Welcome back to the powerbyte blog. July already – it seems like the first half of the year has gone by very quickly. And ‘going quickly’ is what I want to focus on for the next few weeks. That is, we look at the benefit of adding tempo to your physical and mental activities. Anybody who has worked with me knows that rather than doing things in a rush, I am very keen on focusing on small steps, consistency and sustainable changes – whether that is with regard to physical or mental activity. This is in contrast to the many promises of quick fixes and instant gratification with regard to food, entertainment, information and so on that we are surrounded by.
But, research is telling us that quick fixes and instant gratification are not usually that good for us. Perhaps you have even noticed the effects of that on your own mental or physical capacity. Personally, I know that since reading more and more information online, my attention span has decreased. In the world of physical activity, it similarly pays to be critical when there is a promise of amazing fitness gains within a short amount of time. It also gets very confusing when looking at some of the speedy options that are thrown around. Pace training, HIIT, Tabata or Fartlek might be some of the terms you have come across and things can quickly get technical.
What all of these and many other forms of training have in common is that they include some element of fast training. Most commonly this is with regard to faster efforts as part of aerobic training – like running, biking or similar. But harder efforts can also be included in resistance training. When you hear about ‘pace’ training, then this usually means longer efforts at just above comfortable speed. Physiologically, this leads to adaptations in the ability of your cells to load up with energy to supply oxygen to the muscles, heart and lungs. Adding pace can thereby lead to a boost in VO2max – a measure of your fitness. Other forms such as HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), Tabata (a Japanese type of interval training) and Fartlek (a Swedish version of faster paced interval) similarly increase pace. The main difference between the different forms is in how long exactly each fast interval is and how long/short you rest between harder efforts. This can get very technical, and unless you are a speed demon or aiming to make specific performance gains (in which case I would advise working with a professional), I would not break my head over the details. Instead it could be good to simply try and add some pace to your aerobic or resistance training to get a little boost in terms of physical performance.
The exciting thing is that there is good evidence to show that adding faster efforts can also impact the brain. If you have missed the blogs from the Denksport series, then you might like to pop into Number 5 which briefly mentioned the mood boost that has often been documented for faster paced workouts. In addition, executive function is improved by inserting some speed into your workout. That is, your ability to structure your thinking may increase and this can lead to improved memory. You might also improve thinking flexibility, which allows you to switch between tasks, to transfer your learning and to think creatively.
So, hopefully this has made you interested in adding a little bit of tempo to your movement and in learning more over the coming weeks about about how doing this to your physical and mental activity can benefit you. If that is the case, follow me or subscribe to the blogpost. To work with me one-on-one to apply some of these principles to your own life and movement, message me for a free call. I look forward to hearing from you.
References (for the extra keen)
Gilson et al. (2023)
Hsieh et al. (2021)
Wen at al. (2019)