Feb 3, 2023
How we learn to move – The new revolution in the way we practice sports skills – Rob Gray
How you can TRAIN better to MOVE better.
Today on the Brain Booster we are joined by a brilliant guest Rob Gray PhD
He is a professor at Arizona State University who has been conducting research on and teaching courses related to perceptual motor skill learning for over 25 years. He has served as an expert consultant with Nissan Motor Corp, the US Air Force as well as many sports teams and organisations.
In wonderfully insightful conversation we got the chance to discuss:
- Challenging the idea of an ‘ideal model’ as a way to learn sports skills
- Why repetition is not all it is made up to be
- How a Russian physiologist called Nicolai Bernstein changed the way we look at skill development
- Instead of trying to create one ideal solution understand the value of giving yourself PROBLEMS to solve and then allowing the body to figure it out
- Why ‘Drills’ are a very poor way of learning skills and even more importantly why drills do not transform to the playing environment
- The myth of ‘automaticity’ and why humans will never be robots
- Why it is so important to calibrate to what you have TODAY
- How VARIABILITY can transform your ability to acquire the skills you desire
- Exploring solutions to solve problems
- Why your body is not ‘listening’ when you are telling it what to do
- How the idea of having a ‘central command’ from brain to body is flawed
- The likelihood of injury of you keep trying to perform the ‘ideal’ movement
- What is ‘differential learning’ and how you could employ it to improve
- Why kids in Brazil tend to become better footballers
- Creating and designing great learning environments
A really thought provoking session on how we can look at the way we train in a much more efficient way that is grounded in solid scientific research and not just old anecdotes and stories handed down over the years.
To find out more about Rob Gray and his podcast go to
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