Ramji Srinivasan Badri Narayanan

Indian Sportsmen now have access to a world class High Performance Training Facility 
Former Mumbai Indians / Indian Cricket Team Fitness Trainer and US Mental Conditioning Coach join hands to set up 'Quantum Leap Performance' in Chennai

Mental Conditioning is about developing muscles in the brains!! - Badri 

In the summer of 2006, two well established Sports Training Professionals sat in a corner of a coffee shop in Madras to discuss their future. Both had already created a niche for themselves in their respective fields- one in the physical fitness space ( in cricket and racing) and the other as a mental conditioning coach in the US.

After 1000s of hours of telephonic and face to face conversations and deliberations over the last 8years, Ramji Srinivasan, former fitness trainer of the World Cup winning Indian Cricket team (and Mumbai Indians in the IPL) and Badri Narayanan, a Mental Conditioning Coach/Sports Psychologist (of several leading Tennis and sports professionals in the US) have finally taken the entrepreneurial plunge joining hands to found India’s first ‘Peak Physical and Mental Conditioning Training’ offering tailor made solutions for sportspeople under one roof.

Creating Legends in sports

In a country that has for long depended on prodigies for sporting success, Quantum Leap Performance (QLP) Pvt Ltd., has just launched its Sports Science and High Performance Training Centre in Abhirampuram, Chennai and Utah, US with the aim of ‘creating legends’ by developing and harnessing potential in individuals at the grass roots level and helping execute the plan with a process driven physical training and mental coaching methodology.

QLP will specialize in Peak Performance Training for Physical and Mental Conditioning for optimal performance and mental toughness for athletes of all ages and levels.

Ramji, who was the first Indian trainer to capture the imagination of cricketers, is of the view that Physical and Mental Conditioning Training is a misunderstood concept in India. ‘Physical Training has for long been looked at as ‘Gym workouts’ by most sportsmen in India.

Badri endorses this thought process ‘There were a lot of loose ends earlier. However, there is a paradigm shift now in the Indian sportsperson's attitude towards fitness- both physical and mental. The younger generation of athletes/players are now looking for training methods to attain peak fitness. And that’s the reason why we felt it is the right time to start.’

Mental Conditioning is a relatively new concept in India says Badri, who has been a Sports Psychologist in the US for the last 15years. People think it is psychiatry and shy away, avers Badri. It is actually about developing muscles in the brain!!!

 

Badri, who has trained and helped a number of budding sports professionals in the US clear mental obstacles in achieving peak performance, opines that while talent is aplenty in India, there is a need to eradicate a lot of ‘old belief systems’. There are countries without any infrastructural facilities and yet you find them winning medals in Olympics (Surinam in the 1988 Seoul Olympics was a prime case in point). Our aim is to make the teenagers mentally ‘sporting’ mature by the time they are in the late teens and then to make them peak by the time they are 23-24.

The QLP Process

As part of their offerings, Quantum Leap Performance has developed a system and process that is focused on understanding the current mindset of players, their body structure, their expectations and goals and the current challenges. QLP will then work with the individuals in goal setting and seek to enhance the true conviction inside them that will enable them in their quest towards achieving big results.

Mental Conditioning is an integral part of their offering as the two believe that, at any sporting event, it is as much mental as the physical ability that matters. It is important not to get bogged down mentally says Badri.

Ramji, who has been credited for the rehab of Sachin Tendulkar’s shoulder injury in 2006 says, ‘We are like Thumb Impressions. Every person who trains with us will have an individual coding. We will be adopting a problem solving approach harness the full potential of the sportsperson. Players need to be patient to achieve the best results. It is a process driven approach to success.’

Ramji was the fitness trainer when India won the World Cup and the Champions Trophy and jumped into No. 1 in Test and ODI rankings. He has also been personal trainer for Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, Rahul Dravid, Virat Kohli, Shikar Dhawan, in Cricket, Narain Karthikeyan, Arman Ibrahim, Aditya Patel and Karun Chandok in racing and Subramanian Raman in TT. 

It was Ramji's Rehab and fitness training for Irfan Pathan, Munaf Patel and Sreesanth just before World T20 championship that proved to be a important turning point for India.

Few know that it was Ramji Srinivasan who first brought the Swiss Ball concept to India in the mid 90s. 

Interestingly and quite unlike most sporting launches, the two have chosen to launch without much of fanfare!! Reasons Ramji, ‘A lot of the time you find things being launched with lot of hype, only for the offering to be diluted over a period of time. We want to make the players understand the entire process and that this is a long term route to success.’

‘We believe with this approach, we will be able to help the player visualise success and take the right steps in that direction to prime physical and mental fitness’ says Badri echoing the sentiments of Ramji.

Service Offerings

QLP will offer physical training, NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programmes) and Bio-Feedback Intervention.  After identifying and analysing the strengths and weaknesses of the players, the QLP team will come up an overall assessment of  the player’s potential based on which, they will formulate customised techniques with a defined and quantifiable outcome. As part of the engagement, the players will also have overseas exposure.

QLP's Services include Base Individual Training, Nutrition Programme, Physiological Assessment, Musculoskeletal Screening, Fitness testing, Pre-habilitation and Rehabilitation, Movement Analysis and Data Collection, Sports Conditioning Special, Recreational Sports Training and of course Mental Conditioning.

Included in the fitness regime will be Swiss Ball, Pilates, Thera Band, Speed, Power, Strength, Agility, Body Balance, Neuro-Muscular Coordination drills, Cardio vascular, local muscle endurance, circuits, threshold training, alactic training, aqua work, recovery and planning.

First of its kind equipment

Most of the equipments at the Chennai center of QLP are essential equipments used by world class achievers in sports but seen for the first time in the Indian sports scene.  These include Hand-Eye Co-ordination equipments, Cardio Equipments, Power Training Equipments, Speed Agility and Quickness (SAQ) Equipments, Strength Equipments, Balance and Co-ordination Equipments and Specialised Accessories.

QLP has tied up with Chennai headquartered The Pasta Bar Veneto, a chain of restaurants promoted by brothers Pramodh Sharma and Vinodh Sharma, to provide customised diet food to the trainees.

Number of Trainees

In the initial phase, QLP is targeting to restrict its trainees to 50-60.  Within 10days of the soft launch, QLP has already had an interesting mix of trainees. A 7year old Golfer who is seen to have big potential, has already signed up a long term engagement with QLP as have 9 and 13year old tennis players and a Chess star.  A 16year old Squash player is also looking to harness her talent at the QLP.

As many of these players are expected to travel extensively, QLP has, as part of its offering, an online LIVE session over the video with its trainees. The company will also launch soon an interactive ‘app’. The training programmes are designed for travelling athletes.

QLP has on board a leading nutrition, a physio, ‘strength and conditioning’ sports doctor, subject matter expert in bio mechanics, among other consultants.

37year old Badri, an alumni of REC Trichy and a certified mental conditioning coach in the US, who has been involved in training a number of highly successful players in Tennis, TT, Chess, Squash and cricket counts training sports personalities for certain specific qualities like becoming persistent, being courageous and ‘Going for it when fearful’, achieving discipline in practice and that translating in competition as his big moments in his sporting career.

 

Badri believes that the problem solving approach to training is a big differentiator with QLP. There will be a specific personalised solution for each individual based on our assessment and the player will be able to feel with the difference as part of our training process. ‘We think it is possible to provide quantifiable results. We will strive to constantly create the 'A ha' moment for players’.

QLP is targeting to organise four relevant problem solving workshops a year that provides solutions to the existing problems of players. The workshops will also include specific training for upcoming events and training for injury/re-hab and training in simulated real time scenarios.

Exchange Programme for Trainees

Chennai based Quantum Leap Performance is currently in talks with leading academies in the US to bring their players in Tennis, Racing and TT among other sports to train here for Chennai is considered one of the hardest places to train given its humidity levels and the dust. QLP is also working on exchange programmes for its trainees here at the Chennai Center to go abroad and train in the US as well.  

Financial Support to deserving players

For those with a weak financial background but with potential to make a name for themselves in sports, QLP will be open to funding and supporting them in their quest for excellence, especially those with the aim to achieve Olympic glory. 

As a parting remark, a visibly excited Ramji and Badri echo the same sentiment that it is a matter of trust that they will take care of their wards and deliver excellent results that will bring them players at various stages in their careers- those that have tasted success but are currently going through a rough phase and those that are seeking to achieve success for the first time. They believe that the onus is on the two of them to fulfil the expectations of the players and their parents, who these days are investing heavily on the sporting activities of their kids.

Mind and Body have to be synch to achieve the best results in sports. And it is apt that India’s renowned Physical Trainer in Cricket and the  US based multi-sport Mental Conditioner have come together in this venture to provide a first of its kind offering for Indian sportspersons.

TNCA and the cricketers?

Having seen their passion at work, it is clear that they have a vision to create the next generation of sporting stars from India and are in it for the long haul. Ramji's regime with the TN Ranji cricket team in 2007-08 saw the players going through two years of injury free engagement. He has also been the fitness trainer at the MRF. Ramji was also the trainer for Formula A1 Racing Indian Team for a period of five years from 2005. 

Individual players like Abhinav Mukund (who has seen success but is currently going through a lean patch) and the Aparjiths (who are in their early growth phase) of TN cricket will definitely find this relevant for their progress, especially the mental conditioning.

It will be useful for TNCA to explore the possibility of a long term engagement with QLP for the state players beginning at the U16 level given that mental conditioning has often been seen as one of the weak areas for TN cricketers.