There has always been numerous negative news on the health and well-being of professional football players in the National Football League (NFL). It ranges from concussions to long-term injuries. Hence, the Seattle Seahawks are looking into new methods of conditioning their players.
As of now, these methods include meditation sessions, team-mandated yoga classes, and a trial program where the coach makes use of an iPad application in order to track “what’s going on in [players’] lives, how much sleep they’re getting, their goals and how they’re dealing with stressors”. Most casual observers and skeptics would tend to regard this as a new implementation to help the team perform better and earn more wins. “The big idea is that happy players make for better players,” pointed out Alyssa Roenigk, an ESPN writer. Regardless, any form of assistance to help the players’ health should still receive praise.
According to Alyssa, the thing about this Seattle program is that it is only the start of what the Seahawks plan to be a total revamp of the way a football franchise approaches both the physical as well as the mental well-being of every individual in the organisation. “Team chef Mac McNabb feeds the players fruits and vegetables from local organic farms. He takes any leftovers to a nearby family-run farm to feed free-range chickens, which are raised specifically for the Seahawks cafeteria. Ramsden and Gervais spend their spare time attending conferences, meeting with nutritionists and sleep experts, and, judging by the mound of boxes in Ramsden’s office, buying any new tech gadget that could be the next breakthrough in maximizing athletic performance,” said Alyssa.
During the commencement of last season, Ramsden also had gathered data on most of the Seahawks members. The data included blood and vision analyses along with sleep and conditioning profiles. During practice, player movements are being tracked by GPS, allowing the team to monitor workloads further. Ultimately, Ramsden intends to have both the players as well as the coaches to wear wristbands that has the ability to track sleep habits. If necessary, practice schedules can be adjusted to maximize rest. The Seahawks also plan to have daily mental health check-ins to keep track of players’ off-the-field problems in the near future. For the full story, you can check it out here.
If you are an athlete or just looking to improve on your fitness, OMG Yoga Singapore has a variety of classes to offer. Our yoga classes are only conducted by certified instructors by the Yoga Alliance.