353: Scott Robinson on Driving Attention in Training and the Power of Self-Affirmation

Today’s guest is neurology expert, consultant and personal trainer, Scott Robinson. Scott is an Applied Movement Neurology Master practitioner and has worked successfully with all levels of neurological complexity in his time training and coaching a wide variety of clients. Scott is a specialist in dealing with a variety of neurological issues, such as weakness, pain, range of motion and trauma to the emotional systems, amongst many others. Scott is a former Taekwondo athlete and has more than 20 years of experience in Applied Movement Neurology. The element of training and performance that truly defines who has achieved their highest potential, is the mastery of their mental and emotional state. The state of the mind, the way we drive attention to what we are doing, how we affirm our actions, and how we light up our neurological system all play a large role in the training results we get, how we enjoy the process, and ultimately how we grow from it on multiple levels. On today’s podcast, Scott Robinson talks about the power of self-affirmation and mental reinforcement in the roles of training and rehabilitation, as well as how novelty plays into those affirmations. He also gets into visual training methods that link with physical training outputs, warmup methods to improve the neurological quality of the session, working with one’s subconscious mind, harnessing the placebo effect in training, and more. Today’s episode is brought to you by LILA Exogen Wearable Resistance, Lost Empire Herbs and Strength Coach Pro. For 15% off your Lost Empire Herbs order, head to lostempireherbs.com/justfly. To try Pine Pollen for FREE (just pay for shipping), head to: justflypinepollen.com. View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage. Timestamps and Main Points 4:36 – Scott’s shoulder injury he sustained mountain biking, and some methods he used to dramatically accelerate his recovery 14:07 – Getting into the “infinity loop” concept of walking and focus, and how eye position drives neuromuscular activity 17:00 – Mental techniques like self-reinforcement, “Gauntlet 40’s” and the role of novelty in drawing the attention of the brain into a higher state 20:18 – Methods that can be used early in a training session to maximize learning later on 32:36 – Moving eye-based ball movements that individuals can use to improve their warmup component 38:12 – Thoughts on athletes and individuals who may need more vs. less neurological intervention and special exercises in their training program 42:49 – Scott’s take on yelling “I am the Greatest!” before an explosive effort, or similar self-affirmations 59:45 – Ideas for athletes whose subconscious mind blocks or sabotages their conscious mind in their game and athletic performance 1:09:24 – Thoughts on music’s impact on the brain in terms of its tempo and impact on emotions 1:16:50 – Considerations on self-judgment of elements within the training session Scott Robinson Quotes “The first words that came out (when I saw my son after I broke 2 ribs and separated my shoulder) were 'I am fine'” “I had a greater output of strength in 3 months than before I had the injury” “The things that I did were holding gratitude all the way through the injury… and through the process making sure I was keeping the whole system fired up and stimulated and looking to make new connections around the musculature” “My filler exercises were all of the kinds of activities that were going to drive increased attention, increased alternates, that sets the stage for neuro-plasticity, so that when you come back to whatever you are doing, the brain is ready to make new connections” “If you want to get the best out of yourself, you have to set the conditions in the mind so that you get the best result” “Depending on the eye position you use, you can target specific fibers” “The only brain that changes itself is the brain that’s paying attention… novelty is key” “(To enhance learning) use something along the lines of mobility flow; we tap on my favorite brain area, the supplementary motor cortex which literally pulls together all of the parts of the body that are going to be required for what the motor plan is going to be” “If you are doing a mobility flow that you have done 1000 times before, there is a program for that so it’s not going to have the same effect” “In neurology, anything you can do that’s an effective level of stacking, then you are improving things, you are potentiating the drill” “Horizontal (eye saccades) you are going to fire up more of your extensor chain musculature, and the vertical one you are going to fire up more of your flexor chain musculature” “I’m a big fan of stacking controlled articular rotation through the spine, particularly through the cervical spine” “You can get in a quadruped, bounce the ball, and catch it with the other hand (to get the visual response more involved in conjunction with a physical task)” “(My son) only needed a belief (prior to a race)… That is not what I would have thought his system would have needed; I would have thought he would have needed a physical input” “When you are working with athletes who are already finely tuned, you probably not introducing a huge new stimulus that’s going to over-turn the system, you might just be doing one eye drill or an isometric hold” “It becomes a process of learning how to ask the right questions (from the body/brain)” “If all of a sudden I shout at the top of my lungs and I scream, now my mind is suggestible, and it’s novel. When you should something really loud, that is a way to access the subconscious mind” “Your subconscious mind is like a child’s mind, it doesn’t question, it doesn’t argue… if you can get a thought into the subconscious mind, it just gets accepted, it’s now a belief” “When conscious mind and subconscious mind are going in different directions, then you are never going to get the greatest output” “The brain cannot tell the difference between a real stimulus and a vividly imagined stimulus, and time does not exist in the subconscious mind” “Once you are in a state of acceptance, you can achieve anything” “On some level, if I put the air-pods in, and all of that is giving me a benefit, but I’m judging that, then I am negating that on some level… look for a state of acceptance, and practice a bunch of game-day scenarios. Game day without the music will definitely be novel, it’ll be different” “If you put the mind at peace, the body is repairing” “The placebo effect is a window into the limitlessness of who you really are” Show Notes “I feel fine” method of dealing with stress https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpuwYVh51SQ Research on the Placebo Effect of Believing One is Taking Anabolic Steroids The Placebo Effect and Strength Training at Likeironstrong.com About Scott Robinson AMN Teaching Faculty member, Master Practitioner & Coach, as well as; Mentor to AMN Practitioners. Scott is the creator of AMN Neuro Flexibility & has worked successfully with all levels of neurologic complexity. Scott’s approach is to first assess & then bring each individual’s nervous system towards a state of balance. If resolution of a complex neurologic or pain presentation is the objective, then achieving this (homeostatic) balance is often key. Where Movement is the primary objective, then achieving this balance within the body prior commencing a training program gives the individual’s body every chance of progressing towards their movement or functional goals, as opposed to progressing towards injury, which is often the case when training with pre-exisiting imbalances in the nervous system. Scott’s knowledge & skill set means that he is capable of transforming a person with a nervous system of a degraded output, into a person who is capable of achieving advanced calisthenics strength, flexibility and skills. As an AMN master practitioner, Scott is a specialist in dealing with: movement compensations, muscle weakness, muscle control, range of motion & sensation, historic injury & surgical compensations, pain complaints, all manner of musculoskeletal dysfunction, trauma to the emotional system, respiratory, gastrointestinal & immune systemic issues, circadian biological function & sleep disturbances, disturbances to the balance system, the emotional motor system, stiffness or dysfunction to myofascial & other connective tissues, post concussion syndrome, stroke, Hay fever, TMJ dysfunction, coordination, posture & memory. All of the above, along with many other issues, can all potentially be normalized. This is all achieved via a utilization of the entire AMN system, from assessment to calibration of the brain & the nervous system. A former elite athlete in Taekwondo & athletics, a personal trainer of more than 20 years experience & a master practitioner with knowledge of the entirety of the AMN system along with being both a teacher and a mentor within the AMN education. Scott is ideally placed to help you get your body, your movement capabilities or your skillset as a practitioner, to where it needs to be.