We’ve all been there when we’re exercising and all seems to be going OK, until at least your hydrogen ions accumulate in the muscle causing you to flag suddenly. This low feeling can lead to energy depletion and increased perceived exertion i.e. the exercise feels harder than it actually is! During exercise your body sends signals back to your brain known as afferent signals, these arise from your muscle, joints, lungs, skin and core temperature, giving your brain an idea of how you’re getting on. When you start to feel depleted these signals are interpreted as unpleasant leading to a conscious or subconscious inhibition of motor output.
The term for this phenomenon is ‘central fatigue’ and it is usually the first factor that causes athletes to drop out. An educated athlete might adjust their levels of exertion so that fatigue levels are tolerable and within acceptable limits. If you go out too fast and hit your body hard, your muscle etc will feedback to your brain ordering it to ease off a little. It’s important to be sensible when you train, but you’ve got to push your boundaries too, but more often than not it’s the athlete who switches the chatter going on in his head and powers on through!
Reference
Tipton, K. (2011). Practical limitations of ingesting large amounts of carbohydrate during exercise. Retrieved 26th June, 2014, from discount supplements
