Video Game Training
By Lloyd Ramsay
Obviously you cannot sit on the couch all day playing Grand Theft Auto and expect to drop the hammer on the Sunday race field. However in moderation video games and similarly based memory/reflex aids could improve your race day reaction times. A study done at the University of Rochester by C. Shawn Green and Daphne Bavelier in early 2003 took 2 groups of people (Video Game Players and Non Video Game Players) and tested the effects of Action games on them. The study is nothing new and around the time made the headlines with a spin that playing video games will make you superhuman although the research does not reflect that. Their findings were published in this PDF which is difficult to read unless you are a Scientist so I have broke the article down and put it into words we can all understand.
To summarize, Green and Bavlier found that video game players could visually process much better than non-video game players as well as isolate individual objects they have not seen before quicker. Does this not sound like something we do when in 5th gear headed toward a jump or a tight forest section? The study was conducted using the game Medal Of Honor which is a FPS (First Person Shooter). As with all FPS'ers there are many moving objects to process while playing forcing you to exercise your visual bandwidth. This meaning that the video game player can process what they see coming at them faster. The study contends that a game like Tetris would not help since it focuses on 1 object at a time. Tetris focuses on one subject while a FPS Medal Of Honor focuses on several objects thus making the FPS ideal for this type of exercise.
If you don't know much about video games here are some FPS titles that could be used to try this type of training: Gears Of War, Call Of Duty, Halo, Far Cry, and Resistance Fall Of Man.
I asked Eamonn Mahon, a trainer who utilizes video games in his training what his thoughts were. "I have been using computer games and hand eye co-ordination games in my personal training for over 6 years and have recently begun implementing them into my athletes training programmes with very positive results." says Eammon. He continues: "Computer games which require you to focus on the object you are chasing while also requiring you to utilize your peripheral vision and take immediate and accurate action to your situation. This enables you to train yourself to not only focus on where you are going (Directly in front of you) but also what is going on around you and to make the correct decisions without wasting time thinking what you need to do and then still send that signal to your body.
The problem with many athletes at the moment is they focus 100% on training their bodies to be finely tuned instruments but with all the training in the world you can still lose time if you process situations slowly and react slowly-let alone make the wrong decision. I am a firm
believer that if you want to be at the top of your game you need to not only be fit and have a lot of practice behind you but you need your entire body and mind to be in tune with each other. No matter how fit or how strong a rider you are if you enter a corner or section on the track and do not know what is going on around you, you are going to be very surprised when another rider goes flying by or chooses a better line than you. You need to train your mind to assess situations, process the information and take immediate and corrective action. If you can assess situations faster and make your decisions before it is too late, you will find that you are a lot calmer on track and instead of being reactive you are proactive in your riding."
Eamonn carries on to confirm that in his experience the best games to use are the FPS type because it requires quick visual processing. He also points out that this method should be incorporated into training and not solely relied upon.
Incorporating video games into your training from another perspective, is the Nintendo Wii Fit. A very basic game that makes use of their Balance Board to give feedback as well as their Nunchuk controller. The Wii Fit works from a completely different training point of view than what has been discussed above and focuses on balance, posture, strength and flexibility. A fad for the most part but the game has a lot of value for its balance exercises/games as well as the Yoga exercises. The intensity of the strength and cardio exercises/games is simply not sufficient to get you into 30-minute moto shape.
Since balance helps us with bike skills and Yoga with core strength, flexibility and injury prevention the Wii can be useful. The balance games vary from getting your character to balance along a tight rope to launching a skier off a ramp using your legs to boost. There are quite a few Yoga exercises to chose from and the instructions the Wii Fit gives you are very clear.
So to summarize; in moderation playing certain types of video games might help you out on race day and a Wii Fit has its advantages as well.
References: Eammon Mahon/jdmarketing(at)mweb.co.za
Action Video Game Modifies Visual Selective Attention paper written by C. Shawn Green and Daphne Bavelier
That's it for now. Until next time, good luck with your training and remember, VT can always be found on the Virtual Trainer Expert Forum . In addition, be sure and check out the Racer X Virtual Trainer archive section . Your complete one-stop information zone for motocross fitness.
By Lloyd Ramsay
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Forty-three percent of all game players are women. In fact, women over the age of 18 represent a greater portion of the game-playing population (28 percent) than boys from ages 6 to 17 (21 percent). - Google
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To summarize, Green and Bavlier found that video game players could visually process much better than non-video game players as well as isolate individual objects they have not seen before quicker. Does this not sound like something we do when in 5th gear headed toward a jump or a tight forest section? The study was conducted using the game Medal Of Honor which is a FPS (First Person Shooter). As with all FPS'ers there are many moving objects to process while playing forcing you to exercise your visual bandwidth. This meaning that the video game player can process what they see coming at them faster. The study contends that a game like Tetris would not help since it focuses on 1 object at a time. Tetris focuses on one subject while a FPS Medal Of Honor focuses on several objects thus making the FPS ideal for this type of exercise.
If you don't know much about video games here are some FPS titles that could be used to try this type of training: Gears Of War, Call Of Duty, Halo, Far Cry, and Resistance Fall Of Man.
I asked Eamonn Mahon, a trainer who utilizes video games in his training what his thoughts were. "I have been using computer games and hand eye co-ordination games in my personal training for over 6 years and have recently begun implementing them into my athletes training programmes with very positive results." says Eammon. He continues: "Computer games which require you to focus on the object you are chasing while also requiring you to utilize your peripheral vision and take immediate and accurate action to your situation. This enables you to train yourself to not only focus on where you are going (Directly in front of you) but also what is going on around you and to make the correct decisions without wasting time thinking what you need to do and then still send that signal to your body.
The problem with many athletes at the moment is they focus 100% on training their bodies to be finely tuned instruments but with all the training in the world you can still lose time if you process situations slowly and react slowly-let alone make the wrong decision. I am a firm
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Not all games register the same response. Single-focus games like Tetris are no match for multi-focus games like Medal of Honor.
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Eamonn carries on to confirm that in his experience the best games to use are the FPS type because it requires quick visual processing. He also points out that this method should be incorporated into training and not solely relied upon.
Incorporating video games into your training from another perspective, is the Nintendo Wii Fit. A very basic game that makes use of their Balance Board to give feedback as well as their Nunchuk controller. The Wii Fit works from a completely different training point of view than what has been discussed above and focuses on balance, posture, strength and flexibility. A fad for the most part but the game has a lot of value for its balance exercises/games as well as the Yoga exercises. The intensity of the strength and cardio exercises/games is simply not sufficient to get you into 30-minute moto shape.
Since balance helps us with bike skills and Yoga with core strength, flexibility and injury prevention the Wii can be useful. The balance games vary from getting your character to balance along a tight rope to launching a skier off a ramp using your legs to boost. There are quite a few Yoga exercises to chose from and the instructions the Wii Fit gives you are very clear.
So to summarize; in moderation playing certain types of video games might help you out on race day and a Wii Fit has its advantages as well.
References: Eammon Mahon/jdmarketing(at)mweb.co.za
Action Video Game Modifies Visual Selective Attention paper written by C. Shawn Green and Daphne Bavelier
That's it for now. Until next time, good luck with your training and remember, VT can always be found on the Virtual Trainer Expert Forum . In addition, be sure and check out the Racer X Virtual Trainer archive section . Your complete one-stop information zone for motocross fitness.
