Finding the key to high performance
AS a sports psychologist, Rob Gronbeck helps athletes improve their confidence, focus, composure, intensity and trust in athletic performance through cognitive training.
Now, the founder of the Brain Room is using the techniques and tools for his own benefit, as he embarks on a quest to reach the “flow state”.
Gronbeck recently returned from the United States, where he attended and presented at a “live emersion” conducted by the Flow Genome Project.
According to its website, the FGP is an “interdisciplinary, global organisation committed to the research and training of ultimate human performance”, with a list of high-profile clients including the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks, Red Bull’s high-performance athletes, the Navy Seals and Google.
“It was looking at how the top athletes use the ‘flow state’ to take their performance to the next level,” Gronbeck said.
“During lunches, I would set up a portable mini-Brain Room, where a couple dozen people could experience the ways I’m training people’s brains and bodies to get into this flow state.”
What the heck is a flow state, you ask?
“It’s when your skills just match the challenge of the task and you’re just able to keep up with whatever the task is,” said Gronbeck.
“It’s when you’re Michael Jordan and you hit six threepointers in a quarter and you look at the commentators and shrug your shoulders,” he said.
“You don’t know what’s going on but somehow you’re on fire – that’s what flow is ultimately about.”
Since returning from his US jaunt two weeks ago, Gronbeck has been focusing on accessing his flow state – and, earlier this week, he believes he did just that.
In order to reach the flow state, there needs to be a challenge.
While Gronbeck had originally planned to go surfing in Western Australia to challenge himself, he will instead enter the Classic Tetris Australian Championships in July.
Using the HaloNuero Sport, a brain stimulator device, Gronbeck saw his performance increase by 250 per cent.
“It stimulates the part of the brain that controls your body, the motor cortex, and you can actually target the parts of the brain,” he said.
“I did it where I was stimulating the part that controls my left hand, which while playing Tetris controls the D-pad.
“You wear the device for 20 minutes then, for about an hour afterwards, anything you do you will learn faster – you will be more focused, confident and strong because the part of the brain that controls the body has got more energy.
“Your body’s ability is increased, not because you’ve made your muscles stronger, but because your brain has got a boost of energy.”
In his Tetris sessions immediately after wearing the HaloNeuro, Gronbeck said the results spoke for themselves.
“I had it on (for 20 minutes) and then I took it off and I hit a 66,000, followed by a terrible 4000, then a 27,000 – and then a 235,000.”
The next best total since Gronbeck has begun training more regularly with his Tetris was 94,000.
“That’s almost 250 per cent higher – that’s flow,” he said.
“When you’re working out of your mind – at your limit – and somewhere something clicks, your brain gets in this mode, you hit six three-pointers in the quarter, shrug and say it was just the moment.
“But it wasn’t the moment, in my case, because we know what I did. I stimulated my brain for 20 minutes while practising, then five minutes later, I blitzed a 235,000.”
“This technology is not only the future of e-sports, but of sports.”
“The traditional way of training people is increasing skills and capacity – make yourself healthier and fitter and you’ll be able to rise to the challenge more often. But what happens if there’s other ways we can get the brain running in a certain fashion?”