How can you improve your reaction time in tennis. What are the most effective drills for enhancing quick reflexes on the court. Why is visualization crucial for boosting tennis performance. How does anticipation play a role in faster reactions during matches.
The Importance of Speed and Agility in Tennis
Tennis is a sport that demands lightning-fast reflexes and the ability to move swiftly across the court. A player’s success often hinges on their capacity to react quickly to their opponent’s shots. With the ball traveling at high speeds, even a split-second delay can mean the difference between winning and losing a point.
To excel in tennis, players must develop a combination of cardiovascular endurance, strength, and most importantly, a rapid reaction time. While physical fitness forms the foundation, specialized drills and techniques can significantly enhance a player’s ability to respond swiftly on the court.
The Three-Ball Drill: A Game-Changer for Reaction Time
One of the most effective exercises for improving reaction time is the Three-Ball Drill. This drill is designed to sharpen a player’s ability to read and respond to shots with increased speed and accuracy.
How to Perform the Three-Ball Drill:
- Position your practice partner at the center of the baseline.
- Stand behind the baseline, facing the net.
- Have your partner feed balls underhand to alternating sides.
- Catch each ball after one bounce, using only one hand.
- Return to your starting position after each catch.
- Maintain two balls in motion at all times.
- Perform sets of approximately ten throws each.
As you become more proficient, encourage your partner to vary the ball’s location, increasing the challenge and further honing your reflexes.
Specialized Workouts to Boost On-Court Performance
While drills are crucial, incorporating specialized workouts into your training regimen can yield significant improvements in reaction time. These exercises focus on developing the quick-twitch muscle fibers essential for rapid movements on the tennis court.
Running for Faster Feet
Running remains one of the most effective ways to improve overall speed and reaction time. To maximize the benefits:
- Opt for trail running or uneven terrain to challenge your body’s adaptability.
- Gradually increase your pace with each session.
- Incorporate sprint intervals to simulate the bursts of speed required in tennis.
Wall Bounces with Reaction Balls
Utilizing a reaction ball, which has an irregular shape that produces unpredictable bounces, can dramatically improve your reflexes and hand-eye coordination.
To practice:
- Stand facing a wall at a comfortable distance.
- Throw the reaction ball against the wall.
- Attempt to catch it after each unpredictable bounce.
- Gradually increase the velocity of your throws and vary your distance from the wall to escalate the difficulty.
The Power of Visualization in Enhancing Reaction Time
Mental preparation plays a crucial role in improving reaction time on the tennis court. Visualization exercises have been proven to enhance athletic performance across various sports, including tennis.
To harness the power of visualization:
- Dedicate a few minutes daily to mental imagery.
- Visualize yourself successfully returning serves and winning points.
- Focus on the sensation of quick movements and precise reactions.
- Imagine various match scenarios and your swift responses to them.
By consistently practicing visualization, you can prime your mind and body for faster reactions during actual gameplay.
Anticipation: The Secret Weapon for Lightning-Fast Reactions
While pure reaction speed is important, the ability to anticipate your opponent’s moves can give you a significant advantage on the court. Anticipation allows you to prepare your response before your opponent even hits the ball, creating the illusion of superhuman reflexes.
How to Develop Anticipation Skills:
- Study your opponent’s patterns and tendencies.
- Pay attention to their body positioning and racket preparation.
- Consider the context of the point and likely shot selections.
- Mentally prepare for multiple scenarios before each point.
By honing your anticipation skills, you can react more quickly and decisively to your opponent’s shots, giving yourself more time to execute the perfect return.
Enhancing Visual Acuity for Improved Reactions
A key aspect of quick reactions in tennis is the ability to process visual information rapidly. Many players make the mistake of focusing solely on the ball, neglecting crucial visual cues from their opponent.
To improve your visual acuity and reaction time:
- Practice observing your opponent’s body language and racket preparation.
- Train your peripheral vision to maintain awareness of the entire court.
- Work on tracking the ball’s trajectory while simultaneously reading your opponent’s movements.
- Engage in exercises that challenge your ability to process multiple visual stimuli simultaneously.
By broadening your visual focus, you’ll be better equipped to anticipate and react to your opponent’s shots with greater speed and accuracy.
Adapting to Sudden Changes in Ball Direction
One of the most challenging aspects of maintaining quick reactions in tennis is adapting to sudden changes in ball direction. As the ball travels from you to your opponent and back, its trajectory can shift dramatically, requiring lightning-fast adjustments.
Strategies for Handling Directional Changes:
- Maintain a balanced, ready position at all times.
- Keep your weight on the balls of your feet for quick pivots.
- Practice split-step timing to maximize your readiness for direction changes.
- Develop peripheral awareness to track both the ball and your opponent simultaneously.
- Engage in drills that simulate unpredictable ball movements.
By focusing on these strategies, you can improve your ability to react swiftly to unexpected changes in ball direction, giving you a competitive edge on the court.
Integrating Reaction Time Training into Your Overall Tennis Regimen
To truly maximize your reaction time improvements, it’s essential to integrate specific training into your overall tennis practice routine. This holistic approach ensures that your enhanced reflexes translate effectively into match play.
Tips for Comprehensive Reaction Time Training:
- Allocate dedicated time for reaction-specific drills in each practice session.
- Incorporate reaction challenges into your regular tennis drills.
- Use technology, such as reaction time apps or devices, to track your progress.
- Practice with partners of varying skill levels to expose yourself to different playing styles and speeds.
- Regularly participate in competitive matches to apply your improved reactions under pressure.
By consistently focusing on reaction time within the context of your broader tennis training, you’ll develop a more instinctive and responsive playing style that can elevate your performance in matches.
The Role of Nutrition and Recovery in Optimizing Reaction Time
While physical and mental training are crucial for improving reaction time, the importance of proper nutrition and recovery should not be underestimated. These factors play a significant role in maintaining the neural pathways and muscle responsiveness necessary for quick reactions on the court.
Nutritional Considerations for Enhanced Reactions:
- Consume a balanced diet rich in complex carbohydrates for sustained energy.
- Include lean proteins to support muscle repair and neurotransmitter function.
- Stay well-hydrated to maintain optimal cognitive and physical performance.
- Consider supplements like omega-3 fatty acids, which may support brain health and reaction time.
Recovery Strategies for Peak Reactivity:
- Prioritize quality sleep to allow for neural pathway consolidation.
- Incorporate active recovery sessions to maintain flexibility and reduce muscle tension.
- Practice mindfulness or meditation to improve focus and mental acuity.
- Use foam rolling and stretching to prevent muscle imbalances that could slow reactions.
By paying attention to these often-overlooked aspects of training, you can ensure that your body and mind are primed for optimal reaction time performance on the tennis court.
Measuring and Tracking Reaction Time Progress
To effectively improve your reaction time in tennis, it’s important to establish a baseline and track your progress over time. This approach allows you to identify areas of improvement and adjust your training accordingly.
Methods for Assessing Reaction Time:
- Use specialized reaction time testing equipment available at sports performance centers.
- Employ smartphone apps designed to measure reaction speed.
- Conduct timed drills and record your results consistently.
- Film your matches and analyze your reaction speed in various situations.
Regular assessment of your reaction time can provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of your training methods and help you set realistic goals for improvement.
Interpreting Your Progress:
When evaluating your reaction time improvements, consider the following factors:
- Overall trend in reaction speed measurements
- Consistency of reactions across different types of shots
- Performance in match situations compared to controlled drills
- Feedback from coaches and training partners on perceived improvements
By maintaining a systematic approach to measuring and analyzing your reaction time, you can continually refine your training methods and achieve substantial improvements in your on-court performance.
Advanced Techniques for Elite-Level Reaction Time
As you progress in your journey to improve reaction time, there are advanced techniques that can help push your skills to elite levels. These methods are often employed by professional players and can provide a significant competitive advantage when mastered.
Neurofeedback Training:
Neurofeedback involves using real-time displays of brain activity to teach self-regulation of brain function. For tennis players, this can translate to:
- Enhanced focus and concentration during critical moments
- Improved ability to enter a “flow state” for optimal reactions
- Reduced mental interference that can slow down reaction times
Virtual Reality (VR) Simulation:
VR technology offers innovative ways to train reaction time in a controlled environment. Benefits include:
- Exposure to a wide variety of shot types and speeds
- The ability to practice reactions without physical fatigue
- Immediate feedback on reaction speed and accuracy
- Customizable scenarios to target specific weaknesses
Stroboscopic Training:
This technique involves using specialized eyewear that creates a strobe-like effect, forcing the brain to process visual information more efficiently. Potential advantages include:
- Improved visual tracking of the ball
- Enhanced ability to anticipate shot direction
- Increased processing speed of visual stimuli
While these advanced techniques can offer significant benefits, they should be approached under the guidance of experienced trainers or coaches to ensure proper implementation and avoid potential drawbacks.
Overcoming Plateaus in Reaction Time Improvement
As with any skill development, you may encounter periods where your reaction time improvements seem to stagnate. Recognizing and addressing these plateaus is crucial for continued progress.
Strategies for Breaking Through Reaction Time Plateaus:
- Introduce novel training methods to challenge your nervous system in new ways.
- Temporarily increase the intensity or volume of your reaction drills.
- Cross-train with other fast-paced sports to develop transferable skills.
- Seek feedback from experienced coaches to identify subtle areas for improvement.
- Analyze video footage of your matches to detect patterns or habits that may be limiting your progress.
Remember that plateaus are a natural part of the learning process. By approaching them with patience and creativity, you can overcome these obstacles and continue to enhance your reaction time on the tennis court.
The Psychological Edge: Mental Strategies for Faster Reactions
While physical training is essential, the mental aspect of reaction time in tennis cannot be overlooked. Developing a strong psychological foundation can significantly enhance your ability to react quickly and decisively during matches.
Key Mental Strategies for Improved Reaction Time:
- Practice mindfulness to increase present-moment awareness on the court.
- Develop pre-point routines that prime your mind for quick reactions.
- Use positive self-talk to maintain confidence in your reaction abilities.
- Employ breathing techniques to manage stress and maintain optimal arousal levels.
- Visualize successful quick reactions to build neural pathways for improved performance.
By integrating these psychological strategies into your training regimen, you can create a mental environment that supports and enhances your physical capabilities for faster reactions.
Overcoming Mental Barriers to Quick Reactions:
Sometimes, mental blocks can impede your ability to react quickly on the court. Common barriers include:
- Fear of making mistakes
- Overthinking during points
- Lack of trust in your instincts
- Negative past experiences affecting current performance
To address these issues, consider working with a sports psychologist or mental performance coach who can provide tailored strategies to overcome these mental hurdles and unlock your full potential for rapid reactions in tennis.
Applying Improved Reaction Time to Match Play
Ultimately, the goal of enhancing your reaction time is to see tangible improvements in your match performance. Translating your improved reflexes from practice to competitive play requires deliberate focus and strategy.
Tips for Maximizing Reaction Time Benefits in Matches:
- Start each match with a proper warm-up that includes reaction drills.
- Stay physically and mentally engaged between points to maintain readiness.
- Use the time during opponent’s service motion to prepare your split-step timing.
- Practice situational awareness to anticipate potential shot selections.
- Reflect on successful quick reactions during changeovers to reinforce positive patterns.
By consciously applying your enhanced reaction skills during matches, you’ll gradually integrate these improvements into your natural playing style, leading to better overall performance and potentially game-changing moments on the court.
Adapting to Different Playing Styles:
Remember that improved reaction time is not a one-size-fits-all solution. You’ll need to adapt your quick reflexes to various opponents and playing styles. Consider the following:
- Against big servers, focus on early preparation and split-step timing.
- When facing topspin-heavy players, be ready for high bounces and sharp angles.
- Against slice specialists, prepare for low, skidding balls that require quick adjustments.
- In doubles, emphasize quick volleys and rapid net coverage.
By tailoring your improved reaction time to specific match situations, you’ll maximize its effectiveness and gain a significant competitive advantage on the tennis court.
How to Improve Your Reaction Time on the Tennis Court • Saw Mill Club
Looking to improve your reaction time on the tennis court? From drills to visualization to specialized workouts, there are plenty of ways to do it.
Speed
As a tennis player, you know that being able to move quickly is essential. Moving from one sideline to the other demands agility and speed, and to be successful you must also have a quick reaction time. It only takes a second for the ball to get past you.
You will want to add both cardiovascular training and strength training into your workouts, but another essential way to boost your reaction time is to add specialized drills.
The Three-Ball Drill
One of the best drills to practice is the Three-Ball Drill. This drill improves your reaction time because it helps you learn to read and respond to shots even better than you already do. Keeping good form is essential with this drill.
Have your partner stand in the middle of the tennis court, right inside the baseline. He or she should face you, holding two tennis balls. You will stand behind the baseline and face the net. Have your partner feed a ball underhand to you, on one side. Slide over to catch the ball, off just one bounce with one hand. Toss it back and go to your original position. As you return the first ball, your partner will throw the second, but in the opposite direction. Two balls should be in motion at the same time, at all times. Keep this up, doing about ten throws per set. Once you get good at this, have your partner vary the location of the ball.
Workouts
There are also some specialized workouts that you can do to improve your reaction time on the court. One of those is simply running! To get faster, at anything, you need to practice. And quick reactions involve fast feet. Try running in nature, because your body will have to react to unpredictable terrain while you run. The key is to run faster and faster each time you go out.
Wall Bounces
Today you can buy something called a ‘reaction ball’ that has an odd shape and gives you an uneven bounce each and every time you bounce the ball. Throw the ball against the wall and catch it. Each time it bounces back, you will really have to react and pay attention in order to catch it.
Increase the velocity of your throws, and vary how close you stand to the wall to make this even more challenging.
Visualize
And finally, simply visualize your success on the court. Picture yourself returning every serve, and winning the match. Visualization exercises have been proven to increase athletes’ success in every sport, so spend a few minutes every day picturing just how quickly you will return those serves!
4 Ways to Improve Your Reaction Speed
Reaction speed is one of the keys to playing great tennis at a higher level, where the balls fly much faster.
Quick reactions are also important at all levels of tennis doubles, where there are ball exchanges at the net when players volley at each other at shorter distances.
If your reactions are fast, you’ll have more time to:
- Get to the ball
- Make the right decision
- Balance yourself before the stroke
- Perform your stroke properly
So how can you improve your reactions in tennis? Here are four ways to get a jump on your opponent’s returns.
Anticipation
Anticipation means that you predict what will happen with high probability, and prepare the “program” in your mind so that you’re ready to execute.
For example, say you are at the net and your partner returned the serve to the feet of your opponent. You can anticipate with high probability that your opponent will play the volley up and crosscourt, back to your partner on the baseline.
So before your opponent hits the ball, you already see what will happen and prepare your actions — to attack the ball in advance.
Once your opponent makes his return, you can pounce immediately. For the outside observer, it may seem that your reactions are fantastic, but in fact it was your anticipation that made that possible.
The Real Reaction
Without the help of anticipation, the real reaction has to do with you clearly seeing the situation and the ball.
What often happens is that you are watching the ball as it travels toward your opponent, instead of noticing your opponent’s body language as he prepares to hit the ball.
Your eyes are so narrowly focused on the ball that you cannot read your opponent’s shot.
This doesn’t have to do so much with anticipation of your opponent’s intention. Rather, it deals with sending all the available data from the situation to your brain, which will then be able to better decide what the right reaction should be.
Another problem is that the ball can suddenly changes direction, going from you, towards the opponent, and then back to you. This sudden change of direction makes it difficult to track the ball, causing you to lose track of it for a split second.
Your only option at that point is to react when you see the ball again and are able to determine its flight path, which can take a few hundredths of a second off of your reaction time — time you can’t afford to lose in preparation for a return.
The key is to switch your narrow focus from only the ball, to the ball AND the opponent. Once your opponent hits the ball, you’ll get more cues on what kind of shot he played, and your eyes will be able to quickly and automatically find and track the ball.
How to improve reaction skills in offensive, fast-paced tennis
This month’s column of tennis coach Marcin Bieniek elaborates on the importance of good reaction skills in contemporary tennis and gives us tips on how to maximize our potential in this department that is the base for effective modern style of play.
Tennis is completely different than it was even ten years ago. New technologies, better athletes and access to broad knowledge have greatly transformed the game. It is quite simple to observe that tennis is a quick sport based on powerful shots, swift decisions and fast movement.
Nowadays, the majority of players, and that includes the best players in the world, such as Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams and Petra Kvitova, possess offensive style of play, which is based on short and dynamic rallies. Even when they play against opponents who like consistency, they look for shorter points and try to put pressure on rivals from the first shot.
It doesn’t matter at which level you play, if you’re striving for improvement, you should make reaction one of your priorities, while if your goal is to become the next Serena Williams, without excellent reaction you don’t have a chance to chase the GOAT.
Why is reaction so important for tennis players? Because of the specificity of the sport and because tennis is faster than ever before, so reaction gets major attention for coaches who want to develop successful tennis players. With good reaction you have more time to prepare your shots, so you start to feel less pressure. The more time you have, the easier it is to execute your strategy successfully. That is why if you work on this aspect and develop this area to the highest possible level, you will immediately see positive change in your game and results.
Your stance before the opponent’s shot can either help you or make your next move really difficult. Good players constantly move their feet and make regular split-steps to be ready to answer incoming balls. Additionally, they strive to keep their weight on the front part of their feet, to be able to accelerate to the ball. To achieve these tasks, your legs need to be prepared for long-term work. You can improve this aspect with a simple tool such as footwork ladder, which you can find at Tennis Warehouse Europe.
Good reaction is not related only to your legs, rather, it is a process where your perception skills have big impact on the final result of your action. The faster you are able to read incoming balls, the more time you have to react and prepare your shots. If you can read the ball while it is still on the opponent’s side, you have enough time for preparation. On the other hand, if you realize where the ball is going after it crosses the net, there is a big chance that you will hit the ball late. The easiest way to improve this area is to learn how to perceive the ball as fast as possible. You can use balls of different colors to develop solid perception skills.
To react quickly, you have to fully focus on the ball, meaning that nothing and nobody can disrupt your focus. It is not an easy task, so only by performing specific tasks during training sessions will you be able to improve focusing skills to the point where you won’t see anything other than the ball. How can you do that? Do exercises where you have to perform given action successfully a few times in a row. It will teach you to keep your focus sharp and to not waste previous effort.
Tennis is a complex sport where many skills are necessary to successfully compete against good opponents. One of these skills is reaction. Players who react fast have more time to prepare their shots, so they get invisible advantage over the rival. Would you like to get this advantage? Then use tips from this article and be faster than ever before.
Marcin Bieniek is a professional tennis coach, currently working with a Top 60 ITF player, and founder of instructional website TennisIsland.us. Marcin is the author of Enjoy Tennis Blog and a frequent contributor to TennisPro and TenisKlub magazines. Moreover, Marcin was a speaker at International Coaching Tennis Symposium 2016 at Hilton Head Island, USA.
MORE ARTICLES BY TENNIS COACH MARCIN BIENIEK:
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How To Improve Reaction Time: The Complete Guide
Improving your reaction time is one of the best investments you can make in your physical fitness and functionality.
There are so many situations where being able to act just a little bit quicker can make all the difference. This could be in athletics or in your daily life.
In this post, we cover all the best ways you can increase your reaction time. Give them a try and you’ll be happy with the results!
Understanding Reaction Time
Reaction time is one of the most misunderstood elements of human performance. While most people think they know what it is, their definition of it is technically incorrect.
Whether you’re a seasoned athlete or someone who sits at an office all day, reaction time plays a crucial role in every single thing that you do. Essentially, reaction time is how fast you respond to external stimuli.
Your brain and nervous system govern your entire body. Every action you take first has to go through your brain before your body can ever start moving.
Think of it as a computer. Whenever your body experiences a stimulus, electrical signals are sent to the brain to be processed.
This external stimulus doesn’t have to be anything major. It could be bright light hitting or your eyes or someone tapping you on the shoulder. Whatever the case may be, your senses are stimulated immediately.
Those sensory receptors then send out electrical impulses to your brain so that it can decide how you need to respond. Then, the brain sends those signals to the central and peripheral nervous systems so that they can travel to the parts of the body that need to move.
The final result is a physical response to the stimulus. It sounds simple enough, but it’s a complex process that happens in only fractions of a second.
Why Improving It Is So Important
As we mentioned earlier, your reaction time is incredibly important for your everyday life. It keeps you safe and ensures that your body is primed to move whenever it needs to.
Think about all of the activities you do that rely on quick reaction times to perform successfully. Driving is a big one. When a car suddenly pulls out in front of you, quick reaction time can mean the difference between staying safe and getting into an accident.
The same goes for simple falls. When you trip, your brain must respond quickly to the visual stimulation so that it can tell your hands to catch yourself. Even being exposed to blinding light relies on fast reaction times to prevent any long-term damage to your vision!
Don’t mistake reaction time with reflexes. While reflexes and reaction times both work to keep you safe, there is one key difference. Reflexes are involuntary movements to stimuli. Meanwhile, reaction time deals with voluntary movements that you have to consciously make.
Reflexes aren’t affected too much by lifestyle choices or mental prowess. They’re always there working behind the scenes to avoid harm whether you’re paying attention to your surroundings or not.
That’s not the case with reaction times. Unfortunately, your ability to react quickly can wane over time. Your brain naturally gets slower as you age due to impairment and degeneration. Poor health and lifestyle choices can exacerbate the problem as well.
Different Ways To Improve Reaction Time
The good news is that it’s completely possible to improve reaction times. Strengthening that connection between your body and brain can make a noticeable difference in your ability to react to the world around you.
Physical responses will seem quicker than ever before and that brief moment of “buffering” can be eliminated over time.
There are various techniques you can use to do this. While some are easier to do than others, they’re all worth trying.
Train A Specific Movement Or Action
Have you ever wondered why athletes always perform the same drills over and over again? Well, a large part of that is geared towards improving reaction time on the field.
There’s no better way to speed up reaction times than to physically train your body to perform the response you want to happen. When you do those exercises, you’re firing up the central nervous system just like you would if you were naturally responding to a stimulus.
This creates neural connections between your brain and your body. The more you train those movements, the stronger the connection will be. That’s why mimicking movements is such a huge part of athletic training.
Having those neural connections established and reinforced ensures that the electrical signals can quickly get through to your body.
There are several ways that you can train. It all depends on the sport you play. Sprinters often work to improve reaction times by simulating the explosive starting sound of a gunshot or bell.
When every second counts (like it does in sprinting competitions), getting your body comfortable with that response can make all the difference.
Those who play contact sports like football or rugby often perform plyometric exercises. These are explosive workout moves that require you to use as much muscle force as possible in a split second. Jump squats and lateral hops are both good examples.
Athletes can also participate in over-speed training. Essentially, over-speed training is forcing your brain to adapt to stimuli that are much faster than what you’d normally be encountering in a real-world setting. The idea is that getting more comfortable with extremely fast stimulation will make your average reaction times much faster.
You’ll see many athletes doing over-speed training. Baseball players often practice batting with machines that throw the ball well over 100 miles an hour. Meanwhile, football players are often paired with faster teammates to perform drills so that they’re better prepared for the opposing team.
Ultimately, the best workout to increase reaction time will mimic the movement you’re aiming to speed up.
Keep Yourself Calm
On the opposite side of the spectrum, you can work to enhance your reaction times by simply learning to stay calm. Oftentimes, distractions are a big reaction time killer.
Athletes faced with screaming fans and a ton of moving players on the field have to hone in on their target to ensure that they’re responding quickly to the events of the game.
To use another example, drivers need to stay calm and distraction-free on the road so that they can respond to every unexpected hazard that comes up.
There’s a strong link between meditation and reaction times. Several studies have shown that having the ability to calm the mind strengthens your brain’s response to sudden stimuli.
When you think about how meditation is performed, it starts to make more sense. Meditation is all about staying calm and being mindful of your own body. Practitioners work hard to pay attention to their breathing and increase their awareness of what their body is doing.
Contrary to popular belief, meditation isn’t focused on “emptying” the brain and thinking about nothing. Instead, it’s about learning how to stay calm and alert no matter how crazy the world around you is.
Give meditation a shot and see how it can improve your reaction time. Take up guided meditation or yoga. Alternatively, you can develop your own calming techniques to utilize whenever things get crazy.
Either way, learning how to stay calm can make a noticeable difference in your body reactions to audible and visual stimulation.
Stay Hydrated
Did you know that the brain can shrink a bit whenever you’re dehydrated? The brain is predominantly made of water, so a lack of hydration can have a huge effect on your reaction time.
How is your brain supposed to fire off signals when it’s struggling to stay healthy?
Proper hydration is key to improving your overall health, and your brain is no exception. Countless studies have established a link between poor cognitive performance and dehydration.
The tricky thing about keeping your brain hydrated is that you might not even know you’ve reached a critical point. By the time you feel the urge to take a sip of water, your brain might already be a little sluggish.
To avoid these issues and keep your brain in tip-top shape, consume water constantly throughout the day. Keep a bottle on hand. Many experts say that you should drink at least 2 liters of water every day.
However, that’s just a minimum. The more water your body gets the better. Not only will you experience improvements in your reaction time, but you’ll also see a boost in your overall health and performance.
Get Enough Sleep
Getting at least 8 hours of sleep a day is required to stay healthy. Unfortunately, busy schedules can make this difficult for many people.
Have you ever stayed up all night to cram for a test or prepare for a big presentation at work? Chances are your reaction time was incredibly poor the following day.
There’s a reason why they tell you not to get behind the wheel when you’re tired. Your brain needs those precious hours of sleep to function properly.
Think of your brain as a computer. Like any other smart computer, it runs on a 24-hour internal clock cycle. Called the circadian rhythm, this cycle puts your brain into different states of operation.
When you’re awake, your brain acts like a temporary hard drive. All of the events of the day are stored in your short-term memory. When you call it a night and go to sleep, all of that information is then backed up to your long-term memory.
But what happens when the short-term memory doesn’t have time to get backed up? Much like a filled hard drive, you’re going to experience some extreme data buffering and major performance issues!
You can dramatically increase your reaction times by just getting a good night of rest. It’s simple, but you’d be surprised by how quick your reaction times can be when you wake up feeling refreshed.
Properly Fuel Your Body
It might come as a surprise, but your diet can affect reaction times, too. The food you’re consuming is fuel for your body, and all of the nutrients you put into your body are used up by the organs to stay healthy.
This includes your brain.
Tons of foods can have a noticeable effect on your reaction times. One of the most common is coffee or soda. Heavily caffeinated drinks improve your energy levels and can stimulate your brain in so many different ways.
Generally, health professionals will tell you to steer clear of energy drinks, excessive coffee drinking, and sugary sodas. It’s true that these caffeinated goods aren’t that great for your overall health in the long term. However, caffeine is not the primary issue.
Caffeine is perfectly fine in moderation. If you can get it from a natural source like tea, you can reap the benefits without the unwanted risks from other sugary treats
When you consume caffeine, your body releases adrenaline hormones. This gets your blood pumping and directly affects the amount of oxygen your brain is getting. As a result, you’ll feel more alert. Your reaction times will see a boost as well. Though, this boost will only be temporary.
If you want to feed your brain over the long-term, you can improve your diet and introduce several nutrients. Antioxidants are known to protect the brain. They have polyphenols, which may help to keep the brain safe from stress.
Antioxidants, as a whole, are capable of fighting off the signs of aging. This includes brain degeneration. The nutrient works to fight off free radicals and prevent cell oxidation.
Another good nutrient to add to your diet is Vitamin K. Vitamin-rich foods like broccoli, kale, and spinach are said to improve overall brain function.
These small changes to your diet can have a profound effect on your reaction times. When your brain is able to reach peak performance levels, it’s able to send off signals at incredibly fast speeds.
Perform Cognitive Training Exercises
One of the most effective ways to improve your reaction time is to do cognitive training exercises. These exercises are specifically targeting your brain rather than other muscles in your body.
Cognitive training is a relatively new concept that has made waves in the sports world in recent years. Some of the biggest athletes in the world have cognitive training included in their workout regime.
There are many forms of cognitive training. However, they all serve the same purpose and work the same way. Essentially, you are exposed to visual and audible stimulants and must respond as quickly as you can.
It’s like a game. In fact, most training routines are pretty addicting!.
The impact this form of training can have is astounding. It’s all about establishing and strengthening those neural pathways we mentioned earlier.
By forcing your brain to respond to visual stimulants on a playing screen, you’re creating new neural paths that your brain can use to communicate with your central nervous system.
The more you train, the shorter and stronger those paths will become. Your brain will get more comfortable shooting signals through the most effective path possible, which translates into faster reaction times.
If you’re a serious athlete looking to improve your reaction time, we’d love to help you out. Get in touch with us here.
Closing Thoughts
Increasing your reaction time is incredibly beneficial whether you’re an athlete or not. It brings a number of benefits to your daily life that can’t be undervalued.
We highly recommend trying all of the methods on our list. When you combine them the results will blow you away.
If you’re interested in learning more about how to use cognitive training to supercharge your brain for maximum performance you can click here to learn more.
Learn How Can You Increase Your Speed On The Tennis Court
Are you a little slow on the tennis court? Do you need to increase your speed in order to compete at a higher level? This drill is an amazing drill that you can complete by yourself to help improve your foot speed on the tennis court. View the video demonstration below and expand your knowledge of other speed and agility drills for tennis.
Is Speed All About Genetics?
Genetics play a major role in how fast your body is able to move on the tennis court. Gifted athletes of all ages compete at a higher level then novice athletes due to their genetic make up. Your body’s abilities are often predetermined by your genetic code. The thing to remember is that training can optimize your genetic abilities. It is not often that you see a slow-moving athlete become the world’s most explosive runner, but you have the ability to increase your foot speed and hand eye coordination on the tennis court with proper training. Even the smallest amount of speed on the court can mean the difference in returning a serve and missing the ball altogether.
What If I’m Slow?
Speed is very important in the game of tennis. If you are lacking in speed one thing you must do is improve your reaction time and hand eye coordination. Just as many sprinters know, the ability to react to the gun can have a major impact on your sprint speed. Think of the hundred meter dash. Athletes win by milliseconds. Shaving 1/100 off your time can mean the difference in an Olympic champion or a fifth place finish. Tennis on the other hand, is a skill sport that requires hand eye coordination, reaction time and speed. If you find that you are not the quickest athlete then you must optimize your hand eye coordination and reaction time. The ability to move instantly to return a shot can mean the difference in winning and losing.
What’s The Difference Reaction Time Or Speed?
Reaction time is the ability of your body to move in a certain direction. If a person that you are competing against hits the ball, reaction time would be the measurement of time it takes you to understand where your body needs to move. Speed on the other hand, refers to how fast your body can move across the court to that position. Just as we examine the track example above, if your reaction time is slow, speed will not help you achieve your goal.
Workout Advice For Tennis Players
We always suggest completing drills that target both reaction time and speed. The drill above focuses on foot speed and gaining ground laterally across the court. Browse through our tennis training section for reaction time drills in addition to backhand and forehand specific training. Complete 2 to 3 speed specific drills and 1 to 2 reaction time based drills each and every training session. Be sure that you’re good and warmed up before completing any sport specific exercises. For training advice or more sports specific drills let us know if you have any questions in the comments below.
Tennis Training Equipment
How to Improve Reaction Time Through Physical and Mental Exercises
What do catching a ball, walking up the stairs, and covering your eyes have in common? They’re all ways that the body can react to its environment. Fast reaction time, which measures how long it takes for your body to respond to external forces, is essential for leading a safe, healthy life.
Reaction time can be strengthened and improved through a variety of exercises and lifestyle factors. Whether you’re meditating, kicking a soccer ball, or playing For Honor, these science-backed tips will help you improve reaction time both in the game and in life.
What Is Reaction Time and Why Does It Matter?
The senses are engaged in a variety of different ways. Sometimes, it’s just one sense that’s stimulated, such as when you close your eyes in response to bright light. Other times, multiple senses can be involved at the same time, igniting multiple sensory reactions.
Stimulation of the senses results in a signal, which is sent to the central and peripheral nervous systems. These signals are essentially electrical impulses, or messengers, delivering information to the rest of the body. The message travels through the brain, down the spinal cord, and to the areas of the body that need to respond.
Having a fast reaction time means that your brain and spinal cord are quickly sending messages to your bones, muscles, and joints in order to make movements.
Protecting the Body From Harm
Reaction time is important because it helps protect the body from potential injury and harm. Let’s say you slip and fall on ice — a fast reaction time could mean the difference between catching yourself and hitting your head. It isn’t just getting into an accident that requires a fast reaction time, however.
Ordinary daily actions are also strengthened and made safer by having a prompt reaction time. Driving, walking, cooking, running, and even doing the laundry are all examples of activities that require a fast reaction time. Without a quick reaction, these seemingly mundane activities can become opportunities for injury.
Aging and Reaction Time
Unfortunately, reaction time naturally decreases with age. This is primarily due to impaired or reduced cognitive functioning. As discussed above, quick engagement of the brain is essential for telling the body to react to its environment. When the brain isn’t reacting at optimum speed, falls and injury are more likely.
This was demonstrated in a study on older cancer survivors, which sought to determine the relationship between cognitive function, physical mobility, and falls. The study found a direct connection between decreased brain functioning and falling-related injuries.
“As the cognitive processes of recall, orientation, and executive function become more impaired in this population, falls incidence increases, gait speed decreases, and balance becomes more impaired,” says Jennifer Blackwood, the study’s author.
This suggests that falls among older people are directly related to a reduction in simple reaction time. This is especially true for more complicated movements that involve multitasking, increased motor response, and more complex thinking. It also suggests that simple aspects of physical mobility, such as walking, gait speed, cadence, and step length, are all associated with a decline in reaction time. This is why the risk of falling often increases with age: It becomes harder to catch yourself and prevent injury as reaction time slows.
How to Improve Reaction Time With Lifestyle Changes
Unlike reflexes, which aren’t processed by the brain, reaction time can be strengthened and improved through lifestyle changes. Cognitive exercises, meditation and mindfulness, and nutritional supplements are all factors that can boost reaction time in a safe and healthy way.
Cognitive Exercises
First and foremost, increasing reaction time requires that you strengthen the brain. Learning new things and challenging the brain helps strengthen neurons and decrease the brain’s response time.
Using your non-dominant hand to do things you normally do with your dominant hand is one simple, yet effective cognitive exercise. Signing your name or drawing basic figures asks your brain to think in an entirely new way, thereby rewiring neural pathways. Brushing your teeth, eating, pouring a drink, or using the remote are all things you can try with your non-dominant hand.
Meditation and Mindfulness Exercises
Multiple mindfulness exercises have proven to reduce the length of time it takes to react to external forces. Meditation, for example, has the ability to calm the mind while strengthening the brain’s responses. The relationship between meditation and reaction time was explored in a study on 45 young, healthy volunteers. The participants practiced a guided meditation for a course of 12 weeks.
The results showed that the meditation had a positive impact on auditory and visual reaction time. In addition to improving reaction time, meditation also increased alertness. Another study on yoga breathwork showed that simple breath awareness in women can improve reaction time and increase one’s ability to pay attention.
Similarly, yoga asanas (physical poses) have been shown to reduce delays in reaction time while improving mobility and mental functioning. Findings from one study showed that yoga had a positive impact on mobility, reaction time and the overall well-being of diabetes patients. Specifically, leg lift variations such as waterfall pose (lying down with the legs lifted in the air), improved body systems associated with reaction time.
Nutrition and Brain Health
It’s clear that proper brain functioning is critical for fast reaction times. Eating a diet that nourishes the brain and spinal cord can help maintain your motor skills and reflexes. Antioxidants, for example, contain polyphenols that protect the brain from the negative, age-related impacts of stress, which can contribute to cognitive decline.
Foods like blueberries, raspberries, blackcurrants, and pomegranates are a source of this nutrition. Vitamin K, found in broccoli, is another essential nutrient for brain health because it’s directly related to proper brain functioning. Caffeine and reaction time also have a positive relationship. In a study on people who practice tae kwon do, caffeine increased reaction time during combat.
Athletic Performance, Video Games, and Reaction Time
While some aging-related changes are inevitable, staying physically fit and playing sports can help you maintain quick brain functioning over time. If you’re an athlete, reaction speed is directly tied to high athletic performance. Whether it’s catching the ball, sprinting to the finish line, or kicking the goal, quickness is essential for winning the game.
Think about it: a soccer goalie only has about 0.3 seconds to react during penalty kicks. Quick reaction is essential not only for winning the game, but for being able to play at all.
How to Improve Reaction Time with Sports
Wondering how to improve reaction time? Exercises such as ladder drills, agility drills, and specialized plyometrics can aid in decreasing reaction time. Elite athletes are also turning to digital reaction drills to help the brain process more information in less time. Kawhi Leonard of the Toronto Raptors used strobe glasses to help the brain process visual stimuli more quickly and efficiently. Similar to ball drills, these goggles have strobe lights inside, which forces the brain to work through more complicated stimuli than usual.
“Once the lights are off, the brain will be able to process information much faster as there is no more interference. This allows for faster movement and swifter reaction time,” says Dr. Alan Reichow, who helped develop the glasses.
To improve your reaction time for increased athletic performance, a tennis ball is an invaluable tool. A six-sided ball called a reaction ball or bouncy ball can also work. Simply throw the ball against a surface so that it can bounce back at you. This makes your mind think more quickly because you have to catch the ball before it goes elsewhere.
Repeating the same motion over and over is another way to improve your brain’s ability to process information. It helps turn a sports move, such as catching a tennis ball, into an involuntary reflex that the brain doesn’t have to think about before making.
How to Improve Reaction Time With Video Games
While many gamers get slack for staring at their screens all day, most people don’t know just how much their brain is at work. In fact, numerous studies over the past fifteen years have demonstrated that people who play action video games have higher cognitive abilities than people who don’t. This is because action video games, like Counter-Strike, Fortnite, and For Honor, all require a very fast reaction time in order to play. They also require skills associated with reaction time, such as spatial attention, multitasking, and adapting to predetermined rules.
Another study on action games and the Simon Effect showed similar results. The Simon Effect, a conflict in the attention system, is when reaction time slows down as sensory stimulants are moved farther away. The Simon Effect is present in sports where a ball kicked from father away may be harder for a goalie to stop. This study showed that action video games can lessen the negative impact of the stimulus being far away. In other words, playing action games can improve reaction time, regardless of where the stimulus is.
The Importance of Reaction Time for Health and Longevity
A fast reaction time is essential for safe mobility, healthy aging, and peak athletic and gaming performance. Although reaction time naturally slows over time, there are many ways to train the brain to react more quickly. By decreasing the amount of time it takes to react, you can prevent injury and harm, and become more resilient against potential dangers.
Mindfulness exercises like yoga, breathwork, and meditation all play a role in making the mind stronger. Sports like tennis and soccer can also improve reaction time, especially when played repetitively. Whether you’re catching a soccer ball as a goalie or playing your way through a video game, focusing on your reaction time can undoubtedly improve your long-term quality of life.
Best 4 Exercises to Improve Reaction Time ?5 Weeks Workout
We listed reaction speed tests and how to improve reaction time by eating right in the previous article. We also discussed what factors affect reaction time. Moreover, we will show the best reaction time exercise. You also can read more about best bodyweight leg exercises! The main idea of that course is maximum efficiency for the less time. You need only 3 tennis balls and a smartphone to complete this course. It will take only 40 minutes of your life every day. Your reaction time will highly improve after 5 weeks. We prepared a reaction time exercises list that you can save and use as a reminder. You will know how to increase reaction time after reading this article. Here is your exercise plan for 5 weeks:
You can save it and use it as a reminder while completing these exercises plan!
Reaction Time Exercises in Boxing
Time`s response is a speed characteristic. It is defined by an interval of time from the sudden start of the opponent’s movement to the beginning of your counteraction. Reactions can be simple or complex, you can even lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks after good training. The speed of a simple reaction is determined by the interval from a sudden start of any actions of the partner (hit, move the body, movement, opening) to the beginning of its own specific action (protection, hit).
What Types of Reactions We Have?
- Complex reactions are defined by two or more signals and one or more reactions.
The sportsman`s reaction time depends on the properties and characteristics of his nervous system, temperament, level of training, psychological state at the moment. It deteriorates under the influence of fatigue, some stressogenic factors (tension, fear, depression, etc.) It also depends on the physical and technical training of a sportsman.
All kind of reactions have the same structure:
- Signal perception (preliminary period)
- Signal awareness (basic period)
- Response (executive period)
Which kind of reactions we have:
- Sensorimotor reaction
- Motor reaction
- Neutral reaction
On What the Type of Reaction Depends?
The type of reaction depends on the focus of the athlete’s attention. If an athlete waits for a command to start an action, it is a sensory reaction. If an athlete is focused on his upcoming movies, it is a motor reaction. When an athlete has no emphasis on something, it is a neutral reaction.
Complex reactions are typical for all competitive sports. As a rule, Boxing representatives have a significant arsenal of attack techniques, defense, deception.
Boxers never know in advance how to behave at a given moment, which technique to apply, so their reactions are a choice. Such reactions also differ in speed. The speed of reaction is very important in sport. The result of a fight depends on the reaction speed. The speed of reactions can be increased with the help of special exercises for reaction time. Sportsmen should develop sensorimotor reactions. The boxer sees the opponent strikes a blow. Then, he reacts in time by some action as a slope, a dive, leaving the line of attack, or simply breaking the distance. Everyone has a different level of reaction.
That’s why you need a strictly personal development strategy. Someone has a fast reaction from birth, someone has a lot of practice.
How to Improve Your Reaction Time?
The simplest method is an exercise repeated many times with an emphasis on immediate reaction. You have to develop automation in your reaction.
First of all, you need to know the right examples of reaction time exercises. Only regular practice can improve your reaction speed. Secondly, everyone needs an individualized approach. For example, some boxers have slow reaction speed in usual life. But they can quickly mobilize at competitions and improve their reaction time. To find inspiration, read quotes about personal growth and success. Other people show excellent speed in usual life. But their reaction becomes slower in competition time. In different situations, the same person may have different indicators that characterize the speed of reaction, the state of perception, attention, etc.
In the next section, we will list effective exercises to improve reaction time. We will start with simple exercises and continue with more complex ones.
Throwing Ball in the Wall
If you have a very slow reaction, you should start with this drill. To perform this exercise, you need a tennis ball. You need to throw the ball into the wall and catch it with the same hand. This exercise should be performed for about 10 minutes. Then, you need to change your hand. You need to throw and catch the ball with your other hand for 10 minutes. The first week you need to do this exercise every day. It takes just 20 minutes per day.
The second week you need to throw the ball with the left hand and catch it with the right hand.
Repeat this drill for 10 minutes. Then, change hands and repeat the exercise. This is not a difficult drill but it is quite effective for beginners. You will improve coordination, attention, interaction between the brain and extremities by doing this exercise.
Juggling
Now we can start more interesting exercise, after 2 weeks of working with a tennis ball. Before starting this training you need to be in the right initial position. Stand up straight, feet shoulder-width apart. Arms are bent at the elbows and are parallel to the floor. Palms are directed upwards. Elbows are close to the sides.
Juggling With One Ball
Take one ball and throw it from one hand to another. The height of the throw is slightly above eye level. You need to throw and catch the ball at different points. You should throw the ball closer to the middle of the body and catch it from the outside of your body. After the catch, the hand makes a semi-circular movement and makes a throw.
This exercise is simple but very important because it lays the ground for juggling. Do this drill for 10 minutes for one week.
Two Tennis Balls
Now you need 2 tennis balls for this drill. You can start more complicated juggling after a 10 minutes warm-up with one ball. Take one ball in each hand. Make the throw with your right hand, according to the recommendations of the previous paragraph. When the ball reaches its maximum height, make the throw with your left hand. Catch the first ball with your left hand, then the second with your right hand. Stop. Now repeat, starting with the left hand. Concentrate on the accuracy of the throws. Repeat it for 10 minutes.
As a result, in the third week you need to do the drill with 1 ball for 10 minutes, then drill with 2 tennis balls for 10 minutes. If you feel confident enough, you can exchange balls with each hand without pauses.
Preparing for Juggling With 3 Balls
You need to take 2 balls in your right hand, and one ball in the left hand. Throw one of the balls with your right hand, then make the exchange as described in the previous paragraph. When the ball reaches the highest point, make another exchange. You will end up with two balls in your left hand and one in your right hand. Repeat, starting with the left hand.
Once you have learned how to do a double exchange, consolidate the skill by practicing. You should do a double exchange ten times in a row without dropping the ball. Do this drill every day for 10 minutes in your 4th week. It will be a great warm-up before real juggling!
Juggling With 3 Tennis Balls
Now you are ready for real juggling. Do everything exactly as you did in the previous lesson, but add another throw. Practice a triple exchange until you can do it ten times in a row. After that, add another throw. Then another one, then another one, and so on. All the time, focus on the accuracy of the throws. A correctly thrown ball will fall in your hand. At one point you will feel confident and can juggle three balls as much as you want. Try to do this drill after warming up from the previous paragraph. Try to do it for 10 minutes after the previous drill. Do this exercise for 10 minutes on the 4th week. Then, you need to juggle for 20 minutes on the 5th week.
1 to 50 Exercise
Moreover, we’ve been talking about improving physical reactions in previous paragraphs. Now you need to work on brain reaction time. We talked about this great exercise in a previous article. You need to do this drill for 10 times and record your results every day. After that, you need to do this drill for 5 weeks after physical drills. You will easily pass this test in 30-35 seconds in 5 weeks!
Tetris Effect
Furthermore, you need to be attentive, concentrate, react quick, include spatial thinking and coordination of movements to play tennis. The result is a thickening of the cortex, which increases the efficiency of its work. Tennis improves your brain speed reaction time. You need to play 10 Tetris games every day for 5 weeks.
Consequently, you will know it after 5 weeks of this course. You can measure it by using tests from our past article. By the way, you will know how to juggle as a pro and become as fast as a tiger!
90,000 How to increase your reaction speed in table tennis
Reaction is the general name for the psychophysiological ability of a person to act in response to some stimulus. In table tennis, the response to visual signals is especially important. The athlete must see the moment the ball hits and respond to it in the most effective way.
It is clear that it is impossible to increase the reaction speed to an absolute value. A person has a certain threshold, above which he is not able to act, no matter how trained he may be.Speaking about an increase in the reaction rate, they mean that a tennis player can approach this threshold as much as possible, especially since it is somewhat different for each individual. In trained people, the reaction rate is practically reached the highest possible value, while in untrained people its potential remains undiscovered to the end.
Exercises to increase the speed of visual reaction for tennis players:
1. The most famous exercise! The coach and student face each other.The coach holds the tennis ball in his hand with his palm facing down. The student places his palm on top. After a while, the coach releases the ball, and the student must catch it on the fly. The height of the palm is approximately 1.2 m. If necessary, this distance either decreases or increases.
2. A similar exercise, but with a ruler. The coach presses the ruler vertically against the wall with his finger. The student places his finger next to the ruler (anywhere) at a distance of 1 cm from it.At the same time, 10-15 cm should remain before the beginning of the ruler. The coach suddenly releases the ruler, and the student must have time to press it with his finger.
3. Exercise with table lamps (reaction to light). You need to have two table lamps. The coach turns on one of them, and the student must then perform some simple action on the table, for example, move the object. The exercise can be varied and complicated. For example, set a condition: when the first lamp is turned on, the student claps his hands, when the second lamp is turned on, he moves the object.
4. Demonstration of objects. During this exercise, the trainer shows the student several objects in a row. According to the conditions, the student must respond to each of them in a certain way. The exercise becomes more difficult if the interval between demonstrations decreases.
For children, you can also use exercises-games:
Training for reaction speed
1. Using the game “even-odd”. The subject’s task is that he must have time to react to the follower’s fingers and show a combination that is different from his.For example, he threw out “even”, which means the subject throws out “odd”. The same can be done in the rock-paper-scissors game. Here, as in the previous game, the figures on the fingers need to be shown not simultaneously, but in turn.
2. “Take your hand off”, “Take off your leg”. In the first game, participants sit in front of each other with their hands in front of them. The first tries to suddenly slap the second on top of the hand. The second must have time to pull his hand away. In the second game, the participants stand in a circle (from 3 to 8 children can participate here).The task of the first is to have time to step on the foot of the next, and the second, jumping off, has time to step on the foot of the third, and so on in a circle.
Individual training of visual reaction:
It is not necessary to have a partner or coach for this workout. The athlete takes a tennis ball and throws it with force against the wall, after which he catches it. He himself regulates the speed and direction of the ball, assigning himself a task in the form of the number of unmistakably caught balls. The ball can be thrown directly into the wall, or it can also be thrown in the form of a ricochet on the floor or against another wall.Also, such balls can be thrown to each other. Alternatively, instead of a ball, take a tennis ball and direct it against the wall with a racket, thus hitting the required number of times.
Tennis table visual reaction training:
A trainer or an experienced sparring partner is a must for this workout.
1. A partner throws the ball at different speeds, the trainee must hit it off, performing a specific task. For example, to carry out a retaliatory blow of a rally or, conversely, to repulse it at the top point.
Hexagonal tennis ball, made in China
2. The partner hits differently each time (undercut, roll forward or top spin). The student must “guess” the blow in time and direct it to a certain point on the table. You can complicate the exercise – for example, beat all rolls only with undercutting, and undercuts with top spin.
3. The partner punches each time into a different corner of the table, and the trainee, on the contrary, must hit only the place from which it is convenient for the coach to carry out the next blow.
4. Use for training a hexagonal ball. Such a ball, falling on the table along one trajectory, can suddenly change direction and fly in the other direction.
In preparing the article, the following sources were used:
1. Baigulov Yu.P. Table tennis: Yesterday, today, tomorrow. – M .: physical culture and sport, 2000.
2. Matytsin O.V. Long-term training of young athletes in table tennis. – M .: ed. “Theory and practice of physical culture”, 2001.
3. Barchukova G.V. Theory and methodology of table tennis. Textbook for students of higher educational institutions / G.V. Barchukova, V.M. Bogushas, O.V, Matytsin; ed. G.V. Barchukova – M.: Publishing Center “Academy”, 2006.
90,000 exercises, recommendations, photos, videos, tennis
Speed plays an important role in tennis success, and this is obvious. However, in most cases, this concept means only the speed of movement of the athlete around the playing field.This is not so – in addition to fast movement, speed also manifests itself in quick reaction, timely readiness to strike and the ability to make instant tactical decisions.
General information
A good tennis player has excellent command of the whole range of these skills, he can move around the court quite quickly, deftly perform various maneuvers, successfully take the opponent’s serve and respond in time to sudden strikes.
Abilities of an athlete to a sufficient speed of reactions and movements are fully developed and depend on the strength of the muscles.Therefore, an experienced coach pays sufficient attention to the development of the player’s muscle strength through a set of special exercises. In professional tennis, the concept of “explosive strength” is practiced – a high level of speed, which can be achieved due to the strength of the leg muscles and excellent mobility in the joints.
The specifics of the development of speed abilities in tennis
As already mentioned, it is through the development of the strength of the leg muscles, as well as the mobility of the knee, ankle and hip joints, that the so-called “explosive strength” can be achieved.For this, regular exercise is used.
In children’s tennis, professional coaches make a special emphasis on the development of the speed qualities of future tennis players in the period from 11 to 14 years old. Later, the acquired skills are developed by increasing the loads through more repetitions in exercises, a longer distance and running speed.
Types of speed training
To achieve the most harmonious development of the leg muscles, an individually developed exercise plan is applied.
Most often, such a complex includes: |
- Relays and outdoor games (usually practiced in children’s tennis at the initial stage of education),
- Different types of running (running at speed, running with subsequent acceleration, running with a change in direction of movement),
- Exercises for jumping, jumping and squatting (helps to develop well the strength of the leg muscles),
- Throwing balls – weighted, baseball and tennis (they work out the upper muscle corset perfectly and help to make powerful strikes that require significant strength).
The complex is performed on condition of good physical well-being of the athlete, with the obligatory observance of the period of rest and recovery.
High-speed ladder. Instructional video.
Development of speed of reaction
Development of speed of reaction
In order to improve the speed of reaction, as well as to consolidate the current skill of reaction, a number of exercises are recommended that will help develop the speed of reaction:
- A sparring partner (another player or coach may act in his incarnation) constantly changes the pace of the blows and the speed of the tennis ball.The tennis player himself must respond with blows with the initially imposed restriction – to hit the balls only from half a flight, or just play a tennis ball at the top point of the flight, or play on a falling ball. The exercise itself is quite variable, and the complexity can be increased if you ask the tennis player a condition – to respond to certain ball speeds with the same blows (from half-flight, to hit at the end, etc.).
- The athlete’s sparring partner changes the rotation of the ball with some frequency. For example, rolls alternate with “cut” balls and flat kicks.The tennis player is required to respond to all balls at the same pace, regardless of the type of rotation that the sparring partner gave to the ball.
- A sparring partner sends balls to the side of the athlete, which differ in the direction of flight, while for the tennis player himself, difficulties are created due to the fact that the direction of the blow with which the ball is sent changes arbitrarily and in each hit. The retaliatory blow must be done under the strong side of the partner. In this exercise, the sparring partner (most often, this is the coach) is required to show special ingenuity, choosing the direction with each blow and the very frequency of the alternation of blows.A random choice of the direction of the blows from the athlete’s partner is more likely to improve the tennis player’s reaction speed. In this exercise, it is not necessary to avoid strikes aimed directly at the player, this will develop the athlete’s adaptability to any strike and develop observation. By adding new conditions to this exercise, we can achieve an increase in the level of difficulty in parrying punches. The more varied we can diversify the initial version of the exercise, the better we will temper the player for various atypical situations and prepare for any opponent.
Approaching the conditions of all exercises to competitive fights, will increase the effectiveness of each exercise due to a higher concentration of the player and a greater desire to show himself.
However, it is not easy to combine exercises for all types of reactions in the training process. In this regard, it is worth starting with exercises for certain types of reactions, then you can diversify training by combining exercises for dum and types of reaction, and only after that use the entire set of exercises for training reaction speed.As we can see, with regard to these types of exercises, consistency in the decision-making of the trainer is important in order to gradually achieve point development from the ward with consolidation of skills.
Continuously expanding training methods for reaction speed, observing the tennis ball and the opponent’s actions in preparation for a hit play a crucial role in honing table tennis skills, especially when the time spent on hitting is a critical factor in the game.
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90,000 6 tips on how to develop reaction and speed
Sometimes life depends on the speed of reaction, but even without extreme conditions, the ability to quickly respond to external events will be useful.Activate your reactions and your movements will become coordinated and precise.
What is fast response and what does it depend on
Reaction is the ability of the brain to respond quickly to external stimuli. The reaction rate is the time that elapses from the moment the external stimulus acts to the body’s reaction to it.
First, our senses perceive some stimulus and react to it: nerve impulses are transmitted from receptors (nerve endings) to the cerebral cortex.Signal recognition, processing, classification and evaluation take place here. Then the zone that controls body movements is connected, and the muscles are included in the work. Each such stage takes time.
All people have different reaction rates. There are also extremes, when the behavior of some resembles slow motion, and the reaction of others is lightning fast. For example, Japanese secretary Miit puts 100 stamps in one minute. The fastest shooter in the world, J. Mikulek, makes 5 shots from a revolver in half a second.Japanese Makisumi collects Rubik’s cube in 12.5 seconds.
It is curious that the fastest muscle reaction is in cold-blooded animals. For example, a palm salamander that spots a victim throws out its tongue at a speed of 15 meters per second. Mongooses have a quick reaction – thanks to her they have earned the fame of the best snake hunters. Lightning-fast reaction and our beloved cats.
For a person, a quick reaction, it would seem, has lost its former vital importance: he no longer needs to quickly dodge the paws of wild animals so as not to be eaten, or, on the contrary, to hunt them so as not to be left without lunch.
However, it would be wrong to think that a quick reaction is of no use to us. It is necessary for athletes – football players, hockey players, tennis players, boxers, judokas, etc. And not only in order to set records, but also to avoid injuries. A quick reaction is required by representatives of many professions – pilots, drivers, captains, machinists, surgeons, etc. People with a quick reaction are preferred by many employers, for example, in areas where you need to quickly respond to market changes.
In fact, everyone needs a quick reaction in order to maximally protect themselves on the street and at home: to behave correctly in a critical situation that poses a threat to health or life.
The reaction speed is measured in ms – milliseconds. 1 second is 1,000 ms. The lower this value is, the higher the reaction rate will be. For most people, it is 230-270 ms. Readings from 270 ms and above indicate a slower response. Fighter pilots, sports stars show results of 150 – 170 ms.
Fastest reaction in people between the ages of 18 and 40. Its speed increases in the middle of the day – during the period of highest efficiency. In a tired person, it decreases.This may not be noticeable if the work does not require a quick reaction, but when performing complex actions, the possibility of making a mistake increases.
The reaction also slows down under the influence of alcohol and drugs. In addition, the mental state of a person is important: negative emotions inhibit nervous activity, which adversely affects his reactions, while positive ones significantly accelerate them.
The type of stimulus also affects the speed of reaction: people react fastest to tactile and sound stimuli, somewhat slower to visual stimuli.
How to become faster
There are several ways to learn to react faster:
1. Load the brain with work
In older people, the process of processing information coming to the brain from the senses slows down. This happens for various reasons, including the fact that most of them stop learning, do not strive to learn new things and do not want to leave their usual comfort zone. Idleness, watching meaningless programs that do not force the brain to strain, trigger the process of personality degradation, which also affects the speed of reaction.
So that the brain does not atrophy over time, it needs to be constantly loaded with work, set new tasks before it, and then you will not have to complain about a slow reaction.
2. Eliminate bad habits
A person who has gone overboard creates a false impression that under the influence of what he has drunk he becomes more relaxed, free and able to concentrate and control his behavior. But practice shows the opposite: due to the lack of a quick reaction, drunk people very often become victims of crimes and participants in accidents.
3. Getting enough sleep
It is impossible to constantly be in a state of maximum concentration and concentration. There will certainly be a failure when we cannot respond to danger in time. Therefore, periods of concentration should alternate with periods of relaxation. And full sleep is a great opportunity to give the nervous system “reboot”, to replenish its energy reserves. In addition, with a lack of sleep, visual acuity decreases, which also negatively affects the speed of reactions.
4. Controlling emotions
First of all, you need to learn not to succumb to fear. On the one hand, fear signals danger. On the other hand, it does not mobilize a person, but inhibits the process of processing information in the brain. Many are familiar with the feeling when, in moments of danger, a person feels as if paralyzed and unable to budge. His reactions are slow and he is unable to give an adequate answer. Correctly and quickly reacting to a stimulus is possible only in a state of absence of fear.
Thanks to special trainings that carry meaning, that is, simulate danger in real life, you can get rid of some fears and acquire quick reaction skills that will come in handy in a difficult situation.
For example, the clicking sound made by a partner can simulate a shot and serve as a signal to quickly bounce to the side, duck or fall to the ground. The effect should be sudden – we should not control the stimulus, that is, the actions of the partner.
To get rid of fear, in particular falling on ice, will help a pre-developed “plan”. For example, when falling on our back, we must quickly press our chin to our chest so as not to injure our head. In this case, we can replay our actions mentally. This will speed up our reaction, so that if we do fall, we will avoid injury.
5. We play
Games of football, volleyball, table tennis and lawn tennis perfectly develop a quick reaction, so you should choose the one you like and start playing.You can juggle.
It is curious that the speed of reaction is also developed by computer games – this was proved by scientists from one of the American universities. During the experiment, the players showed high results in quick decision-making not only in the game itself, but also in tests to determine the speed of reaction.
6. We train
Exercises will be useful only if they are carried out daily, and not from time to time.
Our subconscious, intuitive reactions (the right hemisphere of the brain is responsible for them) is faster than the conscious, analytical ones, which are controlled by the left hemisphere.The huge role of the latter is undoubted, but at critical moments the subconscious is the first to react. And since it is it that responds to the stimulus in the first place, you can train the reaction rate by repeating the same movements many times – up to 200 at a time.
Starting training, it is worth deciding what exactly we will increase the reaction rate: to hearing, touch or visual stimulus. At first, it is better to separate them, and only then train them all together.
We train the speed of the auditory reaction.For example, two people are sitting at a table with an object. The third walks around them and suddenly claps his hands. On this signal, everyone should strive to be the first to grab this object.
We train the speed of reaction to touch. The one who trains should not see his coach (you can blindfold him). One person sits at the table, the second, whom he does not see, must suddenly touch his shoulder. In response, he must clap his hands, jump to the side, etc.
Train the speed of visual reaction.This is very important because most of the information goes to the brain through vision.
Crackers game. Two stand opposite each other, both have their arms bent at the elbows and raised, palms turned towards the partner. One hits the palm of the other with his palm. His task is to guess and remove in time the hand that his partner wants to hit.
Alternatively: both hands are on the table in front of you. Each in turn tries to cover the hand of the other with one hand, and he must have time to pull it back.
By the way, these games are familiar to many from childhood.
But, of course, the most effective way to increase your reaction rate is to do team sports, tennis or martial arts.
© Elena Timoshenko, BBF.RU
How to increase the reaction speed. Practice and exercises
Earlier on the self-defense portal “Weapons that are better than weapons”, in the “Without weapons” section, we touched on such a topic as improving the reaction, considering it more from a theoretical point of view (see.See the article How to improve your reaction. Theoretical basis). Well, now let’s touch on the topic how to increase the reaction speed in terms of practical exercises . But first, there is still a little theory. For refreshing refreshing memory ?
How to increase reaction speed through practice and exercise – when such a question arises, a related question should arise: increase reaction speed WHAT ? What do you want to react to faster? For example, you can react:
- to hearing
- to touch
- to a visual stimulus.
Accordingly, if you train your reaction, then to one of these stimuli. Subsequently, they can be mixed – but for a start, according to the principle of gradualness, it is better to divide and train in turns.
Regardless of what kind of reaction you train – to hearing, to touch, to sight (there is no sense of smell or taste to train) it is important to clearly understand what will be the response during training, what is a specific action …It will be correct to train one sense organ for different actions.
Although training the reaction to the sense of smell can have its advantages:
So, there is a known story when two red commissars were on duty at the safe house of some enemies of the people (White Guards, Trotskyists, Denikinists, fascists, etc. – in this regard the sources of the story do not agree). Be that as it may, the commissars had a task: to sit quietly in the apartment, not sticking out – and wait until the necessary enemy of the people appears.Well, and, accordingly, to seize and torture him (shoot, dispossess, etc. – here the sources also cannot agree).
So, brave commissars are sitting in ambush, chewing dry rations, waiting. They wait for a day, wait for two. You will neither go out, warm up, nor sleep properly – after all, the Motherland gave the task to be vigilant! And watch out unnoticed.
In general, they waited for some time – and then one of the commissars lost his nerves. And also the habit of smoking let down. Well, he took it and lit a cigarette on the machine.The partner saw this outrage, stopped. They are waiting further. And what do you think?
The very enemy of the people trained the speed of reaction, among other things, to the sense of smell! He entered the apartment, smelled that they were smoking here not a week ago, as it should have been, but just a day ago – and started shooting at the smell. Accordingly, one commissar is wounded, the second is chasing the enemy of the people throughout the city.
How the chase ended, the sources have not been identified either. But nevertheless, the moral is this: firstly, smoking is harmful.And secondly, the speed of reaction can be on the sense of smell.
Continuing our theme of increasing reaction speed through exercise.
So, it would be correct to train the speed of reaction to different signals from one sense organ. It is possible even on completely absurd signals, it is important in the training process to provide variety of movements and use maximum number of muscles. But these actions should be very simple and performed, what is called one touch, in one movement.These movements can be completely different, and require different efforts. From “get the javar” to the command “lie down”, pull-ups and push-ups. The main thing is that the movement is simple.
It is also important that the exercise should not be meaningless ; it must have a certain semantic load. That is, so that it can be useful in real life. The main emphasis in the choice here should be placed on safety or the acquisition of certain professional or sports skills.In this case, the stimulus should also be adequately selected. For example, the sound of a loud click (imitation of a shot) should be used to train a jump to the side, a fall, but not “take off the cap”.
To start, of course, you need according to the principle of gradualness – with the simplest exercises, the same “get the yavar” or moving a light object from place to place.
The second feature of reaction training is the obligatory presence of an absolutely random and uncontrollable source of irritation .Exercising by giving yourself mental orders is a waste of time, and it gets boring quickly. A truly random source of events is needed.
The most ideal source of random events would be another person – partner . The participation of two people in the training immediately introduces a certain element of competition. Each tries to win against the other and tries to make the opponent’s task as difficult as possible. A partner can be your friend, children, parents, etc. No one refuses to improve their reaction.
By the way, if you can handle this, then you can independently create such conditions where there are chances – as much as you like ?
Here are several exercises aimed at increasing the reaction speed. Naturally, they are not a dogma, but just a template from which you can create many different and more suitable exercises for you.
How to increase the speed of reaction to hearing.
Sound signal acts as a stimulus. It must have a distinct beginning.This can be, for example, a bell, a sound made by a musical instrument, knocking, clicking, etc. Even a doorbell. When training the auditory response, it is important to break the visual connection between the source and the trainee. Those. the trainee should not be able to predict the appearance of a sound by any actions of the coach. You can make a sound behind your back or use the simplest computer program.
When training hearing from a safety point of view, the exercises should be directed to the appropriate actions (bending down, jumping to the side, falling).
Examples of exercises to increase the speed of reaction to hearing:
- The coach walks out the door. The trainee, at the signal of the bell, must move a small object from one place to another (the places must be clearly marked). Must get the item (from the table, pocket, remove from the shelf).
- The coach, sitting behind his back, hits the table sharply with the ruler. The trainee must make a response click.
- When training for safety, it is important to practice the procedure for drawing a weapon or something that replaces it by sound (shouting, knocking, stamping, etc.)etc.).
- Two partners are sitting opposite each other with an object lying on a chair in front of them. The coach walks around the teammates and suddenly claps. The teammates must grab the object by claping – who is faster. To complicate the exercise, the trainer can not only clap, but also make sounds such as “clap,” “boom,” and so on. Caution: Companions should pay attention to the fact that they should not bang their foreheads.
How to increase the speed of reaction to touch
This is a practice of reaction to touch, especially not visually controlled, for example from behind.It is a very important part of the security element.
During training, the trainee puts on a blindfold if hand sensitivity is being worked out, or the coach is behind him if safety exercises are being practiced.
Examples of exercises to increase the speed of reaction to touch:
- The trainee sits on a chair, eyes are blindfolded, hands are shoulder-width apart on the table in front of him. The trainer touches the trainee’s hands in a random order and at a random interval of time.The trainee, when touched, should clap his hands in front of him, over his head or behind his back. The less time elapses from touch to cotton, the better.
- The coach is behind the trainee at arm’s length. The coach touches the trainee’s shoulder with his hand. The trainee should sit down sharply, jump forward or to the side, turn around and take a fighting stance.
How to increase the speed of reaction to vision
Vision is our main sense.A person receives 90% of information through sight. Therefore, special attention should be paid to training the reaction from the “visible” stimulus. Fortunately, this is the easiest to train. During training, special attention should be paid not only to the reaction to any event, but also to the selection of the visual event by the trainee. For example, don’t just “light the lamp”. For example, you need to light one of several lamps. At the same time, the brain must assess the situation and weed out unnecessary stimuli.
Examples of exercises to increase the speed of reaction to a visual stimulus:
- The coach presses the student’s ruler against the wall.The trainee holds his thumb 1 cm from the ruler at a level of about 10-15 cm from the beginning. When the coach releases the ruler, it will start to fall. The trainee’s task is to press the ruler against the wall with his thumb. The fewer centimeters the ruler “flies”, the better the reaction.
- The coach accidentally lights one of the two table lamps (the switch must not be visible to the trainee).
- The trainee with this (lighting a certain lamp) must move an object, clap his hands, etc.d.
- The coach shows the trainee various objects from behind the screen. The trainee’s reaction should only be to a specific subject.
An excellent workout is the different types of finger games. For example, even-odd, rock-paper-scissors.
Even-Odd . The leader “throws out” one of the numbers from 1 to 5 on his fingers. The follower must throw out his own number, but the opposite in meaning. If the leader showed 3 fingers (odd), then the follower should show 2 or 4 (even).
Stone, scissors, paper . The stone (fist) is blunt with scissors, the scissors (index and middle finger) cut the paper, the paper (palm) covers the stone. In the normal scenario, the players “discard” the item simultaneously. In this case, the coach gives a handicap in time to the trainee, so that he would figure out and show the winning object.
Nice . Players sit opposite each other at the table and keep their hands on the table in front of them. The leader tries to cover the follower’s palm with his palm, and he tries to pull it back in time.
Further, such trainings of the speed of reaction to a visual stimulus are also possible:
- Children’s game, when several people stand in a circle and jump clockwise, trying to step on their neighbor’s foot. The neighbor tries to remove his leg with a jump. The one who jumped, attacking, freezes in place. The one who jumped, jumping back, jumps on the leg of the next player. Whoever has been stepped on gets out of the circle.
- Simple game “catch a piece of paper. One person holds a small piece of paper (money, for example).The second puts his hand on the hand that holds the piece of paper. The first one releases a piece of paper, and the second has a task – to catch this piece of paper with the hand that lay on the hand of the first. If you play for the money of someone who trains the speed of reaction (you caught the money – it is yours, did not catch it – it belongs to your partner) – then the speed of reaction trains very, very quickly.
- Juggle. Just start learning to juggle. Here it is not only a matter of reaction, but also without it in any way.
An excellent whole body reaction speed workout is to catch a tennis ball with your hand.You’ve seen how tennis players train. They stand against the wall and work out the blow. The ball bounces off the wall and returns to them. You can also take a tennis ball, stand against a wall and start throwing it forcefully, just like in tennis – hand – ground – wall – hand. First, one hand is trained, then the other, then both at once. You can throw with one hand, and catch strictly with the other. This complicates the calculation of the trajectory. It will be even better when a partner appears, and you and him will catch the ball in turn.
Thus, you can easily and simply increase your reaction speed through practical exercises. And here your intention to win will help you – it will give you the basis for the actions that need to be trained.
When writing the article, materials were used from http://www.leovit.ru/reaction.html
If you have any useful recipes to speed up the reaction – write in the comments!
Speed
One of the most important skills in tennis.When we talk about speed, we usually mean the ability to move around the court. Meanwhile, this skill is complex, including, in addition to moving around the site, such parameters as the time to prepare for the execution of the strike, the speed of decision-making, and the reaction. It is important for a tennis player to master all this in a complex, it helps to move quickly, actively accept the opponent’s serve due to timely preparation, and react to strong blows while at the net.
Speed abilities of a tennis player depend on the fitness of the corresponding muscle groups of the body.Also often used is the concept of explosive force, which is correlated with speed. In order to achieve a high level of speed, it is necessary to have strong leg muscles with good joint mobility.
At tennis lessons in Moscow in sports groups, we take into account the physiological characteristics of each child and begin to actively introduce high-speed loads at the age of 11-14, gradually increasing them in the future.
The importance of speed development
Outdoor games and relay races develop reaction and speed in children from 6 years old to 10
A tennis player must have “explosive” strength and speed, which can be provided by perfectly trained leg muscles, coupled with brilliant mobility of the ankle, knee and hip joints.The mechanism for increasing speed indicators is simple – muscle strength achieved through constant exercise.
Each child is physiologically unique, and we take this into account.
Alexey Lukin
Head coach
Based on the characteristics of a young athlete, speed abilities should be intensively developed from 11 to 14 years old. In the future, you can go along the path of increasing the load, increasing both the length of the distance and the speed of running. In addition, you should gradually increase the number of repetitions, the frequency of the movements and the intensity.Academy Tennis Group, teaching the basics of playing tennis, uses a variety of special exercises aimed at improving speed.
Exercises for the development of speed qualities
During the first stage of training a young tennis player, the improvement of such qualities as quickness and reaction, excellently occur during relay races and outdoor games. The coach must be careful to ensure that all tasks are performed technically correctly. The main thing is not the victory of one of the teams, but the exact execution of the elements.
A tennis player can improve his speed by running in various ways. The main types of running should be recognized – running with acceleration, running with a change of direction, straight running. To develop your legs well, include jumps, squats, and jumps of various kinds in the training process. In tennis, it is especially important to develop the upper body in order to make powerful hits. It is good to use throws of baseball, padded (weighted) and tennis balls in training.
The key point to consider when exercising to develop speed is the length of the rest break before repeating the exercise.The principle here is that an athlete must fully recover during rest. There is one more necessary rule – classes cannot be carried out against the background of psychological or physical fatigue of a young athlete.
Brain Game: Tennis & Shooting
The Tennis and Shooting Mental Game: What Is It?
Tennis and Shooting is a brain training game . To complete this game, you need to control the racket using the arrows of the keyboard so that the ball hits the target boxes, avoiding the boxes with fuel.The higher the level of this educational brain game, the higher the requirements for cognitive abilities.
As you practice, the game adjusts to the required difficulty level . Tennis & Shooting is a scientifically designed software that measures player performance and automatically adjusts task difficulty to optimize cognitive training. Brain Game Tennis and Shooting Suitable for training the basic cognitive abilities of children, adults and seniors .
How can I improve my cognitive skills with the smart game “Tennis and Shooting”?
By training the brain with smart games such as Tennis and Shooting , we stimulate a specific neural activation pattern. Repetition of this pattern through training can help create new synapses and neural networks that can reorganize and restore weakened or damaged cognitive functions .
Smart Play Tennis and Shooting was created to stimulate the adaptive potential of the nervous system and help the brain cope with the structural impairments, disorders and impairments that affect our cognitive abilities.
1 WEEK
2 WEEK
3 WEEK
Approximate graphical projection of neural networks after 3 weeks.
Which cognitive skills can I train with the Tennis and Shooting Brain Game?
Cognitive skills we can help improve with this brain training game :
- Score: To calculate the movement of stimuli and the direction in which we are throwing the ball, an estimation skill is required.By repeating the workout with Tennis and Shooting , this cognitive ability can be strengthened. Improving judgment will allow us to more accurately predict the results of our reactions. For example, we use this cognitive ability in baseball or rugby to calculate a hit or serve.
- Inhibition: stimuli change places, so we may have to stop acting and adapt to the new position of stimuli. This requires inhibition from us, which can be stimulated with this cognitive training game.Improving this ability will allow us to more effectively stop automatic or initiated actions. For example, we will be able to respond more effectively to various dangerous situations and changes while playing rugby or baseball.
- Reaction time: Since the time in this game for the mind is limited, you need to quickly hit the balls. It depends on the reaction time and the response time, which can be improved by training with the game Tennis and Shooting . Good reaction times can help us respond more quickly to certain stimuli.This is important in most sports such as rugby.
Other Relevant Cognitive Abilities:
- Spatial Perception: to complete the brain training game Tennis and Shooting It is important to correctly identify each stimulus and direction of ball movement. By exercising with this clever game, you can strengthen your spatial perception. Improving this cognitive ability will enable you to interact more effectively with our environment.Without developed spatial awareness, it is impossible to perform some actions, for example, hitting the ball in baseball or rugby.
- Cognitive Flexibility: To successfully complete this smart game, you need mental flexibility, because after we have made a move, the stimuli will change their location. Therefore, it is necessary to correctly predict the place where the stimuli will be located after the ball is launched. With the educational game Tennis and Shooting you can train your cognitive flexibility.Improving this ability will allow us, for example, to adapt to the movements and actions of the opposing team in games such as baseball or rugby.
- Visual Perception: In this brain game, you need to correctly identify the stimulus icons in order to differentiate between them, avoiding hitting explosives and trying to complete the targets. By performing these actions in the game Tennis and Shooting , you can train your visual perception. A well-developed visual perception skill allows you to give meaning to the information received with the help of the eyes.This is essential for most of our activities and can help us, for example, better distinguish teammates from opponents in various sports.
- Focused attention: in this game it is necessary to correctly identify both target and other stimuli, for example, explosive stimuli, for which we use focused attention. This cognitive ability can be stimulated with the game Tennis and Shooting . Good focused attention allows us to focus on the stimuli around us.We constantly use this cognitive function in everyday life and in various sports, for example, when it is necessary to detect the presence of players from an opposing team.
What happens when I don’t exercise my cognitive skills?
Our brains are built to conserve resources by destroying unused neural connections. Thus, , if some cognitive ability is not used, the brain does not allocate resources for this pattern of neuronal activation, and therefore gradually weakens .