Justin, who takes tennis lessons every week, recently started practicing her serve. However, she complains that during the past few weeks, the coach made her practice tossing the ball for a straight hour without any actual serving.
The coach repeatedly warns her, saying, "Stop the dinosaur arm already! Your arm is too contracted, and the ball isn't going up!" It seems the coach is likening the appearance of her shortened arm during the toss to the short arms of the Toronto Raptors' mascot dinosaur.
Justin's perspective is, "I know my arm is contracted, but no matter how many times I practice, I can't seem to straighten it." She remains frustrated.
The crux of the issue is that the "Raptors Arm" problem arises from tight muscles hindering the tossing motion, preventing Justin from executing the coach's instructions. Despite understanding the concept and attempting to follow the coach's advice, her body doesn't cooperate.
Upon hearing this, I intervened by loosening the shoulder muscles impeding the tossing motion. Immediately, the problem movement improved, leading to a successful tennis lesson the next day. Despite the breakthrough, there's still a lingering mismatch in understanding between Justin and her coach.
A similar scenario occurs in the dance world when a dancer, despite trying to raise both legs evenly, receives constant criticism for lifting one leg. Compensating by forcefully bending the knee to meet the teacher's instructions eventually leads to knee pain.
The common problem in these cases is the misinterpretation of the underlying issue. Coaches and athletes often fail to recognize that joint mobility issues, such as difficulty with tossing or leg elevation, might stem from the body's inability to move correctly.
To address such situations, athletes should consider:
- Checking if their body is moving correctly.
- Understanding their fatigue patterns.
- Recognizing that "no pain, no gain" is not a suitable mantra.
Frequent misconceptions to avoid include:
- Believing that practice alone guarantees improvement.
- Assuming that effort always yields rewards.
- Thinking stretching automatically leads to increased flexibility.
The TAD (Targeted Approach for Development) method suggests:
- Identifying different types of pain and addressing them accordingly.
- Understanding muscle structure, fascia, and tendons.
- Recognizing that chronic fatigue often accumulates in tendons.
Ultimately, the key is to have a precise understanding of the body's movements, avoiding the trap of generic training methods.