When training takes over.

[Globalti]

Have you ever been in a situation where you're under stress and have wished you'd been better trained in the appropriate response? This is absolutely vital for people like military who need to be able to perform in moments of intense fear and stress or for example oil workers who need to evacuate a downed helicopter when in shock. It came home to me in a silly way; many years ago I was playing Paintball with a colleague and some friends for his stag do and found myself under fire from two directions; in trying to shoot back I couldn't understand why my paintball gun wouldn't fire and kept clogging up with balls and dribbling paint - then I realised I was cocking it the wrong way. Silly, as I say, but more practice with the gun would have made that part automatic and allowed me time to think out a strategy.

How much can training save you when at your limit in a sport like cycling? Does years of mountain bike handling make you less likely to crash your road bike if, for example, you suddenly hit gravel on a corner?

 

[fossyant]

I think years of practice falling off the bike saved me from worse injury when I was knocked off my bike in December 2008.

Couldn't avoid the car running into me, but I relaxed, went 'limp', let go of the bike and bounced off the car and down the road on my head and shoulder. Didn't break anything, got up relatively fine. Wasn't until a few weeks later I discovered my shoulder had taken a massive hit, which then turned into a right saga to get it operated on, then back to 100% - that took 4 years.

I can only think if I had paniced, I would have broken rather a lot of bones and been badly injured.

 

[BigonaBianchi]

Nueral pathways

The more we do things the more the brain grows nueral pathways that allow it...hence we get better as we practice. If we don't do it we lose it.

So if you are trained, and practiced in something you gradually move through to unconsciously competent (auto pilot).

So yeah...less likely to get hurt if you know how not to get hurt.