Mind over muscle: what limits human performance?The Rio Olympics will see athletes pushing their bod

Mind over muscle: what limits human performance?The Rio Olympics will see athletes pushing their bodies to physical extremes. But what determines the limits for athletes? Does nonstop exercise limit performance because “the mind would, but the muscles can’t”? Or does a person stop because the “muscles could, but the mind won’t”? When hit with this ‘central fatigue’, the central nervous system limits performance by losing the will to carry on. Even in athletic people, two-legged exercise becomes limited when only a tiny fraction – perhaps just 5% – of the active muscle mass is exhausted of its energy reserves. Why can’t the other 95% meet the call for action? Researchers at the University of Leeds and University of Liverpool, together with the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute in California, are developing new tools and using advanced MRI imaging techniques to explore the relationship between mind and body in limiting endurance exercise performance, comparing older and younger people in the process. The findings are being used to develop new therapies to reduce central fatigue, and increase the capacity for physical activity to maintain healthy living.  Image credit: Bottom - Faculty of Medicine NTNURead more   -- source link

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