform. Most sports rely heavily on your mental abilities as well. For example, football, soccer, and hockey players have to make thousands of split-second decisions, and any one of them can drastically impact the outcome of the game.

This means if you want to improve your athletic performance, you need to train your brain as well! Many of these devices take advantage of visual stimulants. Performing mental exercises involves responding to the stimulant as quickly and accurately as possible.

There are many sports vision training tools available that can improve your athletic performance, but Reflexion offers a proven and convenient array of exercises that are on the cutting-edge. When you combine it with the ability to track your progress, you have a very powerful tool at your disposal.

While it may not seem like you’re doing much at first, it won’t take long for you to see the benefits. Cognitive performance exercises are being done by professional athletes all over the world to help improve response times, visual accuracy, memory, and so much more.

6. Fuel Your Body the Right Way

You are what you eat, right? For some, improving athletic performance can be as simple as eating the right foods. Obviously, peak athletes are on much stricter diets than your average Joe. To push your body as far as it will go, you need to eat healthy foods at the right time.

It all starts in the morning. Instead of chowing down on sugary cereals and unhealthy fast breakfast foods, you need to eat a healthy supply of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. A hearty breakfast in the morning provides plenty of fuel for your muscles while also giving you the energy to start our day.

When you’re planning your meals, it’s important to avoid simple sugars and simple carbs. Instead, go for healthier alternatives like complex carbohydrates.

Simple carbs, like high-fructose corn syrup and many ingredients in junk food, are notorious for causing that dreaded mid-day crash. That’s because the carbs are broken down very easily in your body. This results in a rapid blood sugar spike.

You’ll experience a quick boost in energy but unfortunately, it won’t last. After a few hours, you’ll feel lethargic and weak, which isn’t great for athletes who want to push the limits.

Complex carbs like whole-wheat foods, wholesome vegetables, legumes, and more, break down a lot slower. This regulates your blood sugar and keeps your glycemic index relatively low. So, you’ll have a steady supply of energy throughout the day.

Knowing when to eat is also important. It’s recommended that you eat 3 to 4 hours before you hit the gym. A high-protein meal with complex carbs will fuel your workout. After you’re done, eat again.

The goal of your post-workout meal is to replenish nutrients you lost and speed up the recovery process. As we mentioned earlier, you lose a lot of stored energy during your workout. Plus, your muscles experience small micro-injuries.

To support your body, eat plenty of protein and complex carbs. Ideally, you’ll want to eat up to 80 grams of carbs and 40 grams of protein. It can be a bit less if your workout wasn’t super strenuous. Generally, a 2:1 ratio of carbs to protein can do the trick.

7. Consider Adding Some Supplements to Your Diet

There’s no shame in introducing supplements to your diet. Sometimes, you can’t get all of the essential macronutrients you need from your meals alone. Supplements provide those important vitamins and minerals to keep all of your body functions in check.

You can’t perform well if your system isn’t running optimally. So, supplements are a great way to ensure that you’re as healthy as possible to do what you need to do.

Daily multivitamins are readily available at most grocery stores. They can provide you with a healthy dose of Vitamins A, C, D, E, B12, and more. Plus, they include essential minerals like iron, calcium, zinc, and magnesium.

If you’re looking to try supplements that are specifically catered towards athletic performance, you have no shortage of options. Healthy performance-enhancing supplements are perfectly safe and legal for you to use. They can help you out during your workout and significantly increase your athletic performance.

During your workout routine, ergogenic supplements are a good option. They can help provide you with a boost of energy, neutralize the buildup of lymphatic fluid, and increase the oxygen supply to your muscles.

There are also supplements that you can take to help build muscles. They improve the muscle protein synthesis process, which results in more strength and bulk. Some examples include HMB, HICA, and PA.

Finally, you can use recovery supplements. Things like glutamine and arginine have been known to help restore energy supplies and keep the immune system nice and strong. While supplements aren’t necessary, they can do a lot to help you achieve the results you’re after.

Wrapping Up

Improving athletic performance doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, the most effective methods are actually quite straightforward.

Using these tips as the foundation of your training strategy will yield significant results no matter if you’re an athlete, coach, or gym owner.

If you’d like to learn more about number 5 and start incorporating cognitive training into your game plan, we’d love to talk with you.

The benefits athletes are seeing from this form of training is mind-boggling, and it’s one of the quickest ways to gain a massive advantage over the competition. Get in touch with us here to learn more.