Sports Performance - How to Use

The key to transforming stress lies in your power to regulate
your emotions and perceptions. That power comes from your heart.

"The [emWave PC] software gives golfers the ability to identify when their heart is racing and do something about it. It gives them techniques to control themselves while under pressure and in tense situations so they can use those situations to their best advantage, both athletically and in life."

Laird Small,
2003 National PGA Teacher of the Year

How to Use the emWave PC System

Reaching the next level of athletic performance depends upon the ability to regulate emotions and manage stress. Athletes who combine mental and emotional training with their physical training have a competitive advantage and are better equipped to enter into the peak performance zone more consistently.

Thoughts and emotions have a profound effect on the heart’s rhythm and this rhythm impacts performance. Under pressure, stressful thoughts and
emotions cause the heart’s rhythm to become irregular and jagged. This incoherent pattern inhibits brain function and diminishes the visual field, reduces reaction
speed and impairs decision making.

Conversely, a positive mental and emotional state, not unlike being in the zone, creates a smooth, wave-like, coherent pattern that facilitates brain function and
improves mental focus and physical coordination.

The emWave PC is an emotional and mental training system for athletes who want to master their emotions. Athletes will see how thoughts and emotions affect the heart’s rhythm in real time and learn how to ‘get coherent’ on demand. By associating the changes on the screen with a more focused, calm internal state, athletes are better equipped to maintain a state of physiological coherence and balance—the Zone—anytime, in any situation, in or out of the game!

You can learn more about heart rhythms and coherence in the Science Section.



Who can Benefit from the emWave PC System:

∙ Coaches and trainers wanting to bring out the best in athletes.
∙ Serious athletes looking for that competitive edge.
∙ Casual athletes wanting to improve their game.
∙ Young athletes wanting to get more consistent results.
∙ Any individual looking to improve athletic and sports performance.


Benefits:

1. The Quick Coherence technique can be consistently applied in many athletic and training situations.

2. Fits any training schedule.

3. Easy to use.

4. Real time heart rhythm and coherence feedback.

5. Results are:

  a. Immediate—in one hour, or in one day, with a little practice.
  b. Measurable—you can watch your heart rhythms change in real time.
  c. Sustained—you continue to improve your ability to get in the "Zone".

6. Utilization of the techniques can be transferred to other areas of your life.

Whether using emWave PC for yourself or as a coach, it is strongly recommended that you go through the Tutorial and the Coherence Coach™ to have full understanding of the emWave PC system including the science behind the technology and the Quick Coherence technique.


When’s the Best Time to Practice?

Just like any skill, it takes practice to achieve and sustain coherence. Whether you use your emWave PC system once a day or once a week, it’s most effective when used on a regular basis. Consistent practice, especially when first learning how to build coherence is important. Unlike the physical training, the emWave PC system requires no recovery time. You can’t ‘over train’!

Most athletes find that adding emWave practice sessions into their training schedule makes it easier to remember and accelerates their ability to shift into coherence on demand. You’ll want to use the Quick Coherence technique often. Especially anytime you’re stressed at work, at school or at home. The more you practice the greater your ability to get into the peak performance zone.

Practice Tips:

∙ Use your emWave PC system regularly, at least once a week.
∙ Use it before practice for added focus and balance.
∙ Use it after practice as a way to reflect on what went well and leave emotionally    charged.
∙ Track your sessions to measure and evaluate your progress.
∙ Increase your challenge level once you consistently reach 100% high coherence.
∙ Play the games for added fun and enjoyment.
∙ Use the emWave PC system as part of your ‘game’ preparation along with stretching    and other warm up exercises.
∙ Track your performance improvements. For example, did your drive distance or    fairway accuracy improve? Has your free throw percentage improved? What    happened to your serving accuracy on the tennis court?
∙ When using the emWave PC system prior to training or a competitive event, notice    the relationship between performance and coherence scores.

For Coaches and Trainers—How to Use the emWave PC System with your Athletes

Begin by explaining why the emWave PC system can play a vital role in a training regimen. Ask your athletes if they’ve ever experienced being in the “Zone”, the experience of having mind, body, and heart in alignment resulting in a seemingly effortless and near perfect performance. Most athletes have had an experience similar to this and can relate. Relay to the athletes that the emWave PC system will train them to have more control in getting into the peak performance zone.

Points to Note:

∙ Physical training provides athletes with increased strength, muscle memory,    increased flexibility, and faster reaction times. However, the physical part of athletics    is just one component. Mental and emotional training is a component that some    athletes dismiss, but is crucial in maintaining composure under stress and to    improving athletic performance.

∙ The emWave PC system provides a simple and effective technology that gives athletes a real time training facility with the ability to increase emotional muscle, reaction speed and accurate decision making.

When your athlete first sits down in front of the software you should take them through a few of the features in the emWave PC system before starting a session.

1. Take them through the Quick Coherence technique by using the Coherence Coach. Have them practice the Quick Coherence technique for a few minutes and make sure they understand it.

2. Take them through the science section of the Tutorial. This is a brief overview of the basis for the technology and will give them increased assurance in the effectiveness of the system.

3. Start a session. Show them their heart rhythms and explain to them what the various charts and graphs mean as explained in the Tutorial.

4. After a couple of minutes have them practice the Quick Coherence technique. You can coach them through this if you think they need it. You can paraphrase the Quick Coherence technique. For step 3, suggest they remember a time when they performed at their peak or won an event, etc. and relive the experience.

Enjoy using your emWave PC system and building your new emotional muscle.

Return to the Mind Modulations Main emWave PC page.