Throughout my football career, I learned that performance isn’t just about how hard you train—it’s also about how well you recover.
Whether you're on the pitch, in the boardroom, or building something of your own, the same rule applies: "You can’t pour from an empty cup."
Rest and recovery aren't signs of weakness—they're signs of wisdom. It’s in those moments of pause that your body and mind regenerate, that clarity returns, and that you're able to show up stronger and more focused for what really matters.
We live in a world that often glorifies being “always on.” But I’ve seen firsthand that sustainable success comes from balance. High performers—athletes, leaders, creatives—understand the power of rest as part of their routine, not apart from it. Some periods can be very intense, but managing your work and rest can help you extract the top performance possible. Even if some things may be feel urgent, sometimes you have to create your pause moments, and then attack the task with full focus and energy.
Motivation and intention are such important factors of success, and the right rest can keep your motivation at a high level resulting in better focus, better effort and better success!
Integrated brain training is a real game-changer for ACL rehab.
🤔 In sports, athletes perform in dynamic, unpredictable settings, making split-second decisions while executing complex movements. That's a far cry from the controlled environment of typical rehab sessions.
💡 Rehab focuses on task-oriented exercises and internal feedback, but it might be missing the mark. From recent research it even seems that classic rehabilitation induces as much, if not more, of the neuroplasticity than the injury itself, increasing the risk of re-injury (Grooms, in press).
🏋️♀️ There’s a need for an implicit and dual-task approach in ACL rehab, starting from the early stages.
The video highlights the integration of this approach into ACL rehab.
🔴 SL squat right leg; Pass left; Count -1.
🟢 Step-up right leg; Pass left; Count +1.
🟣 SL RDL right leg; Count -2.
🔵 SL squat left; Header.
🟡 Step-up left leg; Header; Count +2.
🩵 SL RDL left leg.
1️⃣ Neuromuscular deficits and muscle weakness occur at different central nervous system levels (Cortical, subcortical and spinal level) in ACL patients (Tayfur 2020, Bodkin 2019). These deficits in central activation are linked to poor recuperation of quadriceps activation and strength (Criss 2023). These neural deficits not only prevent effective strengthening, but also contribute to secondary injury risk (Capin 2016).
Impaired strength and central nervous system excitability persist for months to years after ACL surgery, suggesting the need for integrated brain training during the early stages of ACL rehab (Kuenze 2015). Traditional concentric exercises cannot overcome the inhibited cortical drive to the muscle and therefore fails to adequately activate muscles and restore neuromuscular control (Lepley 2015).
2️⃣ There's a link between how our brains work and the risk of ACL injuries. Brain activity related to visual, proprioceptive and attentional integration are crucial factors in rehab and prevention of ACL injury (Grooms 2022).
Interestingly, athletes with high-risk landing biomechanics following ACL rehab exhibit a brain activation pattern shifted toward increased visual-proprioceptive and spatial processing to organize movement. However, this heightened reliance on attentional and sensory processing for movement coordination might compromise their ability to effectively maintain neuromuscular control in high-pressure sports situations involving opponents or the ball (common scenarios for ACL injuries) (Villa 2020)
The current task-oriented rehab methods might actually reinforce these less effective brain activation patterns rather than fixing them. It is paramount to design rehab programs that challenge both the body and the brain, simulating the unpredictable situations athletes face during games. By integrating tasks that require perception, quick decision-making and neuromuscular control, we are able to retrain the brain and reduce the risk of injuries (Chaaban 2023, Grooms 2017).
#acl
Founder of Physical Therapy E-Learning/Physical Therapy Journalist 🎤/Medical Copywriter/Experienced for over 10 Years in Physiotherapy /Private Clinic Owner and Manager/Interested In Medical Digital Marketing.
For years, ice baths were the badge of hard work. The photo of an athlete sitting in a barrel of ice looked like proof of discipline. But the science that built that ritual is starting to crumble.
A meta-analysis in Sports Medicine (2024) showed that cold-water immersion does help reduce soreness in the first 24 hours after intense training, yet it also seems to blunt muscle protein synthesis and long-term strength adaptation. Cooling dampens inflammation, but inflammation is part of how muscles learn to rebuild.
In endurance sports, some teams now schedule cold exposure only during congested competition phases where short-term recovery matters more than long-term adaptation. But in hypertrophy or strength blocks, the same method could reduce gains. A 2025 study in the Journal of Applied Physiology found lower mitochondrial and muscle growth responses in athletes who used ice baths after every session compared to those who recovered passively.
There is also an emerging neural story. Cold immersion alters sympathetic tone and dopamine levels. Some athletes describe feeling sharper and calmer afterward, while others experience disrupted sleep and lingering fatigue when exposure is excessive. Recovery, it seems, depends on the individual’s nervous system balance, not just water temperature.
In my own practice, I now use ice baths as a strategic intervention, not a habit. If the athlete is facing back-to-back games or acute soreness that affects movement, cold exposure can provide comfort and function. But during adaptation phases I prefer active recovery, gentle movement, and sleep optimisation instead.
The longer I stay in this field, the more I see recovery as context, not prescription. The goal is not always to feel good quickly. Sometimes recovery means letting the body stay uncomfortable long enough to learn something.
(Sports Medicine 2024, Journal of Applied Physiology 2025)
"𝐖𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐈𝐧 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐞"
Paul O'Connell discusses Joe Schmidt's instructions to players, which is great advice that transcends sport - block out thoughts of the mistake and focus on what you need to do.
The first part involves blocking out thoughts of the score or previous mistakes:
"𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑒, 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑐𝑘-𝑜𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑚𝑎𝑑𝑒, 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑡𝑦 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑔𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑎𝑤𝑎𝑦. 𝐽𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑤𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒"
When people are anxious about a mistake they have made or the score in a match, they can become distracted, which impacts their future performance. One mistake can cause another mistake from a lack of concentration due to worries about a previous mistake. This is why blocking out negative thoughts is important.
🧠 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗛𝘆𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘀
Nideffer (1992) suggested that as anxiety increases in high-pressurised situations, athletes’ attention shifts from task-relevant (e.g. thoughts about how to execute specific tactics) to task-irrelevant thoughts (e.g. worries about team selection in future matches).
Therefore, anxiety acts as a distraction to the athlete, which reduces working memory and task-focused attention. In support of this, Bijleveld and Veling (2014) found that tennis players with a superior working memory were less likely to choke than tennis players with an inferior working memory.
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗖𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴?
I really like O'Connell's instruction to think about the next task, which is a form of approach coping. This involves the athlete confronting the situation and then trying to eliminate it by taking direct action (e.g., focusing on the next action, developing a plan, exerting more effort, etc; Roth & Cohen, 1986). O'Connell said:
"𝑊𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒. 𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐼 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑑𝑜 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑛𝑜𝑤? 𝐼𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢'𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑜𝑝 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑒 𝑜𝑟 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑙𝑑 𝑖𝑠 𝑓𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑎𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢, 𝐼 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑖𝑡'𝑠 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑡𝑜𝑜𝑙𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑝 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑡𝑜𝑜𝑙𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 ℎ𝑖𝑔ℎ 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒."
As alluded to by O'Connell, changing your mindset and how you cope takes time and is something you need to practice, but with time, people can be taught to use more effective coping strategies (see Nicholls, 2007; Reeves et al., 2011).
Olympic Gold Medalist | Professional Skier & Entrepreneur | NYT Bestselling Author | Empowering the Next Generation through The Lindsey Vonn Foundation | Sports Investment & Innovation
As a professional skier, especially during the Olympics, I’ve faced immense mental pressure and stress from high expectations and social media negativity, as outlined in this recent interview with The BBC.
Whilst it may not be going for Olympic Gold, I understand that most people at some point in their career, whatever their goals, will have to cope with immense pressure to perform.
Here are three key tips that have helped me to manage mental pressure and perform at my best:
✅ 1. Focusing on What I Can Control
Concentrating on controllable factors like my day-to-day processes, mental visualization, training, and recovery. If I give my best and control what I can control, the rest I can’t and don’t put much weight into. Having preparatory routines helps to be confident in whatever it is you’re doing.
✅ 2. Developing a Strong Support System
Surrounding myself with positive influences—family, friends, coaches, psychologist and teammates who uplift me. A strong support system provides encouragement and perspective for me during challenging times.
✅ 3. Practicing Self-Care
Incorporating mindful practices into my routine. For some people that's meditation and breathing exercises but for me it’s just putting myself first. I prioritize doing things that make me happy whilst ensuring I am prepared as possible. Sometimes I need ice cream and law & order to reset!
I hope this can help some of you. Wishing everyone facing challenges the strength to overcome and thrive. Let’s support one another and prioritize mental well-being. 💪
For most of football’s history, much of what we watched on the field went unmeasured. Today, nearly every player and ball movement throughout the game is measured, modeled, and analyzed in real time. This data is improving fan experiences and giving them richer sport insights. It's also changing how professionals approach the game—from improving player safety to unlocking new training environments.
The results speak for themselves: a 35% reduction in lower-extremity injuries from the redesigned kickoff format, informed by Next Gen Stats data. Innovations like completion probability and rush yards over expectation that make broadcasts more engaging. And now, pose-tracking technology that captures full skeletal data 60 times per second, is opening doors to VR training that could accelerate player development from years to months.
I'm proud of how we've expanded our partnership with the NFL on Next Gen Stats, powered by AI tools like Amazon SageMaker and Amazon Quick. What started as a tracking experiment in 2015 has become a critical part of the NFL’s infrastructure that uses machine learning models on AWS to process data from 22 players, generating 500-1,000 stats per play, instantly.
What a win for the Hawks last night! If you're still riding the excitement, take a few minutes to read through this deep dive into the science that powers the complex stats you see on screen throughout the season. Cool look at the history of our partnership with the NFL through Next Gen Stats! https://lnkd.in/gX8Mpe7T
Some heavy hitters in this article: 25 Years of Blood Flow Restriction Training: What We Know & What’s Next.
For sports medicine practitioners, performance coaches, and rehab specialists, Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) training has emerged as a relevantly new innovation in rehabilitation, strength development, and recovery. Where does the science stand today?
Key Takeaways from 25 Years of Research:
- Muscle Growth & Strength: Low-load BFR training produces similar hypertrophy to high-load training, making it ideal for injured athletes or those with load restrictions.
- Rehabilitation Benefits: BFR has been successfully used in post-ACL surgery, patellofemoral pain, and tendon rehab, reducing muscle loss & atrophy.
- Vascular & Bone Adaptations: BFR may enhance blood flow and bone health, making it valuable for older athletes and injury recovery.
- Pain Management: BFR reduces pain sensitivity and may serve as a pre-treatment to improve therapy effectiveness.
- Future Research Areas: Sex differences, individual responses, and BFR’s role in high-load resistance training need more investigation. Outside of the article (and interest to me); BFR's role in nutritional intervention post-game has a high potential for impact.
Why It Matters:
BFR training is now practical for the medical room and gym setting with qualified practitioners - it’s being applied across elite sports, rehab settings, and performance training. Understanding how to apply BFR safely and effectively can enhance recovery & performance outcomes.
📚The quadratus lumborum (QL) is a deep trunk muscle that plays a surprisingly important role in how well and how safely you squat. ➡️Understanding its function can help explain issues like uneven depth, low-back discomfort, or feeling “twisted” at the bottom of a squat.
✅️The QL runs from the top of the pelvis (iliac crest) to the 12th rib and lumbar vertebrae.
✅️Its key functions are:
🔸️Lateral flexion of the spine (side-bending)
🔸️Pelvic hiking (lifting one side of the pelvis)
🔸️Stabilizing the lumbar spine and pelvis
🔸️Assisting breathing by fixing the 12th rib
🔸️Importantly, it often works isometrically (holding tension) during loaded movements.
📌Role of the QL in Squatting
✅️During a squat, the QL doesn’t create the movement—but it controls and stabilizes it.
1️⃣Pelvic & Spinal Stability
🔹️As you descend, the QL helps keep the pelvis level and the lumbar spine neutral.
🔹️It works alongside the core, obliques, and erector spinae to prevent side-to-side shifting.
2️⃣Load Symmetry
➡️If one QL is tighter or stronger, it may:
🔹️Pull one side of the pelvis upward.
🔹️Cause a subtle weight shift to one leg.
🔹️Lead to asymmetrical knee tracking or hip depth.
3️⃣Bottom Position Control
➡️At deep squat depth, QL tension increases to resist:
🔹️Lumbar side-bending.
🔹️Pelvic tilt or “hip shift” out of the hole.
📌How QL Dysfunction Shows Up in Squats;
➡️A tight, weak, or overactive QL can cause:
🔸️Hip shift at the bottom of the squat.
🔸️Uneven depth (one hip lower than the other).
🔸️Feeling “stuck” on one side during ascent.
🔸️Localized low-back pain, especially on one side.
🔸️Rib flare or difficulty maintaining bracing.
✅️Often, the QL becomes overactive to compensate for:
🔹️Poor glute medius strength.
🔹️Limited hip internal rotation.
🔹️Weak deep core stabilizers (e.g., transverse abdominis).
📌QL Tightness vs QL Weakness (Important Distinction)
‼️Tight QL.
🔸️Common in lifters who brace excessively or lack hip mobility.
🔸️Limits depth and promotes asymmetry.
‼️Weak/Endurance-Poor QL
🔸️Can’t hold pelvis level under load.
🔸️Leads to shifting or collapsing during reps.
🤔In many cases, the QL is both tight and overworked, not truly strong.
📌Improving QL Function for Better Squats.
⚠️Restore Length (If Tight).
✅️Side-lying QL stretch.
✅️Child’s pose with side bend.
✅️Hanging from a bar (light traction).
⚠️Build Endurance & Control.
✅️Side planks (especially with hip abduction).
✅️Suitcase carries.
✅️Offset goblet squats.
⚠️Address the Root Cause.
✅️Strengthen gluteus medius.
✅️Improve hip internal rotation.
✅️Practice symmetrical bracing and stance control.
📢Key Takeaway.
🫵The quadratus lumborum is a silent stabilizer in squats. When it’s functioning well, you feel balanced, strong, and symmetrical. When it’s not, your squat often tells the story through shifts, discomfort, or uneven loading.
I’ve recently been working with a footballer...we’ve created a philosophy:
“Train carefully, play carefree”
I’ve recently been working with a golfer...we’ve created a maxim:
“Practice like this means everything, compete like this means nothing”
Because so many sports competitors are way too tough on their performance and way too tolerant on their training, when they should be far tougher on their training and far more tolerant on their performance.
Training (or practice if you prefer) is an opportunity for players to engage in meta-cognitive strategies. By this I mean to ‘think about their thinking’ - to reflect on what they’re doing, how they’re doing it, and whether the ‘what’ and the ‘how’ are optimal.
It’s also an opportunity for players to break down their skills around the technical, tactical, mental, and physical components of the game, pick one or two specific areas to improve, and engage with those areas as they train...deliberately and intentionally.
Both meta-cognitive practice and deliberate practice can feel uncomfortable. And, because they both demand that players constantly self-monitor, they both can atrophy performance. They both can feel hard and unpleasant to experience (although they both may be associated with a flow state).
There’s no question that training should provide players with a range of inner experiences, but if we want our players to push through glass ceilings, if we want them to continue to learn and grow their game, then we need to help them visit that ‘zone of ugly’ - not always, but often.
Conversely, players can tend to put far too much pressure on themselves come game day. Having been involved in high performance sport for 25 years, I honestly believe players and coaches are socialised into extreme language around performance. “I must perform” and “We have-to win” are positions adopted by coaches and players, often to the detriment of their game rather than to their advantage.
In my consultancy work, and from talking with other sport psychologists who work with elite level sports competitors, I’ve found a robust approach to competition many players would do well to take is one of indifference to outcome and performance.
Most competitors would do well to trust their ability, trust their training, and focus on executing a well-defined process to give themselves their best chance to have their best possible performance. Somewhat paradoxically, competitors may be better served accepting that the more they try to force performance the worse they may make it. The more they stress about their
performance the worse they may make it.
“All I can do is strive to execute my process to the very best of my ability. This will help me have my best possible performance. I trust my ability, I trust my training, and I trust my process. My best possible performance is all I can ask from myself”
In summary...
Tough on training, tolerant on performance. This approach may be the most adaptive one you can take