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 atten...