talkhealth Blog

Hi, I hope you are all well and finding the information you need right here at the Talk Health Partnership. I’m not just here as a Hypnotherapist – I am also here as a Personal Trainer. So I think it is time to give a little sports performance knowledge!

We all know that we need to practice to improve at sports. In fact, we need to practice to do anything well! Yet, what does practice make?

If you said perfect, shoot yourself now. Practice makes permanent.

Technically, practice makes myelin. It speeds communication between neurons – it makes you act and react more quickly, and more efficiently.

Here comes the geeky bit. I’ve put it in fairly simple terms, and it will give you the knowledge you need for better understanding.

So what is myelin? It is a plasma membrane that allows for faster and more efficient communication between parts of your nervous system. Your nervous system is your brain and spinal cord which are known as the Central Nervous System, which extends out along our limbs as the Peripheral Nervous System. This can be thought of as the network your body uses to communicate with itself.

Myelin is made up of 40% water, with the rest being mostly fat and some protein. Myelin comes from glial cells which provide structural and metabolic support for neurons. In particular on the peripheral nervous system these are called Schwann Cells, and in the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) they are called oligodenrocytes.

Myelin acts on axons. Axons can be thought of as ‘wires’ that travel between neurons. They allow one neuron to ‘talk’ to another by means of ion conduction, or ‘electrical current’ if you will. When the neurons talk to each other on the same axon the glial cells recognise this and start adding myelin to make the communication more efficient.

The myelin wraps itself around the axons in little stretches with small gaps called ‘nodes of ranvier’ in between each section of myelin. The myelin can be thought of as insulation around the axon allowing faster electrical movement within, and with less dissipation. The nodes of ranvier allow for something called satatory conduction to take place, where sodium (Na+) allows the electrical charge to speed along between the myelinated parts.

Summary of geeky part: Myelin allows there to be faster electrical movement along the axons with less dissipation allowing the neurons to talk to each other more quickly. If neurons can communicate with more speed and efficiency then you can react and act more quickly.

The more times you repeat a movement the more myelin gets laid down. It is permanent, unless affected by old age or disease, yet can (generalisation) always be laid down.

So practice doesn’t make things perfect – it makes things permanent. So the only thing that counts is getting your training right – particularly all technical elements. If you are training sloppy you will be building sloppy movements. It is best to train with ‘deliberate practice‘ and ensure that you correct every mistake – and don’t let a single one slip by. You are looking for perfection in training.

So when someone tells you that “practice makes perfect”, feel free to mentally slap them, and you now have all the information you need to point them in the right direction.

This is me in training, carrying out deliberate practice to get it right.
Kickboxing training at Kops Gym, Amsterdam

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Gary Turner

Gary ‘Smiler’ Turner brings unique skills to talkhealth. He has been World Champion thirteen times in his sports career – he fully understands physical and mental performance, from both the practical and academic standpoints. In his Hypnotherapy practice Gary works with a diverse range of clients who present issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety issues, eating disorders and weight issues, addictions, and a host of illnesses, diseases and physical conditions. Gary takes an evidence-based approach to his work. He is a sought after speaker and delivers workshops, seminars and presentations including having presented at the National Hypnotism Conference. As a Personal Trainer Gary is sought after by professional athletes and those who want to be ‘fit for life’. Gary is skilled with working with medical conditions and disabled. As examples he has taught a Paralympion to be a kickboxer despite being in a wheelchair, a client with neurological damage to his arm to be medal winning grappler, and successfully works with clients with prosthetic limbs. In his role as a Performance Expert Gary works with individuals, teams and businesses to help them achieve optimum performance. He often works with the British Army and has been a Subject Matter Expert on the re-writing of ‘Combat PT’ – the product delivered by Army PTI’s. He has also worked with many British Army sports teams such as the Judo, Boxing, and Kayak teams. Gary has a thirst for knowledge and studies 2-6hrs every day, on such diverse topics as psychology, neuroscience, physiology, nutrition and more. This will help to bring a rounded opinions and advice to talkhealth. Gary’s first book ‘No Worries’, a book to help people remove their anxiety, is now available on Amazon in paperback and on Kindle. In his personal life Gary enjoys working with his huskies as a team, competing in ultra-marathons, and still trains at his chosen sports.