Jim Klopman – Balance Training, Micro Muscles, and How This Simple Method Can Improve Your Performance

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Jim Klopman
Balance Training, Micro Muscles, and How This Simple Method Can Improve Your Performance

Jim is a lifelong innovator who has always been one of those people who thinks differently. He believes balance training has sharpened his ability to make new neural connections and see the possibilities and pathways that others miss. Originally Jim was simply looking for a way to maintain his own athletic performance well into his 90s. But the SlackBow Balance Training System he developed turned out to be a key to whole body and mind fitness that was even more revolutionary than he could have imagined. He is eager to spread his knowledge, techniques and tools far and wide to help seekers like him tune their brains to perform better in work and sports, sleep better, look younger, and live longer.

For more info about Jim and SlackBow Balance Training, check our their website, follow them on Instagram, or grab a copy of his book, Balance is Power.

Athletes, Case Studies, and Dune Quotes mentioned in the episode: 

4:20  Kelly / Jim origin story; Tim Ferriss
5:48  When Kelly discovered SlackBlock he started shouting it from the rooftops which unbeknownst to Kelly actually helped SlackBow Balance a lot
7:17  Jim struggled with education his whole life, and the only place he felt totally comfortable was on a pair skis.
8:08  Jim ran the Russell Athletic’s teamwear business for several years
8:20  After leaving Russell, Jim’s wife gifted him a day of skiing with the legendary Stein Eriksen who said his secret to longevity was balance
10:05  Jim was curious about why people stop skiing when they get older and he came to the conclusion that it came down to balance
10:25  Jim’s dad had him on a Bongo Board (Balance Board) from age 5 to help combat undiagnosed ADD
10:57  Jim discovered the slackline and started using that for balance and realized he was skiing WAY faster after his balance training
11:30  Jim attempts to develop the SlackBow and presents the idea to an engineering professor at Auburn University – which didn’t go well, until he tried Jim’s balance protocols
12:10  The engineering class then developed the SlackBow
12:28  Jim did a study with athletes from different areas having them do his balance protocols without changing any other training, and in each case the athlete increase their vertical leap dramatically
13:30  Jim tells a story of working with a very fit ex CIA agent that was too slow for his ski group – after a couple of sessions Jim took him from last down the mountain to first down the mountain; Ted Ligety
15:50  Kelly talks about the SlackBlock, the SlackPlate, and everything he loves about it
19:15  Why is balance still so revolutionary and actually controversial?
22:25  Ben Herbert at University of Michigan Football use SlackBlocks and Jim’s protocols and scoring system, and they have seen great results
23:55  People have lost the ability to feel input in their feet, so having a SlackBlock sitting around the house enables people to get this input all throughout the day
25:48  Progression is the key
27:35  The number one cause of concussion is falling, not sport
29:15  Your body is just an input machine and many people are just not getting enough input, and just adding this balance intervention in can lead to remarkable results
31:00  The magic is in the micro muscle system
32:15  Another case study detailing amazing results with balance training – reactivating the small muscles
34:45  “I guess we don’t know everything we think we know about the body” – Martyn Goulding
36:28  Jim’s recommendations on incorporating balance training; Tom Brady; Steph Curry; Wayne Gretsky
44:35  Jim is working on some patents and a book
46:05  Dune quote, “Our test is crisis and opportunity”
48:00  Jim’s experience starting a business
48:50  After thinking he must have brain damage, Jim discovered he had ADD when he was 47, actually the worst case of ADD his doctor had ever seen
49:20  At 58, Jim had a brain scan done by Daniel Amen which showed the brain of an NFL player
50:40  Jim was part of the Under Armour wicking technology team at Russell before Under Armour was formed as a company
51:30  Every good idea has three phases: “it’s impossible”, “it’s not necessary”, and “look at the great idea”
55:30  Jim’s socials

Full Transcript

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