"R" Characteristics of Elite Athletes

Repetition repetition repetition did I say repetition? Once again it comes down to the elite having the ability to reliably repeat their motor patterns in practice so that under the pressure of competition the skill is performed properly. The 3 stages of motor learning are 1) cognitive, in which the skill must be thought out each repetition this phase takes anywhere from 1 to 1,000 repetitions. 2) associative. this stages starts to combine the elements of the cognitive stage with the more relaxed and less thought about parts of other skills, this phase is 1,000 to 10,000 repetitions in length. 3) Autonomous, this is the premiere stage where skills are performed in near automatic like fashion, this stage takes between 100,000 to 300,000 repetitions. The caveat to all this repetition is that they must be done exactly the same manner, precision is everything. The perfect rep principle states that you have earned the skill that you currently have by the precision of the practice you have previously done. Practice does not make perfect but a lot of precision practice can make you elite!