Mental Strain and Recovery
- murrayathletic
- Aug 1, 2020
- 3 min read
Co-authored by: Ryan Munoz & Eric Bringas
Ryan Munoz:
Mental State Keystone to Recovery
As discussed in the accompanying article, John breaks down what MAD’s Mental Strain Score entails. Our goal is to create an awareness amongst our athletes about how their focus and mental strain plays a role in performance as well as recovery. To put it simply if you’re dealing with high amounts of mental stress, your body's recovery process will be impaired. In 2012, Yale researchers found results suggesting people with higher levels of mental stress take longer to recover from strenuous exercise. These researchers found the microscopic cellular processes to repair damage to the body are mediated by our mental state of mind. What does this all mean? Practicing mindfulness, being aware of your own mental state (MAD Mental Strain Score) and practicing breathing exercise can all help greatly improve our bodies recovery process.
The MAD Mental Strain Score is only one piece of the puzzle in the MAD HPH (High Performance Health). However, the mental state is a keystone in our bodies recovery process. If a link is missing recovery and performance will be compromised. The MAD HPH makes athletes aware of their own focus and mental state to allow them to unleash their inner dog. Further, if their Mental Strain Score is increasing I would stand to reason that they are more aware of their other HPH scores and we should see a rise in the overall HPH scores.
Eric Bringas:
“Breathe and Be” The Foundation of a Positive Mindset
Every athlete that participates in either IPC or our team training will begin each session with our breathing exercise “Breathe and Be”. Breathe and Be sets the foundation for our athletes to begin practicing “NDB” or Nasal Diaphramic Breathing. NDB is an exercise first taught with our athletes lying down. It begins with a 4 second inhale inflating your belly like a balloon. Then the breath is held at the top for a 10 second pause. Following this pause the athlete will begin a 4 second exhale and emptying your belly like a bowl. NDB has 3 progressions that we teach 1.) lying on the floor 2.) Standing 3.) Recovery in between sets.
Whether you are a neophyte or professional athlete the goal of the exercise is being able to make a MIND and BODY connection. Now being able to make this connection is extremely tough, and takes a lot of practice. This is why it is essential to make Breathe and Be and NDB a habit in your daily routine. Having a better Breathe and Be practice strengthens your ability to focus and refocus, which are key factors that increase your mental strain score.
Besides increasing your mental strain score there are numerous health benefits to having an awareness of mindfulness and daily practice of Breathe and Be. These benefits include: resilience to stress, lower blood pressure, increased energy, and so much more. In our next issue as a staff we will breakdown the science behind Breathe and Be and will answer any questions you may have.
Please check us out on our youtube channel to see more content and how to Breathe and Be, as well as, much more.
MAD YouTube Channel:
As always thank you for reading our newsletter and make sure to try out Breathe and Be in your next exercise routine!
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