point of difference

After watching a few of the races from the recent World Cups and currently the Tour de France. It is interesting to consider performances and athletes in relation to how has a point of difference. The graphic above caught my attention a while back and I love how it represents branding but it could as easily relate to athlete development and performance creation.

The recent races in rowing and cycling sparked many memories within me and as I reflected I found I kept coming back to this graphic. Those who thrive under pressure have a point of difference. Something unique, it intangible I guess but we can see it so clearly when compared to others around them seem to be struggling, grappling, and straining to hang in there verses those who appear to have found, or understand more, or simply have strategies, resources and the will to be different.

Development involves refining to some degree, but when it goes to far the question need to be asked, 'What is left?'

Just some thoughts, random really, but I love the image I believe the best performers and performances have something extra, a point of difference.

Hype

New Bike Shop

We have opened our second store, Podium Bike Hub 342 Clarendon St,
South Melbourne.

What's on the RADAR

What's up?? Well, heaps so I will share and attempt to make sense or connection between what I am experiencing, seeing and exploring.

Stages of performance have been something I have considered a lot lately. The poster below I thought was a great simple reminder of these stages. It ain't perfect but works for me. The concept I have played around with includes three perspective like the image below. On top pre-challenge, in it and on top post challenge. Having looked at CRISIS experiences that have related to my own and others I have observed it is fascinating to think about how our mind set, emotions and the manifestation play out physically. The below image came from a blog site by Tom Fishburne, but I can't find who he referred to who created this image.



Stage of grief can be considered along with change models. To bring this back to my rowing. I share preparation, connection and release. It seems to me the simple cycle of what we do in the boat. Actually I can't think of a sport that doesn't uses this cycle. A golfer at the level of hitting a ball, but also at the level of a round, and and event and even a season. Prep, connect, release underlines surfing too. Paddling out in preparation for a wave. The scanning, moving, shifting, motion that set's us up to pivot and surge into the wall of water. The connection comes as the energy on the wave and surfer meet and begin to realise the possibility. The possiblity of unity. Connection is expressed through wave and rider engaging in a dance, a play, a moment. The release comes when the one becomes two again and the surge subsides and fall's away to leave the lingering sense of wonder. Wonder for what has been, for what has come, for what was, and wonder for what will be. What will be is future orientated and surfer like golfer, like rower anticipate the effect, the result or the connection. As I said this simple cycle appears to to me to relate to every activity I can think of. The image above I like because if you overlay it prep and stay calm, connection now this is the freak out but in the moment one of a few things occur. Freak out is one, thrive is another. Freeze is there as a possibility so how we see the connection and how we react, live with or anticipate is another thing. Release and get excited I like because no matter what happens we have the power and capacity to see and respond to our experiences in a way that best serves us and those around us. Unfortunately habit and conditioning can rule and being unconscious of how we judge or experiences and the impact of these judgments is dramatic. Worth considering, I know during the initial phase of getting my back injury in Beijing it was critical for me to stay positive and excited which for two days I struggled with until I woke up to the fact that I was creating the nightmare through my judgment of how bad it was to be having it happen at the games. Getting excited and looking forward to the next moments of connection being each race and in each race, each stroke was so basic, simple and fundamental to performing the best I could and to combining with Duncan.

Having worked with many clients recently where it seems just by simply reminding them of what matters most and them learning to keep it at the surface of awareness can have a huge impact on performance. It is like self talk for athletes, reminders and motto's which hold meaning. Even reading through them or considering them can keep things on track. The article below has another perspective on this and points to research. The book, Predictably Irrational I read during the build up to Beijing and found it to be a great prompter and support for our own mind set.

Call the Mission - article page

The institutional approach to selecting people, athletes, idea's etc is concerning I think. If the above article points to a way of harnessing great possibilities in people then the Cartoon below by Tom Fishburne shows us when it is taken to far to the level of squeezing out, cutting down and marginalising people and things to such a degree as to drain the life of out it and us.

Point of Difference - Tom Fishburne

Sport is heading down a dangerous path. Cloning is occurring at a great rate. The most obvious thing I can think of is selection. The easiest thing to see is the first and often the last thing we look for. It can mean we become focused on the obvious, the most visible and to be frank the lazy and easy things. This may not make sense, but copying something means your a copy. Reducing something or someone down is a reduction. Starving people and idea's of their uniqueness creates poverty. Wanting things to be the same becomes dull because eventually the controlling aspect play's out the only way it can. It all becomes average. We become average and our idea's become average.

I have jumped around here, but the various stages of performance combined with clear reminders of what matters most, but not all the matters is critical and maintaining our unique shape and the boldness of our imagination is essential for a rich life.

This has been about showing and sharing some of the thing that have been on my RADAR and making some connection and linkages.

Been busy...

This is a brief update...

Life as been hectic and much of the time I have been balancing my
energy between the various things involved.

Balance is an unusual aspect. Hot and cold, calm and emotional,
thinking and feeling, action and reflection, and the list goes on.
Family time is interesting with two kids wanting and need attention
and interation. It's fun and intense. Work is a balance between the
expectations and needs of a client and my own. Energy out and energy
in is like playing some game. Give some and take some. The influences
are extraordinary both inside and out.

Today I am working with a group around the theme of going to the next
level. This to is a balance between many factors and forces.
Practicalities and imaginings...

Things have been busy but it's great to be fuelled and feeling like I
am making a difference.

Rowers Riding: Why?

There are some great stories of rowers crossing over to riding. This is less about why some rowers might make good cyclists and more about the benefits for rowers that can be gained from riding.

Over the last two months I have done a heap of reading about cycling to learn more about how cyclist improve, race, train and stay up right in the rain. A least for a rower the greatest danger we face is catching a crab, being belted by your partner(on the water not at home), having your coach throw a megaphone at you, running head on into another crew(danger of going backwards and add to this hitting bridges), and injuring your self while cross training(weights, cycling etc). Cycling does have a risk for the uncoordnated and often unaware rower, but I believe the upside far out weighs those risks.

What I love about cycling is the match between physiology and performance on the road. I understand the various elements relating to racing and the variables, but I love the transfer of power for example and body weight to performance outcomes. Rowing is far less clear which is why I think part of rowing suffers from the art form, the lack of clarity and the mystery of how and why a boat, a crew and performances can be fickle at times.

If an athlete or crew were 10-15% better then their rivals then it would be understandable to expect they could race in and out of form and succeed a high percentage of the time, say 95-100%. Redgrave was one such athlete and when you have a small combination like a pair or four the variables of others can be controlled and contained. From my understanding the Redgrave and co where determined to be physically so far ahead of the game that the art form or mystery was eliminated. That is not to say they didn't have focus on skill or movement, but rather I feel that their primary focus was on physiology superiority. This was a focus they could control more and one that the pushed to the limits. Reports of physical outputs were always flying around the rumor mill and the physical capacities of VO2 max etc where widely discussed and believed to be true. The connection I make here to cycling is that with everything I have recently reading about the physiology of cyclists. The power, watts per kilo, VO2 max and lactate threshold all points to what some in rowing have done like Redgrave.

Rowing can benefit from cycling from the training application and capacity development to the measurement and correlation of physiology to performance. Reading about Armstrong and lactate Threshold does not surprise me as we have understood and used this LT training with great effect. The difference is quantifying it to our on water performance. Redgrave and Pinsent with their coach were masters at this and their ability to be superior to most in the sport physically meant years of dominance. They neutralised the art and mystery.

Not many in the sport have had that capacity or do they? This is important to ask, because the assumption is based on a notion of, set or pre-determined physiology. Body size, shape and physiology testing indicate potential. What if we are missing something? What I feel has made a significant difference to my improvement over the last 8 years has been cycling. Cycling stimulates something, a capacity that others may have more naturally. The question could be asked then that if it can help one then it could help everyone. This may or may not be accurate. To me it is at least individual and need to be tested. If nothing else a change as they say is as good as a holiday. Riding for a rower is like a holiday, not a picnic, but an experience that can extend and expand what is possible.

Lets compare a few rough/approx results on athletes:

Cycling - Armstrong VO2 Max 85 mil/kg (6liters plus @ 72/74kg)
Rowing - Pinsent VO2 Max 68 mil/kg (7.5liters @ 110kg)

We know body weight play's a role in rowing, but how much of a role? It is certainly calculated in cycling as a key ingredient to perform, particularly with climbing.

Watts and Watts per kilo seem common place now in cycling through testing and measurement tools on bikes. Rowing has this but is so far behind due to cost and limited size of commercial market for tools.

The thought of rowers riding and the benefits is something I feel is obvious, but I have had experiences that make the connection between training and performance. I am grateful for cycling and am enjoying exploring how far I can take improvements.