Cognitive training, like physical training, thrives on variation. Just as you adjust reps, sets, tempos, and rest periods in the gym to keep your body adapting, cognitive load must be strategically manipulated to drive continuous improvement. Without this dynamic approach, training stagnates, progress plateaus, and the challenge fades.

This document is your guide to cognitive load manipulation. It provides practical options and strategies to keep your athletes’ cognitive training fresh, challenging, and effective.

Intensity

Increase or decrease the task intensity to modify the number of repetitions an athlete must perform within a fixed time period. Higher intensity shortens the delay between repetitions, while lower intensity lengthens the delay.

Duration

Extend or shorten the time duration of a task, directly affecting the number of repetitions performed.

Intensity and Duration

Achieve precise control over cognitive load by simultaneously adjusting task intensity and duration.

Important Note

It’s essential to consider that performing fewer reps with longer delays between them can present a unique challenge. This approach requires heightened vigilance, as athletes must stay focused and alert while waiting for the next rep. Surprisingly, this can be just as fatiguing as performing higher reps, much like how slow, controlled reps during the negative phase of a lift can be more demanding than faster tempos.

Understanding these nuances will help you refine your cognitive load strategies, ensuring athletes are challenged and engaged at the right level for continuous progress.

Adjusting the placement of cognitive tasks within a training plan can significantly alter the overall load and impact on your athletes.

Pre-Training

Performing cognitive tasks before physical training induces mental fatigue, making the subsequent physical session more challenging as athletes are required to perform under cognitive strain.

Intermixed

Including cognitive tasks between sets keeps athletes mentally engaged and on their toes. It challenges them as they shift between physical exercises and cognitive tasks, creating a dynamic training environment.

Concurrent

Combining cognitive tasks with cardiovascular exercises increases the overall load by introducing multitasking under physical stress, which challenges both body and brain simultaneously.

Post-Training

Placing cognitive tasks after physical training leverages the residual physical fatigue, pushing athletes to their mental limits and developing their capacity to perform when already fatigued.

Layering tasks is one of the most efficient and engaging ways to manipulate cognitive load, enabling you to challenge your athletes dynamically while keeping them fully engaged. By adding layers of complexity, you push both cognitive and physical limits, ensuring continuous adaptation and improvement.

As a coach, you know that even the most effective cognitive tasks can lose their edge over time. Slight adjustments to time or intensity only go so far before athletes adapt, and the tasks stop being challenging.

This is where Soma’s training modes come in.

Soma’s modes are designed to seamlessly integrate into any cognitive task, allowing you to increase complexity without reinventing your training program.

Basic Task

For example, you might start with a simple visual choice task. On its own, this task is effective, but over time, even with minor adjustments, it may lose its impact as athletes adapt.

Multi Tasking Layer

Alternatively, you could add a secondary decision-making element, forcing the athlete to juggle two tasks at once, which sharpens focus and enhances multitasking skills.

Heart Rate Layer

To keep the challenge fresh, you could apply Heart Rate Zone Mode, requiring athletes to maintain their heart rate in Zone 4 while completing the task, combining physical and cognitive demands for a greater challenge.

Interoception Layer

For an even more demanding option, you could incorporate heart rate elevation as a response mechanism, replacing simple screen taps with physical exertion, pushing athletes to their absolute limits.

This section offers a quick overview of why you might choose a specific mode for your athlete’s training session.

Audiovisual Modes

Audiovisual modes are best utilized during training sessions where real-time feedback is crucial to guide athlete behavior and decision-making.

Audiovisual Feedback Types

EDM Mode

Use to analyze and improve how users respond to errors.

CSQ Mode

Use to increase focus and decision-making accuracy through time penalties for mistakes.

DRT Mode

Use to assess the cognitive load of a task by comparing the primary task’s reaction time and DRT reaction time.

Time to Exhaustion (TTE) Mode

Use to train cognitive endurance by maintaining high performance under prolonged stress. The task continues until the individual exceeds a set threshold reaction time.

VPF Mode

Ideal for individuals looking to enhance their response time and maintain consistent performance.

Adaptive Mode

Perfect for tasks that need to align with an individual’s current cognitive capacity, ensuring an appropriate challenge level.

HRZ Mode

Use when it’s important to maintain a specific heart rate during cognitive tasks.

CEM Mode

Use when you want to challenge both mental and physical capacities by requiring heart rate elevation to complete tasks.

AHR Mode

Use to train users by navigating them through different heart rate zones while maintaining cognitive performance.

AHV Mode

Use to dynamically modify cognitive challenges according to changes in HRV, enhancing training by aligning with physiological responses.

TSM Mode

Use to train cognitive agility and resilience by adding a secondary task that requires quick decision-making under cognitive stress.

DPM Mode

Use this mode to provide athletes with performance feedback, helping them maintain focus and push cognitive boundaries by identifying performance drops.

PCM Mode

Use this mode when you want to enforce focus and accuracy. After each error, the individual must perform a 5-second sprint at heart rate Zone 4. With each additional mistake, 5 more seconds are added, capping at 20 seconds. This escalating challenge enhances concentration, reduces errors, and elevates overall performance.

TPM Mode

Use this mode to push users to respond quickly by imposing escalating time pressure as their reaction times improve.