Understanding Ability, Complexity, and Perception
by Rodney Corn
Performance is commonly defined as the result, or the outcome, of our actions. It’s the ‘how far’, ‘how high’, ‘how fast’, ‘how much’ of what we do. It is usually thought of as a physical event or accomplishment, but it is much more than that!
Performance is the product of a cycle comprised of three interdependent concepts – Ability, Complexity, and Perception. Each of these concepts consists of physical, mental, and emotional aspects. The relationship and interaction between these three concepts provide you guidance and direction, which is key to consistently achieving optimal performance on a daily basis.
Ability
Everything starts with and extends from ability! So being aware of your ability is crucial for success. Ability, like performance, can be enhanced. Knowing your ability means you know what you are physically, mentally, and emotionally able to do at this point and time in your life – on an overall level (general ability) as well as on each individual day (daily ability). Ability sets the stage for how much complexity (physical, mental, and emotional challenge, or training load) can/should be used, which ultimately determines your perception.
General Ability
Physically, general ability refers to your physical structure and function.
- Structure includes your
- Body type
- Limb lengths and ratios
- Genetic or injury related anomalies
- Function includes your
- Mobility
- Strength
- Speed, Agility, Quickness, etc.
Mentally and emotionally, general ability refers to your awareness and knowledge.
- Awareness includes being aware of your
- Physical attributes mentioned above (structure and function),
- Environment,
- Movements / lifts,
- Mental desire and emotional stability
- Knowledge includes your
- Training and physical activity history (how long you have been training and what you have done)
Daily Ability
Your ability level can fluctuate from day to day based on the amount of stress you encounter and your ability to manage that stress. Key stressors that can effect your day to day ability include sleep, physical readiness, mood, and nutrition. Being aware of your daily ability and having the knowledge to address it will have a great impact on your immediate and long-term performance. This can be obtained and managed with Eleiko’s Readiness and Wellbeing (RAW) Score specifically addressed in the Eleiko webinar series and/or paper, Optimise Immunity For Better Performance in Sport and Life.
Ability is the key to effectively using Complexity
Complexity
Think of complexity as the amount of physical, mental, and emotional challenge that you can withstand. Simplistically, complexity is a ‘zone’ with low and high limits for the amount of challenge needed. If complexity is too high, or too low, relative to your ability, the optimal training stimuli will not be achieved. This will create a trend toward a low or poor overall perception that can reduce confidence, competence, and recovery.
Physically, this includes the amount, speed, and predictability of motion.
- Amount of motion can be seen as the volume of training (sets, reps, rest, load, etc)
- Speed could be defined as the intention (intensity) or velocity of the motion
- Predictability can refer to how known or unknown the motion is to the mover
Mentally, this includes the amount, speed, and predictability of thought.
- Amount and speed of thought will vary with the complexity of motion and training age.
- Higher complexity movements (e.g. Snatch) will require more and/or faster thoughts
- Lower complexity movements (e.g. Deadlift) will require a lower amount and slower speed of thought
- Mental predictability can vary greatly and is influenced by mental and emotional ability as well as desire
- Very predictable (e.g. running a 5-10-5 shuttle drill) to
- Very unpredictable (e.g. running and changing direction on command)
To optimize performance, the Complexity ‘zone’ should match the level of Ability
Perception
Perception refers to how you feel about what’s happening physically, mentally, and emotionally before each session as well as during and after the session. Your perception is an important part of your recovery and is vital for achieving a positive adaption (i.e. enhanced performance). Therefore, optimizing your perception is an important part of enhancing performance.
Before each session, perception can be quickly measured by using the RAW Score, which is also used for evaluating daily ability. The power of pre-session perception is that it is a simple, practical, and scientifically validated way to gage the physical, mental, and emotional readiness to participate in an activity. In other words, it’s an easy way to assess and monitor physical, mental, and emotional stress.
- Pre-session – monitoring perception pre-session allows you to align your ability with the proper amount of complexity. Done appropriately, this will increase enjoyment, recovery, performance, and most importantly create a sense of empowerment
- In- and Post-session – monitoring perception would include things such as evaluating
- How the movements are being performed
- The intensity of the training
- Coaching cues and feedback
A well-known and thoroughly researched verbal/visual measurement scale to help track in-session/post-session perception is known as rate of perceived exertion (RPE).
- Physically, it can be determined by the answer to the question, “How did ‘that’ feel on a scale of 1-10?”. The ‘that’ in this question can refer to an individual movement, block of movements, and/or an entire training session
- Mentally/emotionally, it can be determined by the answer to the statement, “How did ‘you’ feel on a scale of 1-10?” This captures their overall mood
When Complexity matches Ability, Perception is greatly enhanced . When Perception is enhanced, empowerment takes place!
Enhancing performance is a complex interaction. However, it can be addressed simplistically by understanding the relationship and interaction of Ability, Complexity, and Perception. Following the guidance and direction of these three components of performance can lead to more accurate and appropriate programming and coaching strategies. The result will not only be enhanced performance, but consistency, confidence, and competence (i.e., empowerment).
If you are looking for practical education that will show you exactly how to maximize physical, mental, and emotional performance, try the Eleiko Tactical Training Level 1 online course. You'll gain access to numerous presentations and coaching videos, pre-made tactical programs, a customized study guide for the NSCA TSAC-F® acreddited certification exam, and earn valuable CEUs for doing it! CLICK HERE
