Reaction Time - Where'd who go?
Reaction Time
Reaction time is also fairly self-explanatory. It is about how quickly we can respond to external stimuli.
To be more specific, we will be looking at physical reaction time rather than mental reaction time.
Mental reaction time is how quickly we can perceive and process a stimulus, while,
Physical reaction time is how quickly we can respond physically to it.[i]
It is also important to differentiate between a reaction and a reflex.
Reactions are movements we control voluntarily, such as kicking a ball, whereas,
Reflexes are involuntary and are designed to protect us, like puling away when we touch something hot or straightening our leg when we get tapped on the knee.[ii]
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However, reaction time is also vital in our everyday lives.
If we are driving and someone runs out onto the road, reaction time would determine how quickly we see them and apply the brakes.[v]
Another less life-or-death example would be catching a glass we knock over or
getting out of the way of a moving object.
What impacts reaction time?
Reaction time depends on:
Perception – our ability to see, hear or feel the external stimulus.
Processing – our ability to correctly process and understand the information we perceive.
Response – our ability to act quickly.[vi]
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This means that several factors can impact on our quickly we react such as:
How complex the stimulus is – if the stimulus is complex, it will take longer to process it.
Familiarity, preparation and expectations – If we are familiar with the stimulus, we have to process less information and can react quicker.
State of the organism – Things such as age, temperature and fatigue can all drastically affect our reaction time.
The modality of the stimuli – If the stimulus is a sound, it takes less processing compared to an something the is visual and the reaction time will be quicker.[vii]
The level of processing that is needed also plays a role. If it is a simple connection such as running when the starter’s pistol goes off requires a different amount of processing required than if you need to turn left or right in response to someone yelling “left” or “right” or if you only have to respond when you hear “Simon Says’.[viii]
Improving Reaction Time
Reaction time is controlled by our central nervous system so the key to improving it is by practice, practice, practice.[ix]
However, this does not just mean repetition. Exposure to different situations so we can try different solution to the same problem is also useful.[x] This helps us to improvise quicker when exposed to unforeseen situations and streamlines the decision making process.
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When it comes to improving reaction time the process can be very specific to the reaction you are trying to improve by can be looked at by considering the following:
Detecting relevant cues – analysing their body language to predict what your opponent is doing.
Detecting cues – focusing on the green light or the starter’s pistol sound.
Change in attention focus – being able to switch between concentrating on the important aspects of the situation.
Controlling anxiety – being able to reduce anxiety because it can slow reaction times.
Decision making – having present decision point and actions to reduce the time to decide.
Warming up – to ensure your mind and body are ready to react.
Creating optimum levels of motivation – this is our ability to ‘psych’ ourselves up.
Conclusion
Reaction time is our ability to quickly respond to external stimuli. It is important for sport but also for everyday life. As it is controlled by our central nervous system, the best way to improve reaction time is by practice. We can train our minds to detect external cues better but also to decide what to do quicker through exposure to different scenarios.
[i] https://www.healthline.com/health/how-to-improve-reaction-time
[ii] https://www.healthline.com/health/how-to-improve-reaction-time
[iii] https://www.pdhpe.net/the-body-in-motion/what-is-the-relationship-between-physical-fitness-training-and-movement-efficiency/skill-related-components-of-physical-fitness/reaction-time/
[iv] https://www.pdhpe.net/the-body-in-motion/what-is-the-relationship-between-physical-fitness-training-and-movement-efficiency/skill-related-components-of-physical-fitness/reaction-time/
[v] https://www.cognifit.com/science/cognitive-skills/response-time
[vi] https://www.cognifit.com/science/cognitive-skills/response-time
[vii] https://www.cognifit.com/science/cognitive-skills/response-time
[viii] https://www.cognifit.com/science/cognitive-skills/response-time
[ix] https://www.healthline.com/health/how-to-improve-reaction-time
[x] https://www.healthline.com/health/how-to-improve-reaction-time
But what is power? The former astrophysics student in me wants to give you the geeky physics definition of force x velocity but I will try to keep this fitness related.
However, surprisingly enough, the physics definition is actually pretty useful. In a fitness context, power is a combination of strength and speed. How fast can you generate force?[ii]
What do we use power for?
As you can imagine, power is needed in many sports such as Olympic weightlifting and football. It takes a lot of power to accelerate a large athlete to speed quickly and then to stop them. Power is also useful in sports such as basketball, tennis and volleyball. Jumping to get a rebound requires a great amount of leg power. Spiking a volleyball requires both leg and upper body power.[iii]
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But what about in everyday life?
Power is required to perform many daily activities including
Lifting objects,
Hurrying to catch the bus,
Climbing stairs, and,
Preventing fall injuries.[iv]
If you slip and fall toward the ground you need power to help you catch yourself.
Your whole body weight is crashing toward the ground a great speed. So you need both strength (to support your weight) and speed (to decelerate your body in time) to help you from hurting yourself.[v]
Additionally, as we age, power ebbs more quickly than strength. Therefore, it is vital we do exercises that improve our power as we age.[vi]
How do we improve our POWER!!!!
How do we get…, as Clarkson says, “more POWER!!!!”?
Well, as power requires both speed and strength, training for power requires you to develop both speed and strength. If you are already strong, then to develop power, you should work on developing speed (see below). If you are already fast, then to develop power you should work on developing strength.
Additionally, you can enhance your power by combining speed and resistance.
Here are some ways to improve your power (please note that some of these exercises place high demands on your body so, to avoid injury, please do not start power training without a solid base to start from).
Plyometric box jumps
NOTE: Plyometrics should only be attempted once conditioned. Make sure you build up to these and give your body time to grow and adapt to prevent injury.
Start with body weight squats with an ‘explosive’ up movement and a slow downward movement. This can be done as a chair stand, too. Sit down slowly. Stand up quickly.
https://www.gympik.com/articles/exercises-senior-citizens-stay-active/
Start with your legs about hip width apart.
Lower your butt to the ground with your body upright and ensure your knees do not go further forward than your toes.
Goes as low as you can without lifting your heels or losing your form (from the step before).
https://www.menshealth.com/uk/building-muscle/a755607/how-to-master-the-squat/
With time, you can add a jump.
Make sure you practice good landing technique:
Land softly on your toes and roll to the heels and avoid sideways or twisting knee motion.
As you progress trying jumping higher and tuck your knees toward your chest (tuck jump).
With more time, slowly add jumping on to a box (start low and increase box height).
With the box in front of you position your feet shoulder-hip width part.
Look straight ahead and bend your hips and knees (ensure your knees are tracking in the same direction as your toes (no bowing in or out).
Jump up and forward while drawing your knees to your chest. Land softly in a squat position on the top of the box.
Push through your heels and come to a standing position on top of the box.
Step off the box and repeat.[vii]
Power weights training
If you want to focus on the power of a particular group of muscles you can do this using power weights training.
Depending on what area you’d like to improve you power in, choose an appropriate exercise.
Use a weight that is heavy enough to challenge yor over a short set of reps.
Use a weight that is light enough to enable you to use explosive speed.
Uses about 3 minutes of rest between sets to enable your muscles to fully recover their energy supplies.[viii]
Ensure the ‘work’ part of the movement is done explosively (i.e. the ‘push’ part of a push exercise or the ‘pull’ part of a pull exercise).
Conclusion
Power is not only useful for many sports but for everyday activities such as climbing stairs, lifting objects (and children) and preventing fall injuries. To train power we need to train both speed and strength. Once we have these individually, we can build on it with specific power training. Lastly, as we age, we lose power more quickly than strength so maintaining power to prevent fall injuries becomes more important.
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[i] Corbin, C. B., Pangrazi, R. P., & Franks, B. D. (2000). Definitions: Health, fitness, and physical activity. President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports Research Digest.
[ii] https://www.verywellfit.com/skill-related-fitness-components-4155209
[iii] https://www.verywellfit.com/skill-related-fitness-components-4155209
[iv] Hoeger, W. W., & Hoeger, S. A. (2015). Principles and labs for fitness and wellness. Cengage Learning.
[v] https://strengthmatters.com/train-powerful-need-power-survive-everyday-life/
[vi] https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/power-training-provides-special-benefits-for-muscles-and-function-201304226097
[vii] https://www.kaylaitsines.com/blogs/education/5-steps-to-master-plyometric-box-jumps
[viii] https://www.verywellfit.com/weight-training-for-power-3498521
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