The effects of stress on performance for both athletes and coaches.

1. The Missing Link Stress and Its Effects on Performance Presented to you by: Baylor Athletic Performance

2. Stress “What’s the big deal?”

3. Why Stress Matters Impacts Everything! Short Term Performance Long Term Health

4. Why Stress Matters It is our job to systematically apply stress to our athletes.

5. Why Stress Matters “No one can live without experiencing some degree of stress all the time. You may think that only serious disease or intensive physical or mental injury can cause stress. This is false. Crossing a busy intersection, exposure to a draft, or even sheer joy are enough to activate the body’s stress mechanism to some extent. Stress is not even necessarily bad for you; it is also the spice of life, for any emotion, any activity causes stress. But, of course, your system must be prepared to take it. The same stress that makes one person sick can be an invigorating experience for another.” –Hans Selye

6. The physical, mental, or emotional strain or tension which leads to a specific response by the body, that disturbs or interferes with the normal physiological balance of an organism. This is more than simply being “stressed out” – The stress response is being carried out in some way, shape or form almost all the time. Key Point:We identify stress not by the event, but by the body’s response A Definition of Stress

7. Stressful Events

8. Stressful Events

9. Stressful Events

10. What Makes Us Define An Event As Stressful

11. Stressful Events?

13. General Adaptation Syndrome Alarm What is the alarm? Stress Response

14. Stress Response

16. What happens when it goes off?

20. Forest Fire

22. Sympathetic = Fight or Flight (Gas Pedal) Parasympathetic = Accumulation & Preservation (Brake) Stress response is a sympathetic response that is classically characterized by hypothalamic/pituitary/adrenal activation and hormone release Sympathetic vs. Parasympathetic

24. Divert blood flow away from internal organs to muscles

25. Mobilize energy stores for use at the muscle

26. Inhibit digestive and waste formation processes

27. Energy diverted from immune functions

28. All long term functioning and preservation is put on hold to overcome the immediate threat

30. Parasympathetic Response Basically the opposite of previously listed. This is where the body repairs Greater blood flow to the digestive system & surrounding organs Replenish and build energy stores Restore immune function This branch needs to take over as soon as the obstacle is overcome Sympathetic vs. Parasympathetic

32. When this system does not come back on in a timely manner the athlete:

33. Becomes more susceptible to injury

34. Breaks down muscle and stores more fat

35. Loses lean muscle mass (bad if you want to gain weight!)

37. Sympathetic vs. Parasympathetic *Remember: When we talk stress – we are talking about the generic sympathetic response. We are interested in the cumulative affect that these “stressors” have on Autonomic Balance.

39. Emotional stressors

40. Lack of sleep

41. Poor diet

44. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

45. Environmental and Food Sensitivities and Allergies

47. Weakened Immune System

48. Infertility

50. Stress & Performance Arousal/Performance Curve

51. Stress & Performance A Different View…

52. What We Do At Baylor Attempt to recognize patterns that lead to over activity in either direction Use specific measurements to prove or disprove our generalizations Use specific measurements to identify autonomic imbalance in individuals as needed Make adjustments as necessary

53. When are we sympathetically overreached? Incoming athletes During Mid-terms in Winter program During Finals Patterns We See

54. Where are we parasympathetically overreached? Camp Patterns We See

55. OmegaWave Other Testing Methods Autonomic Nervous System Heart Rate Blood Pressure Central Nervous System Vertical Jump Test Reaction Time Test (Ruler Drop) Finger Tap Test Measurements We Use to Examine Trends

58. Non-Training Adjustments When Sympathetically Imbalanced When: Start of Year, Mid-Terms during Winter training, Final Exams Coaching strategies Speak calmly Give athlete the information they need and move on Environmental strategies Turn down music Turn off lights Scheduling strategies Smaller/more training groups Choice lifting times Rotate coaches

59. Adjustments From OMW Results – Parasympathetically Imbalanced When: Pre-Season Camp Parasympathetically overreached/over trained Training Adjustments Reduce training volume Increase intensive elements (heavy loads, high speeds) Avoid monotony and introduce variety Be slow to return to highest training loads and activity levels Nutritional Adjustments Consume acidic foods (Cheese, Meat, Eggs, Carbs) Increase consumption of Vitamins B and C Permit stimulant usage (coffee, tea, caffeine) Recovery Modalities Contrast hot/cold showers Vigorous Deep-Tissue massage Contrast sauna/cold shower

61. Excited, high-energy coaching

62. Environmental strategies

63. Preferred music choice

64. New/modified exercises

65. Scheduling strategies

66. Team lifts or big groups

68. Stress & the Coach

69. Ways to eliminate things that cause emotional stressors Ways to counteract the physiological response Stress & the Coach

70. Possible Coach Stressors: -lack of available funding to provide best possible service to athletes -inadequate space/equipment for roster size -size of staff -pleasing sport coach -constant need to provide protection and safety -external factors that affect the athlete Eliminating Emotional Stress for the Coach

71. Plan, manage and remedy the situation Emphasize fun, utilize assistants, Plan B Focus on problems you can control instead of ones you cannot Educate your athletes Schedule groups in a manner that allows you to be an effective coach Eliminating Emotional Stressors for the Coach

72. Alter structure of strength staff Delegate “departments” to assistant coaches Olympic Sports Quality Control Nutrition Finance IT/Technology Education Facility Eliminating Emotional Stressors for the Coach

73. Take care of spouse and family so they can take care of you Encourage staff to get away and develop interests outside of coaching Maintain your conditioning Allow time for adequate nutrition Counteracting the Physiological Response to Stressors

74. Special Thanks Baylor Athletic Performance Staff Members -Kaz Kazadi -Caleb Berg -Chris Ruf -Ryder Weischedel -Andy Althoff -Keith Belton -Jeremy Weeks Science of Sports Training - Thomas Kurz Landon Evans Bryan Mann