All athletes and sports stars of all levels understand that the body can be trained and conditioned to dramatically improve performance. The best of the best are now realizing that the same is true of the brain – the New Frontier in improving athletic performance.

More has been learned about the brain and its functions in the last five years than in the previous fifty, and the results are being applied by top competitors to gain an edge. Many performers compete in sports where differences in physical performance are growing increasingly smaller, where first and last place are separated by fractions of a second, or in events of extreme endurance where mental toughness and preparedness separates competitors from champions. As conditioning and physical prowess is often equal, the brain-trained athlete has a distinct edge and advantage to press.

Simply put, the brain controls the body, and when the brain functions, the body follows. Physical conditioning and the repetition of sports-specific training methods build circuits from the brain to the body known as psychomotor pathways, sometimes referred to as muscle memory. This allows an athlete to master the physical skills necessary for their sport. To go beyond, to truly excel and stand out from the crowd, these physical skills must become hardwired and their performance must become effortless second nature.

To achieve this level of mastery the athlete must be able to get ‘in the zone,’ a state of alert focus which is simultaneously relaxed and ‘mindless.’ Brain training that stimulates and enhances ‘alpha wave’ production allows an athlete to get in the zone more easily and stay there longer.

Normal focused thinking, such as when a player is ‘reading the game’, is necessary but too slow and uses too much energy. This causes the athlete to be ‘reactive’ instead of ‘proactive’ thus slowing reaction time. To be ahead of the game today, the serious competitor needs to train their brain to enhance their performance.