The previous posts of this blog series have drilled into why injecting a little bit of tempo into your movement practice can be good for your body and brain. Even little bouts of tempo at an intensity below an all-out effort can give you a boost. There has been quite a bit of research into what protocol confers the most benefit for different people – whether that is people living with different health concerns like diabetes or high cholesterol or different types of athletes, like sprinters or cross-country runners. And this can get very technical. For example, just a second more or less during the tempo or rest phase can make a difference.
This might feel a little overwhelming in terms of detail, and stressful in terms of having to track your movement, the pace and timing etc. But fret not, even if structure is not your thing and you are more the kind of person to freestyle, then adding tempo into your movement practice can still be an option. In fact, the loose translation of one of the most famous forms of tempo or interval training – Fartlek – or ‘speed play’ centres on that. Developed by a Finnish coach to give the nation’s cross-country runners and edge over the Danes, ‘speed play’ is one of the most unstructured ways of injecting tempo to training.
How might you do that? If you are a runner, you might like to try adding little sprints at random times. If you are someone that enjoys running without a watch, then this could be perfect. If you are the type of runner that is usually fused to their watch, then you might like to try this anyway. Training naked, as it has cheekily been termed, or without a watch, has actually shown to lead to a greater sense of freedom during training and may also allow you to rediscover, or develop, the feeling of different paces and your heart rate. You can also include random faster periods when out walking, when training in the gym etc (keep an eye out for the post on overspeed in a few weeks).
Adding “play” into your movement has also been shown to lead to an increased production of a special protein in the brain that causes nerve cells to branch out more. I talked about this in one of the earlier posts (see Focus 4). This creates greater connections between different parts of the brain, working to remodel it. One potential upshot of this is increased synchronised activity in parts of the brain that organise thought and parts of the brain that coordinate movement.
In addition, “play”, in comparison to repeated routinised practice, is very very motivating and likely leads to greater attention, enjoyment and increased practice. I like the idea of playing with speed in my chosen sport. It really brings out something original in me and other runners I have spoken to about this. The feeling of exhilaration when moving fast, feeling the rush of air against your body, the sensation of your heart speeding up, wheeee… Let’s go!
If you are keen to learn more about how adding some tempo to your physical and mental activity can benefit you, 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)
Atakan et al. (2021)
Martland et al. (2020)
Mertala & Palsa (2023)
Pellis et al. (2015)