August 17, 2020, 7:11 pm | Read time: 4 minutes
At the FITBOOK Move Jam, Germany’s largest online training festival, an expert in brain-based training answered questions from the community. Luise Walther explained, among other things, how the method can help improve performance, how digestion and breathing are connected, and which breathing exercise can test your fitness level.
During the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, the German national team had an expert in neurocentric training with them. German track and field athletes also traveled to Rio de Janeiro in 2016 with support in this area. In elite sports, neurocentric–or brain-based–training is now well established. However, outside of this, few people are likely familiar with the term. At the FITBOOK Move Jam, Luise Walther, an expert in the field, answered questions from FITBOOK readers.
How can neurocentric training help?
Luise Walther’s clients include not only those looking to improve their athletic performance but also those wanting to reduce pain or enhance cognitive abilities, such as concentration. “I don’t just look at movement and pain from a biomechanical perspective, but where they originate: in the brain,” Luise Walther explained at the FITBOOK Move Jam (video above).
If someone comes to her wanting to run faster or execute game sequences more quickly, she first assesses whether the body is even capable of performing fast movements. Posture and breathing provide her with clues about different brain areas–and this is how she identifies deficits: “The brain checks every situation and whether it is safe. If it doesn’t feel safe, you can do a lot of technique, strength, and endurance training, and your nervous system won’t translate speed to the road.”
Also interesting: Use this breathing trick to fight fatigue
Digestive issues, fatigue, shallow breathing
“I have poor digestion, am often tense, and feel like I can’t breathe freely. Are these connected? And what can I do?” someone wants to know. According to Luise Walther, there is a connection: “If the chest and rib cage are under tension, there is no uniform contraction and relaxation of the muscles. This means the entire metabolism is restricted.” At the same time, the vagus nerve, responsible for digestion, receives too little information with shallow breathing or very one-sided movement. To solve this complex problem, she recommends specific breathing exercises.
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Simple breathing exercise for increased performance
FITBOOK Move Jam moderator Anna Kraft is shown one of these breathing exercises in the studio. In the so-called blocked breathing, you first sit upright and inhale maximally. “Then you hold your breath and try to inhale even more through your pinched nose. Imagine your chest expanding,” Luise Walther explains the exercise. As a former professional athlete, Anna Kraft holds out for quite a while–which, according to the neurocentric training expert, indicates that she is very fit.
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With the help of this simple exercise, both mental and physical performance can be easily activated. Luise Walther: “At first, you have a stress reaction because you think you can’t inhale anymore. But the body quickly realizes: There’s more to it!” As a result, other brain areas are engaged. Caution: Beginners should not do more than three repetitions. Risk of fainting!
What helps against impending headaches?
FITBOOK reader Louisa finally wants to know what she can do against impending headaches–aside from self-massage in the neck and shoulder area. Naturally, Luise Walther has specific advice for this as well. You can find out what these are in the video above.