[Re-Post from 2022]
Skill acquisition in sports takes time, deliberate practice, and guided instruction. However, the nuance in this rigorous process is often overlooked. It is important to train hard and smart. Each athlete battles to learn the balance that must take place for optimal growth and development. On one hand, we might be tempted to work on a task non-stop, repeating certain movements and skills over and over until we get them right. On the other hand, we might be tempted to work less hard and wait until the skill comes more naturally. We know that practice must be present with intentionality and consistency, but rest is also an important part of the picture. The balance between these two extremes is where we learn the best.
Practice and Working Memory
Our development of new skills is a complex journey that we do not fully understand. Our bodies and brains work together in this process of learning and development through deeply integrated ways. When we experience movements, events, situations, etc., then our minds actively work on these experiences through our working memory. Our brains recall these moments in a flash of memory to engage with these experiences. This engagement provides opportunities to reflect, correct, and direct this process of learning in our brains. This allows for a more intentional connection to the process of skill acquisition and can foster greater growth if employed correctly.
Deliberate Practice, Our Brains, and Muscle Memory
Newer research and explorations give greater insight into how our brains respond to practice. Particularly in the process of building muscle memory with a new skill or movement. It has been known that our experiences are actively encoded into our brains. This is part of the process of memory formation, and an essential step for learning anything, especially sport skills. So, how can we manipulate our experiences and practice to best encode them in our brain? How can we train smarter?
Our brains respond best to practice when there are short intervals of rest in between repetitions. Especially when we are engaging with things that are new. This novel stimulation needs time and space to be digested by our bodies and brains. This is part of the process of deliberate practice.
Prioritizing the In-Between Space
After our experiences, practice sessions, and repetitions, our brains bring to mind a mental rehearsal flashback of what occurred seconds before. It is important to engage with this mental review of our experiences before mindlessly repeating patterns over and over again. Taking proper rest in between practice sessions helps the new information to sink into our brains. If we keep our bodies on autopilot and do not stop to deliberately engage with our practice, then we will encode less of our experiences.
Research has found that people who take rests between practice sessions and actively engage with these mental rehearsals end up improving their performance. This improvement occurs after rest periods, not during the practice session. This shows how the brain does a lot of its work when we are not practicing. This rest allows learning and development to take place. This encoding in the brain is what allows for muscle memory to become established and grow in our bodies.
How Practice Changes Our Brains
Our experiences become encoded in our brain. But, the quality and efficiency of this process depends heavily on the type of practice and rest. Deliberate practice that focuses on the quality of each practice session as well as the timely, active, and reflective rest periods help to optimize growth. This shows the balance between mere busyness and laziness. Neither of these extremes can create optimal pathways in our brains with the depth and strength needed for high performance.
The pathways in our brains are like dirt roads. When travelers trample down these pathways, the road forms a deeper groove as the dirt is compacted and made stronger. The connection between one location and the other is more apparent.
If the pathway is too trodden by non-stop travelers, then the busyness might not be best for the dirt road. The dirt might get stripped by the foot traffic and become dry, hardened, and cracked. On the other hand, if very few travelers came down the path then the road would not be distinct. Travelers could get lost and make a wrong turn because the path was not clear. But, if the road was heavily trafficked by travelers and there were periods for the road to recover between traffic sessions, then this would prove the best for the pathway. The route becomes grooved over time but also expands by connecting more places and people. This would prove an efficient and durable connection.
This is one, simplified way to think about the pathways in our brains. These connections are what is encoded and built as we learn new skills and movements. Theoretically, the more this connection is activated then the stronger it will become. However, the quality of its activation and construction is important. This is why deliberate practice with rest periods and active reflection is necessary for quality encoding in the brain. This allows these connections to expand throughout our brains and become enriched through balanced periods of work and rest. Quality practice creates deep pathways with strong connections so the memory and skill is deeply ingrained in our brains and bodies.
Practice & Our Brains Teach Us About Life
The deliberate process of quality practice and the response that occurs in our brains can point us to the importance of real development in our lives. In life we strive for the balance between extremes. Mere busyness feels productive and fulfilling but typically leaves us with a lack of real connection or depth in our relationships. Mere laziness entraps us in a place of complacency and waiting for things to get better. Our development as people occurs in this balance. We must be able to enter into the process of experiencing life in its active movements and patterns, but also reflectively engage with this process instead of mindlessly jumping from one activity to the next. These periods of active participation and intentional rest help us to learn and develop like our brain with strong connections and deep pathways.
