The only way to improve our repertoire of possibilities for action is by exposing ourselves to difficult situations that force us to explore new synergies or to break with previous patterns in order to learn better ones.

This is achieved by imposing constraints, which are limiting factors that shape which possibilities can emerge.

Constraints are based on forcing the athlete to work under different conditions, in which the previous movement pattern is inefficient and the athlete’s physiological network is compelled to explore new connections, new synergies that allow performance to improve under those new conditions.

For example, when I force you to ride at a low cadence, I force you to synchronize your muscles in a different way, which in turn will affect how the whole network self-organizes. You pedal differently, you breathe differently, metabolism will be slightly different, the sensation will be different... and so on, with changes at every level.