AMU Performance Podcast

09/10/2021

29/07/2021

The exposure of mental health in sport has seen considerable growth over the years through the likes of Kevin Love, Demar Derozan, Dak Prescott, and Michael Phelps.

The greatest female gymnast of all time, Simone Biles, recently showed her vulnerability by withdrawing herself from competition during the 2021 Olympics. Her actions have shed a much needed spotlight on the topic of mental health.

We want to join the rest of the United States in showing our appreciation for Biles. We hope the young athletes around the country recognize that it’s okay to not be okay.

The mental side of sport is a huge - often overlooked - component of sport. We hope and believe that athletes will continue to recognize and appreciate the importance of mindset training.

23/07/2021

Things can happen in sport and performance that are out of our control.

Adversity is inevitable, and we don’t always see it coming.

How can we feel more prepared for these events? That’s where we can use contingency planning.

Sitting down and writing a plan to prepare for anything and using if/then statements can ultimately give us more feelings of control, more confidence, and less anxiety going into a performance.

Let us know one thing you need to prepare for in your sport that allows you to !

16/07/2021

Our ankles need some love.

We are often focused on developing strength and power through exercises that target the major muscles of the legs (e.g. glutes, hamstrings, quads).

However, athletes are not always intentional about training the ankle complex.

The ankle is vitally important. It is responsible for transferring force (generated by the glutes, quads, and hamstrings) into the ground.

Undertrained ankles = inefficient use of force = untapped athletic potential

We can train our ankles through a variety of “exercises” / movements that will allow us to be better, faster, and jumpier athletes.

if you’re interested in learning about specific ways to train the ankle complex, drop us a comment or send us a DM.

09/07/2021

Routines seem simple, but they can greatly enhance our performance. They give us a sense of control, regulate our emotions, and keep our focus on the present moment where it is needed. Be aware of the actions and thoughts you incorporate into your pre-performance routines and make it individual to you! Athletes in all sports competing at all levels use these daily routines to become some of the best in the world. Let us know what you do in the comments before performance to

07/07/2021

Maximum intent is an important component of developing speed and reactive strength. Athletes need to make sure they are focusing on quality and intentional effort.

An athlete can perform the same exercise (lift, movement, etc.) with a different intention. For example, an athlete could be doing a body weight squat; the athlete could also perform the same movement (with more intention) and jump into the air.

They key difference in this scenario is the maximum intent being expressed during the jump.

This same concept can been applied to a lot of movements - jumps, squats, sprints, pushes, pulls, etc.

We need to ask ourselves these questions.

1. Why am I doing this particular exercise / movement?

2. What adaptation am I attempting to create with this exercise / movement?

3. How is my focus and intention impacting the effectiveness of the movement.

From a training perspective, I’d take an athlete doing 3 quality sprints (with maximum intent) over an athlete doing 20 mediocre sprints - any day of the week. (For the purpose of building speed, explosiveness, and spring)

02/07/2021

Is stress always bad? Many people think that feeling nerves and anxiety before a game or performance will lead them to not perform as well as they want. However, to an extent, these feelings of stress and arousal can help us. Use the Inverted U Theory mentioned in the video to build awareness of what we want to feel and what we want to experience cognitively before we perform. When we can be aware of our mind and body, it will lead to less anxiousness and a higher ability to get ourselves where we need to be to perform our best. Let us know what you like to feel and think before performance to allow yourself to

29/06/2021

Relaxation is 🔑 - mentally and physically!

26/06/2021

Goals seem simple. We all have them. They’re absolutely helpful in keeping us on track, motivated, and focused. This is all true, but how do we get the most out of them? Try using AMU Goal Setting to make the finish line in your head clearer! Let us know some of your goals in the comments!

24/06/2021

Relative force is an important component of athletic performance.

Athletes need to produce the right amount of force, in the right direction, at the right time.

Generally speaking, relative force can be improved 1 of 2 ways (excluding factors such as biomechanics, SSC, etc.)

We can increase the size of the engine (muscle) or we enhance the efficiency of the computer chip (neuromuscular connection).

This leads to an important question …

When we increase hypertrophy (lean muscle tissue), are we able to increase relative force? The athlete may be stronger, but they are also carrying more weight (more muscle).

Does this make them more efficient and effective? I think it depends.

Let us know your thoughts!