Fitness Friday: Negative splits.

So this Fitness Friday thing was Betty's idea, and I thought I'd give it a whirl.  Of course, if I wait till Friday to write a fitness post, I'll forget what I was going to write, so instead I'll just use the magic of scheduled posting to synchronize with everyone else. (Other Fitness Friday posts for today will be linked here.)

As I write, it's Monday evening.  A few hours ago, I got back from my four-year-old daughter's swimming lesson at the Y.  Dinner's over, and I'm catching a moment to blog while I nurse the toddler, before I get up and start getting ready for tomorrow.  I thought I would write about a fitness concept that I used with swimming today, but that's pretty versatile and can help inject a little interesting "flow" into short or boring workouts of all kinds.

I've been swimming regularly since January 2008, alternating with running.  These days I run twice a week, and I only manage to get a swim in during my daughter's thirty-minute swim lesson.  Thirty minutes feels pinched -- I got used to fifty-minute swims during the first year that I exercised.  Fifty minutes is enough time for a warmup, a few sets of speed drills, a "long swim," and practicing new strokes; it kept the workout interesting.  But I'm glad to be getting in the water at all, so I'm trying to make the best of it.  

At first, when I went to the 30-minute workout,  I just tried to swim really fast for half an hour, figuring I could make up in intensity what I lacked in duration.  But that is kind of boring.  So I went looking for some thirty-minute "lunchtime swim" workouts.  

Today I tried a concept called "negative splitting."  The concept is pretty simple:  after warmup, you divide the rest of your workout in half.  And then you try to do the second half faster (or farther, or whatever) than  the first half.  

It's supposed to train you to pace yourself, because if you go too fast for the first half, you'll never keep up with yourself in the second half.  And it's supposed to train you mentally not to fear getting too tired to finish your workout, because you'll have plenty of experience coming back with a power push in the second half.

So, for example, today after a five-minute swim drill warmup, I set my lap counter and swam for ten minutes straight, trying not to swim as fast as I could.   I found that I could manage eight laps in 10 minutes 15 seconds (no, I'm not an elite athlete, did you notice?)  Then I set my timer back to zero and swam eight laps again, this time trying to hit a pace that was faster.    

I didn't quite make it!  I'm not sure how I would have done if I hadn't been interrupted by someone who wanted to share the lane.  I swam the second eight laps in 10 minutes 48 seconds.   Oh well, better luck next time.

But it did make the workout more interesting.  And what's nice about this tidy little goal -- do the second half better than the first half -- is that it doesn't matter how much time you have, a nice long workout or just a short burst of activity.  Whatever time you have available, divide it in half and you're ready to go.

Another thing that's nice about it is that it's very portable.  You can set it for yourself as a way to liven up many different kinds of exercise that would otherwise be boring.  You can try it with walking (second mile faster than first mile); you can try it with weight lifting (second set heavier than first set); you can try it with body weight exercises (second set more numerous than first set).  

  I was thinking today that I could maybe use the concept even when unloading the dishwasher.  Can I finish the top rack faster than I finished the bottom half?  That may be an extreme example of applications to mundane everyday life, but hey, find your motivation wherever you can.

UPDATE:  In the comments, Delores sees the big picture:

I am 39 this year and, obviously, will be 40 next year. I thought about this post and making the second "half" of my life better, taking it further, than the first half. Some days I feel like that wouldn't be that hard since, on those days, I don't feel like I have accomplished much. But regardless: it is a motivation to live more intentionally. 

Comments

[Celeste]

One of my favorite workouts is a out-and-beat-myself-back: run 30 minutes in one direction, then try to beat that time on my way back. The key for me is to still push myself a bit on the way out so that it's a genuine challenge during the second half. I have clocked some of my fastest running during these kinds of workouts. And they are (dare I say it?) pretty fun too. :)

[bearing]

Celeste, that is a very elegant and simple sort of workout...

[Delores]

I was slowly drifting off to sleep the other night and my mind was wandering. I am 39 this year and, obviously, will be 40 next year. I thought about this post and making the second "half" of my life better, taking it further, than the first half. Some days I feel like that wouldn't be that hard since, on those days, I don't feel like I have accomplished much. But regardless: it is a motivation to live more intentionally. This could also be applied to each day: make sure the second half (when I am tired) is better than the first half. Or at least as good. This does not mean I have to physically do more, but I think it can mean just being more intentional and purposeful. Thanks for the motivating post!