What
if I told you that being tired from running had little to do with your
body and more to do with your brain? Research is actually now supporting
the old coach's theory that being tired is "all in your head."
Now
that doesn't mean to keep training because you can push through the
pain, but it does require some deeper explanations of why we need to
pursue exercise for greater endurance.
Samuele
Marcora out of Bangor University in Wales has established a new
paradigm, a theory known as the psychobiological model of endurance
performance. I know that is a tough label to swallow, but Marcora goes
on to explain that," endurance performance is directly determined
exclusively by psychological factors. The two most important ones are
perception of effort and motivation."
Marcora
is not saying muscles and physiological factors, like the
cardiovascular system's ability to pump blood/oxygen, have no role in
endurance. They just serve to mostly affect perception of effort or
motivation. Hard to believe, I know, but Marcora is not the only
scientist to support this idea of perception of fatigue rather than the
physical failure of the body. Others in the past have provided
supporting evidence for the brain's chief role in feeling tired, or at
least choosing to stop further exercise.
In
the most recent 2010 study, Marcora found athletes' muscles decreased
their performance during prolonged exercise, so the brain has to work
harder to provide a similar output as exercise continues. Hence the
previous recommendations to provide amino acids to athletes during
workouts; to prevent fatigue, or at least the perception of it. So you
can continue to push yourself, but the best option is to stop if you
truly cannot continue, or simply do not choose to continue as we now
know. The direct reasons for fatigue are endless, but do not include
muscular mechanisms. Maybe you don't want to play your sport or are
involved for the wrong reasons, maybe you need to find another type of
exercise that you actually enjoy, maybe you need to sleep or eat better
to feel more energized, and the list goes on, but you get the idea.
So
we know endurance is limited by your perception of fatigue, but we also
know that you cannot choose a bigger jump, a faster sprint or a skilled
play with the ball. So use that conditioning time to play your sport or
get stronger.
In
the end, these pursuits of your sport skill and weightlifting will also
make you mentally stronger, which will also give you better endurance.
