The Crucial Role of Vision in Training and Strength Building

Visions Roll In Strength Training

When we think about physical training and strength building, our focus often lands squarely on muscles, technique, and endurance. However, there's a vital yet often overlooked player in this arena: our vision.

It wasn't until I was challenged during a strength training session that I truly understood how vision drills could enhance my strength.

Self Test:  Get into your workout for push and then perform an assessment, perform pencil pushups, and reassess to make sure you had a good response, and then do the next set.

How do you feel?  Stronger, fresher?

This was the moment I finally understood that if our eyes are the epicenter for our brain to perceive a threat to our bodies, then if I could use applied neurology drills to decrease threat, it opened up a bunch of energy channels (aka strength) that allowed me to increase reps, weight, time under tensions, etc.

This very simple skill set showed me how our vision plays a profound role in how we move, react, and perform in athletic pursuits. 

Not only athletically, but even to the general population.  The application of decreasing stress is universal.

The Dominance Of Vision To Our Brains and Body

Vision is the most dominant sense when it comes to processing information in the brain. This is why vision training, and learning applied neurology drills have such an impact on strength training.

1. Data Transmission Rate:

   - The visual system transmits data at an extraordinarily high rate compared to other senses.

**VISION can process up to 10 million bits of information per second. This rate surpasses the capacity of the auditory system, which handles around 100,000 bits per second, and the somatosensory system (touch), which processes information at a similar rate to the auditory system.

2. Brain Energy Consumption

(**THIS IS A HUGE FACTOR WHEN YOU LEARN HOW THE BRAIN FEEDS and what happens to our pre-frontal cortex with lack of energy):

   - The visual system demands significant energy from the brain.  A substantial portion of the brain's resources is devoted to processing visual information.

This high energy consumption underscores the importance of vision in overall sensory processing and its priority in the brain's hierarchy of functions.

3. Neural Hierarchy and Integration:

   - Vision is not only dominant in terms of the sheer volume of data processed but also in its integrative role. It combines inputs from the visual, vestibular (balance), and proprioceptive (body position) systems to create a coherent perception of the environment.

This integrative function is akin to a GPS, providing spatial awareness and aiding in the detection and response to threats.

4. Vision & Activation of Major Brain Areas:

   - Visual stimuli activate major brain areas more extensively than other sensory inputs. This widespread activation includes areas responsible for movement coordination, spatial awareness, and even cognitive functions such as memory and decision-making.

Training that focuses on visual efficiency, including binocular vision and eye movement exercises, can thus enhance overall brain function and performance.

So as you can see vision training is a powerful tool for making people feel better. It’s incredible how little the visual system is looked at when it comes to dealing with pain, anxiety, or sensory overwhelm.

This next generation of health professionals will now start to incorporate applied neurology into their training sessions. If you want to see how we do that in training sessions, click here to see it. (NLN STP)

As health coaches, trainers, and therapists, it’s our responsibility to use the best information we can to give our clients the best possible outcomes.

The sheer amount of sensory information coming in through the eyes is enough to make it a priority in assessing threats to the human body.

No longer is this information hidden. It is time for the collective of all training practices to understand what your sensory systems do to our health.

Here is how you can start incorporating vision training into your sessions:

1. Reduce Sensory Overload:

If your clients experience overwhelm, anxiety, or fatigue, turn down the input with colored glasses, pinhole glasses, or even just a hat. This can often go a long way to mitigate sensory overload. 🕶️🎩

 Pinhole glasses Video

2. Test and Train Eye Movements:

Incorporate eye movement or fixation training into activities you’re already doing. The big idea is that the eyes need to move in all the ways possible, just like the joints! 🔄👁️

Vision training video. 

You can find a ton of other visual training information here, or check out the Mentorship to dive in deep.

If you want a deeper explanation of this vision topic, we will release more education on the vision topic this week, click here to sign up for that newsletter.