Black_Belt_-_October-November_2019

Boost Your Speed

and Conserve

Energy — by

Killing Stance!

Before we get into the scientific nitty-gritty, let’s do a

little experiment. Stand up right now and do 10 rapid Hindu

squats. (For those who don’t know, this is a deep knee

bend that is favored in the grappling arts.) Make sure you

do 10 of them hard and fast. Now it’s time for a quick self-

assessment. How do your legs feel?

BY MARK HATMAKER

of fast squats with no problem but

will become a bit bored by the slow

ones. However, it is the bodily sensa-

tions accrued by the second set that

will pave the way for today’s lesson.

NOW, WHETHER YOU DID the experi-

ment or not, here’s the upshot. The

hard and fast set of 10 squats will feel

noticeably less taxing than the slow

vated heart and respiration rates, do

10 more — but this time, I want you to

time them a little differently.

Rather than 10 hard and fast Hindu

squats, go leisurely. Drop down for the

first repetition and stay there for one

minute before you return to standing.

Repeat for a total of 10 squats.

I’ll wager the majority who submit

to this experiment will do the first set

T

HERE IS A POSSIBILITY that

your lungs puffed a wee

bit and that your heart rate

rose, but I’ll wager that the

low number of repetitions did not

make any fatiguing demands on your

legs. They’re probably good to go for

another 10.

Since what you’re feeling is not leg

fatigue but more likely related to ele-

28 BLACKBELTMAG.COM ƒ OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019

FIT^ T

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