Questioning The Legitimacy of RPR
RPR has been a hot topic amongst myself, other coaches, and even my athletes. The legitimacy of it is consistently under fire from people that simply need a little more proof. To that end, I completely understand! When I first saw the program I was completely not convinced that it would be beneficial to it's users and was simply another gimmick. After watching a few others get "activated/reset" I asked if I too could have it done. The others that had already experienced it were jogging and jumping around like they had found some kind of fountain of youth, and if I were to believe it I'd need to experience it firsthand.
As I lay on the table to get things started I was extremely skeptical; and as the man activating me (Tony Holler of pntrack.com) started to rub the various target locations I simply wanted to end it due to the pain. By the end of the session he was looking at me and making comments like "you look different - in your eyes - there's something different there." Again, the skepticism came with a comment like that, but there was something different. A clarity that hadn't been there before had presented itself; and as my feet hit the floor that clarity grew even more.
When I first stood up everything in my body felt looser, lighter, different. There was a bounciness there that hadn't been present for YEARS. As I began my own jogging and jumping off to the side, I could feel years of poor posture, aches, and pains evaporating. I felt like I was 15 again. I was turning over faster when running. I was jumping higher. Everything was...different!
My belief in this program only grew as I talked with others and listened more to Tony discuss how he's used RPR with his own athletes. That belief grew even stronger when another coach (Coach Block - pole vault coach in Sun Prairie) and I decided to put up $250 of our own money (each) to become certified in RPR - I'm not the kind of person to simply throw money around like that unless there is a substantial reason to do so!
We went to the training in Milwaukee, WI and again were shown the "magic" that is RPR. We spent the entire day there being activated, and watching professionals activate others. I kid you not, there were things that absolutely amazed me. At one point, the instructor (Chris Corfist) asked one of the other participants if he'd ever had significant knee injury in the past. The gentleman replied "yes" as Chris openly informed us how he'd noticed a slight limp when the man was walking around the room earlier that day. Chris then asked him to get on the (massage) table and began to work on his legs. By the end, the man was walking without a limp and stated that his knee felt better than it had for years.
This is all real people...
Another example from that day came in the form of a massive bodybuilder. This man was absolutely JACKED and resembled the Incredible Hulk more than a mere human. With that amount of muscle mass (generally) comes a great deal of flexibility issues. When he laid on the table it was apparent how tight he was. Chris went to work on him (making this incredibly strong man wince at every turn - Chris didn't hold back!). By the end the ranges of motion had greatly increased and the man was thanking Chris repeatedly for the "looseness" he felt.
Since that time I have created a slideshow to use with my athletes in an attempt to help them activate themselves. I personally don't want to activate kids due to the fear of something being mistaken in an appropriate manner. There are so many spots in which you need to push, that the program is one that needs to either be done by a professional or someone you trust and give full permission to.
Self activation is not as effective due to people letting up when things get painful. The results one gets when be activated by a professional are because that person activating them didn't stop at painful spots - they didn't feel the pain. For this reason, we've had numerous discussions with our athletes about pushing through pain for the betterment of their bodies. Some take it and run full speed ahead, others look at us in disbelief that this program is grounded in anything other than hokum.
One thing I am looking into is ordering/making some "activation sticks". They can be found online and are being sold either individually or in bulk. The sticks themselves look to be a good investment, but I want to make sure the TEAM buys in before doing anything since it could become expensive.
I am FULL on board with RPR and believe the benefits are absolutely GROUNDBREAKING. Unfortunately though it still has a great deal of skeptics. My recommendation (if you haven't been activated/reset) is to watch for opportunities to experience it for yourself. I believe this is the only way in which non-believers will be transformed.
Check out this website for more info: http://activateanddominate.com/contact/
Let me know if you have any questions!