Reflexive Performance Reset (RPR)
I met Douglas Heel of South Africa on October 18th, 2014. The “Be Activated” workshop hosted by Chris Korfist was unlike anything I’d ever witnessed. I learned things that sent me down a rabbit hole of discovery that continues to this day.
Douglas Heel is a kinesiologist (I had never heard of a “kinesiologist”). I described him as part Tony Robbins and part Eckhart Tolle. Douglas taught us how to gain proper sequencing and recruitment patterns in movement, activating muscles that were deactivated. The process included pressing on neuro-lymphatic, acupressure, and reflexive points combined with belly breathing. The results: 1) improved performance, 2) improved durability, and 3) getting into a mental and physical “state of performance”. Where had Douglas Heel been all my life?
Proper sequencing begins with belly breathing and activation of zone one (diaphragm, psoas, and glutes). After zone one, you proceed to activate zone two (trunk and thighs), then zone three (arms and lower legs). Proper sequencing leads to improved movement and fewer injuries, but my favorite part of activation was getting athletes into “The Zone”.
As a coach’s son, I was alway taught that coaches provided pre-game motivation to get their team fired up, to get the adrenaline flowing. In 2014, I had coached 32 years and been a coach’s son for 55 years. I was certain that adrenaline was the key to high performance. I was wrong. “When you become comfortable with uncertainty, infinite possibilities open up in your life.” ~Eckhart Tolle
The autonomic nervous system consists of two parts, the sympathetic and parasympathetic. The sympathetic nervous system activates the fight or flight response during a threat or perceived danger, and the parasympathetic nervous system restores the body to a state of calm. On October 18, 2014, I learned that fight or flight was missing the third f-word… freeze. The sympathetic nervous system is triggered by a state of fear and FEAR IS NOT A STATE OF HIGH PERFORMANCE. From Douglas Heel: “Stress is not a state of performance, stress is a state of survival.” The parasympathetic state is the opposite of a state of fear… it’s a state of quiet, uncluttered confidence. Instead of jittery excitement coming from pregame locker room hysteria, we should be getting into “The Zone”, also known as the parasympathetic state. Be Activated provided the tools.
One of the biggest fans of Be Activated was Dr. Tom Nelson, the team doctor for Nazareth Academy. Nazareth’s football team was the first team in the United States to totally embrace Be Activated. When asked about the importance of Be Activated, Nazareth’s Coach, Tim Racki, told me, “It’s a difference-maker”.
Let’s get one thing straight right now, “Be-Activated” is not MAT (Muscle Activation Techniques). MAT has been made famous by Greg Roskopf and his famous client, Peyton Manning. In addition, “Be-Activated” is not ART (Active Release Technique). Unlike MAT and ART, there was no business model for “Be-Activated”.
I spent a couple weeks attending Nazareth’s practices and playoff games in November of 2014. In the IHSA State Championship game, only one player on Nazareth’s roster of 53 was injured and unable to play. Prior to activation, the entire Nazareth football program averaged 73 injuries per year (four year period). Injuries are defined as something causing a player to miss at least one practice or one game. A season-ending injury is considered one injury. One missed practice is considered one injury. After embracing activation, injuries were reduced by 45% (three year period). In 2008, Nazareth sustained 87 injuries, in 2014’s extended season, only 31. The number of combined fractures and surgeries were reduced from 9.0 per year to 1.5 per year.
The green bars indicate injury stats after activation had been implemented in 2012. The lighter-colored companion bars indicate the combined number of concussions, fractures, and/or surgeries per year.
At Nazareth, I witnessed a commitment to activation equal to the commitment to win games. I know this seems bizarre, and it is. Imagine this… it’s halftime and Nazareth’s players take their seats. Fire and brimstone? Missed assignments? Defensive adjustments? None of the above. Dr. Nelson led the team in breathing. “Relaxation will allow us to play faster with more awareness.” ~Coach Tim Racki
Dr. Tom Nelson is shown leading Nazareth in belly breathing at halftime. Stress is a state of survival, not a state of performance.
Fast forward to 2016. Be Activated transitioned to “Reflexive Performance Reset”, RPR. Speed guru Chris Korfist, S&C rock star Cal Dietz, and world-class powerlifter J.L Holdsworth have delivered RPR to the performance world. Better yet, athletes can now “reset” themselves. There’s no need to go to a certified practitioner. Belly breathe, hit the pressure points in the correct sequence, and you are ready to roll.
I began taking my massage table to track meets in 2015. For eight seasons now, RPR has been a part of what we do. In the past eight seasons we’ve been remarkably healthy, the best eight year stretch in my 41-year career. This year, I had 42 sprinters and all 42 were healthy and performing at a high level at the end of our 19-week season. Even more important, in the past eight years, my 4×1 teams own the second fastest average yearly-best 4×1 time in the state of Illinois. Ironically, the #1 fastest team in Illinois, Homewood Flossmoor, is also an RPR school. Chris Korfist is their sprint coach. If you see a turtle sitting on a fence post, it didn’t get there by accident.
Brad Dixon’s football teams (Camp Point Central, IL) have gone 34-8 since adopting RPR. “We’ve reduced our soft tissue injuries and concussions. When we played in the IHSA State Championship game in 2018 we dressed our entire roster, all healthy. We’ve only had only two concussions at the varsity level since implementing RPR in 2018.
Brad Dixon further explains, “The body doesn’t differentiate stress. To deal with stress, people develop compensation patterns in how they move. RPR resets the neuromuscular system and returns the body to the proper recruitment patterns for hip flexion and extension. This allows athletes to move more efficiently and run faster.”
Garrett Mueller’s football teams (Stewartville, MN) have celebrated two undefeated regular seasons since adopting RPR in 2019. “RPR has been a game changer for us when it comes to keeping kids healthy and available to compete on Friday nights. We’ve only had one player miss a game due to a soft tissue injury in those three years. We’ve only had only two concussions. Because our neuromuscular system is firing properly, we rarely cramp and are faster than our opponents in the 4th quarter.”
If football coaches want to learn more about RPR, go to reflexiveperformance.com. Use the code TFC2210 to get 20% off all RPR courses (expires July 31st). The newest course offers an essentialist approach, teaching beginners to use RPR right away (only $95).
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This article was written for HEADSETS, Volume 2, Issue 6 (final issue of 2022), the online football magazine produced by Kenny Simpson.
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Brad Dixon:
♦ They Just Want the Damn Recipe
♦ Run The Power Podcast with Brad Dixon
Garrett Mueller:
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Bio: Tony Holler
♦ A coach’s son for 63 years
♦ 41 years of coaching (football, basketball, track)
♦ 38 years of teaching (Chemistry)
♦ Writer (approaching 300 articles) – book coming in 2023
♦ Co-Owner of Track Football Consortium (along with Chris Korfist)
♦ #1 Best-Selling DVD 2019 and 2020 – Championship Productions
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♦ Two sons coaching (Alec and Quinn)
♦ Owner of “Feed the Cats”
♦ @pntrack
♦ tony.holler@yahoo.com
♦ 630-849-8294
