Top

Published in:

01-07-2010 | Original Article

The limit to exercise tolerance in humans: mind over muscle?

Authors: Samuele Maria Marcora, Walter Staiano

Published in: European Journal of Applied Physiology | Issue 4/2010

Abstract

In exercise physiology, it has been traditionally assumed that high-intensity aerobic exercise stops at the point commonly called exhaustion because fatigued subjects are no longer able to generate the power output required by the task despite their maximal voluntary effort. We tested the validity of this assumption by measuring maximal voluntary cycling power before (mean ± SD, 1,075 ± 214 W) and immediately after (731 ± 206 W) (P < 0.001) exhaustive cycling exercise at 242 ± 24 W (80% of peak aerobic power measured during a preliminary incremental exercise test) in ten fit male human subjects. Perceived exertion during exhaustive cycling exercise was strongly correlated (r = −0.82, P = 0.003) with time to exhaustion (10.5 ± 2.1 min). These results challenge the long-standing assumption that muscle fatigue causes exhaustion during high-intensity aerobic exercise, and suggest that exercise tolerance in highly motivated subjects is ultimately limited by perception of effort.

Allen DG, Lamb GD, Westerblad H (2008) Skeletal muscle fatigue: cellular mechanisms. Physiol Rev 88(1):287–332CrossRefPubMed

Amann M, Calbet JA (2008) Convective oxygen transport and fatigue. J Appl Physiol 104(3):861–870CrossRefPubMed

Amann M, Romer LM, Pegelow DF, Jacques AJ, Hess CJ, Dempsey JA (2006) Effects of arterial oxygen content on peripheral locomotor muscle fatigue. J Appl Physiol 101(1):119–127CrossRefPubMed

Amann M, Romer LM, Subudhi AW, Pegelow DF, Dempsey JA (2007) Severity of arterial hypoxaemia affects the relative contributions of peripheral muscle fatigue to exercise performance in healthy humans. J Physiol 581(Pt 1):389–403CrossRefPubMed

Barry BK, Enoka RM (2007) The neurobiology of muscle fatigue: 15 years later. Integr Comp Biol 47(4):465–473CrossRef

Beelen A, Sargeant AJ (1991) Effect of fatigue on maximal power output at different contraction velocities in humans. J Appl Physiol 71(6):2332–2337PubMed

Borg GA (1998) Borg’s perceived exertion and pain scales. Human Kinetics, Champaign

Brehm JW, Self EA (1989) The intensity of motivation. Annu Rev Psychol 40:109–131CrossRefPubMed

Burnley M, Jones AM (2007) Oxygen uptake kinetics as a determinant of sports performance. Eur J Sport Sci 7(2):63–79CrossRef

Cabanac M (1986) Money versus pain: experimental study of a conflict in humans. J Exp Anal Behav 46(1):37–44CrossRefPubMed

Coyle EF, Coggan AR, Hopper MK, Walters TJ (1988) Determinants of endurance in well-trained cyclists. J Appl Physiol 64(6):2622–2630PubMed

Crewe H, Tucker R, Noakes TD (2008) The rate of increase in rating of perceived exertion predicts the duration of exercise to fatigue at a fixed power output in different environmental conditions. Eur J Appl Physiol 103(5):569–577CrossRefPubMed

Deschenes MR, Kraemer WJ, McCoy RW, Volek JS, Turner BM, Weinlein JC (2000) Muscle recruitment patterns regulate physiological responses during exercise of the same intensity. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 279(6):R2229–R2236PubMed

Enoka RM, Duchateau J (2008) Muscle fatigue: what, why and how it influences muscle function. J Physiol 586(1):11–23CrossRefPubMed

Eston R, Faulkner J, St Clair Gibson A, Noakes T, Parfitt G (2007) The effect of antecedent fatiguing activity on the relationship between perceived exertion and physiological activity during a constant load exercise task. Psychophysiology 44(5):779–786CrossRefPubMed

Ferguson C, Whipp BJ, Cathcart AJ, Rossiter HB, Turner AP, Ward SA (2007) Effects of prior very-heavy intensity exercise on indices of aerobic function and high-intensity exercise tolerance. J Appl Physiol 103(3):812–822CrossRefPubMed

Fitts RH (2008) The cross-bridge cycle and skeletal muscle fatigue. J Appl Physiol 104(2):551–558CrossRefPubMed

Gagnon P, Saey D, Vivodtzev I, Laviolette L, Mainguy V, Milot J, Provencher S, Maltais F (2009) Impact of preinduced quadriceps fatigue on exercise response in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and healthy subjects. J Appl Physiol 107(3):832–840CrossRefPubMed

Gandevia SC (2001) Spinal and supraspinal factors in human muscle fatigue. Physiol Rev 81(4):1725–1789PubMed

Gandevia SC, Taylor JL, Butler JE (2000) Stopping exercise: role of pulmonary C fibers and inhibition of motoneurons. News Physiol Sci 15:241–245PubMed

Gulati M, Black HR, Shaw LJ, Arnsdorf MF, Merz CN, Lauer MS, Marwick TH, Pandey DK, Wicklund RH, Thisted RA (2005) The prognostic value of a nomogram for exercise capacity in women. N Engl J Med 353(5):468–475CrossRefPubMed

Horstman DH, Morgan WP, Cymerman A, Stokes J (1979) Perception of effort during constant work to self-imposed exhaustion. Percept Mot Skills 48(3 Pt 2):1111–1126PubMed

Hortobagyi T, Mizelle C, Beam S, DeVita P (2003) Old adults perform activities of daily living near their maximal capabilities. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 58(5):M453–M460PubMed

Hunter SK, Critchlow A, Shin IS, Enoka RM (2004) Fatigability of the elbow flexor muscles for a sustained submaximal contraction is similar in men and women matched for strength. J Appl Physiol 96(1):195–202CrossRefPubMed

Hunter SK, Yoon T, Farinella J, Griffith EE, Ng AV (2008) Time to task failure and muscle activation vary with load type for a submaximal fatiguing contraction with the lower leg. J Appl Physiol 105(2):463–472CrossRefPubMed

Jacobs I, Bell DG (2004) Effects of acute modafinil ingestion on exercise time to exhaustion. Med Sci Sports Exerc 36(6):1078–1082CrossRefPubMed

Kuipers H, Verstappen FT, Keizer HA, Geurten P, van Kranenburg G (1985) Variability of aerobic performance in the laboratory and its physiologic correlates. Int J Sports Med 6(4):197–201CrossRefPubMed

Lepers R, Millet GY, Maffiuletti NA (2001) Effect of cycling cadence on contractile and neural properties of knee extensors. Med Sci Sports Exerc 33(11):1882–1888CrossRefPubMed

Marcora SM (2008) Do we really need a central governor to explain brain regulation of exercise performance? Eur J Appl Physiol 104(5):929–931CrossRefPubMed

Marcora S (2009) Perception of effort during exercise is independent of afferent feedback from skeletal muscles, heart, and lungs. J Appl Physiol 106(6):2060–2062CrossRefPubMed

Marcora SM, Bosio A, de Morree HM (2008) Locomotor muscle fatigue increases cardiorespiratory responses and reduces performance during intense cycling exercise independently from metabolic stress. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 294(3):R874–R883PubMed

Marcora SM, Staiano W, Manning V (2009) Mental fatigue impairs physical performance in humans. J Appl Physiol 106(3):857–864CrossRefPubMed

Martin BJ (1981) Effect of sleep deprivation on tolerance of prolonged exercise. Eur J Appl Physiol Occup Physiol 47(4):345–354CrossRefPubMed

McKenna MJ, Hargreaves M (2008) Resolving fatigue mechanisms determining exercise performance: integrative physiology at its finest!. J Appl Physiol 104(1):286–287CrossRefPubMed

McKenna MJ, Bangsbo J, Renaud JM (2008) Muscle K+, Na+, and Cl disturbances and Na+-K+ pump inactivation: implications for fatigue. J Appl Physiol 104(1):288–295CrossRefPubMed

Myers J, Prakash M, Froelicher V, Do D, Partington S, Atwood JE (2002) Exercise capacity and mortality among men referred for exercise testing. N Engl J Med 346(11):793–801CrossRefPubMed

Nakamura FY, Okuno NM, Perandini LA, S Caldeira LF, Simoes HG, Cardoso JR, Bishop DJ (2008) Critical power can be estimated from nonexhaustive tests based on rating of perceived exertion responses. J Strength Cond Res 22(3):937–943

Newman AB, Simonsick EM, Naydeck BL, Boudreau RM, Kritchevsky SB, Nevitt MC, Pahor M, Satterfield S, Brach JS, Studenski SA et al (2006) Association of long-distance corridor walk performance with mortality, cardiovascular disease, mobility limitation, and disability. JAMA 295(17):2018–2026CrossRefPubMed

Noakes TD (2008) RPE as a predictor of the duration of exercise that remains until exhaustion. Br J Sports Med. doi:10.1136/bjsm.2007.043612

Noakes TD, St Clair Gibson A (2004) Logical limitations to the “catastrophe” models of fatigue during exercise in humans. Br J Sports Med 38(5):648–649CrossRefPubMed

Noble BJ, Robertson RJ (1996) Perceived exertion. Human Kinetics, Champaign

Pessiglione M, Schmidt L, Draganski B, Kalisch R, Lau H, Dolan RJ, Frith CD (2007) How the brain translates money into force: a neuroimaging study of subliminal motivation. Science 316(5826):904–906CrossRefPubMed

Romer LM, Haverkamp HC, Amann M, Lovering AT, Pegelow DF, Dempsey JA (2007) Effect of acute severe hypoxia on peripheral fatigue and endurance capacity in healthy humans. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 292(1):R598–R606PubMed

Sargeant AJ (2007) Structural and functional determinants of human muscle power. Exp Physiol 92(2):323–331CrossRefPubMed

Sargeant AJ, Dolan P (1987) Effect of prior exercise on maximal short-term power output in humans. J Appl Physiol 63(4):1475–1480PubMed

Secher NH, Seifert T, Van Lieshout JJ (2008) Cerebral blood flow and metabolism during exercise: implications for fatigue. J Appl Physiol 104(1):306–314CrossRefPubMed

Sidhu SK, Bentley DJ, Carroll TJ (2009) Locomotor exercise induces long-lasting impairments in the capacity of the human motor cortex to voluntarily activate knee extensor muscles. J Appl Physiol 106(2):556–565CrossRefPubMed

Taylor JL, Gandevia SC (2008) A comparison of central aspects of fatigue in submaximal and maximal voluntary contractions. J Appl Physiol 104(2):542–550CrossRefPubMed

Taylor BJ, Romer LM (2008) Effect of expiratory muscle fatigue on exercise tolerance and locomotor muscle fatigue in healthy humans. J Appl Physiol 104(5):1442–1451CrossRefPubMed

Walsh ML (2000) Whole body fatigue and critical power: a physiological interpretation. Sports Med 29(3):153–166CrossRefPubMed

Williamson JW, McColl R, Mathews D, Mitchell JH, Raven PB, Morgan WP (2001) Hypnotic manipulation of effort sense during dynamic exercise: cardiovascular responses and brain activation. J Appl Physiol 90(4):1392–1399PubMed

Wilmore JH (1968) Influence of motivation on physical work capacity and performance. J Appl Physiol 24(4):459–463PubMed

Wittekind AL, Micklewright D, Beneke R (2009) Teleoanticipation in all-out short duration cycling. Br J Sports Med. doi:10.1136/bjsm.2009.061580

Wright RA (1998) Ability perception and cardiovascular response to behavioral challenge. In: Kofka M, Weary G, Sedek G (eds) Personal control in action: cognitive and motivational mechanisms. Guilford, New York, pp 197–232

Wright RA (2008) Refining the prediction of effort: Brehm’s distinction between potential motivation and motivation intensity. Soc Pers Psychol Compass 2(2):682–701CrossRef

Yano T, Yunoki T, Ogata H (2001) Relationship between the slow component of oxygen uptake and the potential reduction in maximal power output during constant-load exercise. J Sports Med Phys Fit 41(2):165–169

Yoon T, Schlinder Delap B, Griffith EE, Hunter SK (2007) Mechanisms of fatigue differ after low- and high-force fatiguing contractions in men and women. Muscle Nerve 36(4):515–524CrossRefPubMed

Title: The limit to exercise tolerance in humans: mind over muscle?
Authors: Samuele Maria Marcora
Walter Staiano
Publication date: 01-07-2010
Publisher: Springer-Verlag
Published in: European Journal of Applied Physiology / Issue 4/2010
Print ISSN: 1439-6319
Electronic ISSN: 1439-6327
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-010-1418-6

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

The limit to exercise tolerance in humans: mind over muscle?

Abstract

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 4/2010

Increased heart rate variability and executive performance after aerobic training in the elderly

Reductions in resting blood pressure after 4 weeks of isometric exercise training

The effect of sex and chronic low back pain on back muscle reflex responses

Impact of treadmill locomotor training on skeletal muscle IGF1 and myogenic regulatory factors in spinal cord injured rats

Tissue oxygenation measured with near-infrared spectroscopy during normobaric and hyperbaric oxygen breathing in healthy subjects

Effect of isokinetic cycling versus weight training on maximal power output and endurance performance in cycling