Daily Movement Prompts, Thursday, January 5, 2017 edition: Sprints vs Distance.
I woke this morning from a dream in which I was trying to compose this exact post. (Oh, silly brain.) And I was pondering all the ways in which movement can alternate between Sprints, Fast Moves, and Speed, versus Distance training, Stamina, and Slow Moves.
In several dance styles, there are ways you move in fast songs versus ways to move for slow songs. In ATS in particular, the vocabulary of movement is codified so that Fast and Slow are different sets of moves entirely.
Several athletic pursuits train for Speed versus Distance: Walking, running, swimming, skating, skiing, cycling… You might even have a training plan that says “Today you do sprints. Tomorrow you train on distance.”
Weight lifters might use slow reps versus fast reps, or the body focus for “leg day versus arm day.” You can do sit ups slowly or quickly. I’m not certain how this applies in yoga, but there must be some variable methods there, too. You can work towards a cardio workout or a more languid stretching workout. Even PT exercises can vary in their intentions, for slow twitch muscles versus fast twitch.
How do you add variability to your movement? Do you alternate between fast and slow? Arms or legs? Sprints or distance? Or do you get variability by having more than one movement style? Swimming laps plus Pilates class? Yoga morning routines plus hiking and climbing?
What do you have planned today?