For athletes, winning involves the notion of pushing past their limits.

Their physical resources are limited, however, and pushing beyond these boundaries sometimes requires a major investment in terms of training. In too many cases, however, the additional volume of exercise only brings about minimal results that are relatively unstable over time. What few people realize, however, is that fitness is not the only factor behind the achievement of athletic excellence. Muscle fatigue is the other dimension of athletic success. Obviously, fatigue is affected by the level of physical fitness, but several other fairly complex mechanisms also factor into the equation. In order for an athlete to reach new levels of performance, it becomes necessary to understand and effectively manage muscle fatigue mechanisms.

Muscle Fatigue : The Hidden Dimension of Performance

All athletes inevitably reach their maximum capacity. At that point, they can no longer continue to maintain the same level of effort, and this is what defines muscle fatigue. From this angle, we perceive fatigue as an absolute and unavoidable reality. It is important to realize, however, that fatigue always appears as a result of a specific task or performance. Thus, there are several types of muscle fatigue, each of which can present its own set of specific characteristics. In short, with an understanding of the specific context in which athletes deploy physical effort, the determinant factors of fatigue can be more accurately identified so they can in turn be manipulated. First, lets look at the definition of muscle fatigue in physiological terms. You will see that it is not as easily explained as you might think. Obviously, the manner in which fatigue is expressed depends on the activity. Running a marathon, playing hockey or playing football involve completely different biomechanical, physiological and muscular mechanisms, even though these sports rely on the same fundamental components, i.e. muscles and their ability to produce energy.

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In the case where two people practice the same sport with the same intensity of effort, we could logically predict that the athlete who is the most physically fit will tire less quickly. But is this always the case? Consider, for example, endurance sports such as running, cycling, biathlon, triathlon, crosscountry skiing, etc. With these sports, the level of physical fitness is determined by the maximum oxygen consumption capacity, referred to as the VO2max. If we compare two cyclists, the first with a VO2max of 75 and the second with a VO2max of 72, we could assume that the fittest cyclist, with a VO2max of 75, would tire less quickly than the one with a VO2max of 72 for the same intensity of effort. This conclusion, however, does not take into account other factors that determine physical fitness: the anaerobic threshold (beginning of the intense effort zone) and the critical power zone (beginning of the severe effort zone). It is actually possible that our athlete with a VO2max of 72 will reach his anaerobic threshold and his critical power threshold later than the other cyclist. Thus, for the same intensity of effort, the athlete with a VO2max of 75 will have reached his severe effort zone, which inevitably leads to exhaustion. The other cyclist, meanwhile, has reached an intense effort zone and can go on riding for a long time. The level of physical fitness (VO2max) alone cannot therefore explain muscle fatigue. In addition, his riding speed drops gradually and constantly throughout the race. So why then do we see marathon runners increase their speed over the last few kilometres of a race? Normally, muscle fatigue would make such a phenomenon technically impossible. This type of renewed energy, however, is commonly seen in all sports and disciplines. Lets stay with endurance sports for a moment. How long do you think you can maintain your maximum effort while running or cycling? Most people would say 2, 3 or 5 minutes at the most. But imagine if I set you up on a treadmill and asked you to run at a speed that would enable you to reach your maximum oxygen consumption level. Once you have reached your maximum level, I progressively reduce the treadmill speed. You will then be able to keep running at maximum capacity for another 30 minutes. Here, the notion of fatigue at high intensity takes another hit. The fact remains that every person eventually reaches their limit. Fatigue takes over the body and no human can sustain a given effort indefinitely. In order to decipher the fatigue process, science has been exploring various avenues to try to understand its origins. The central nervous system, reduction in glycogen reserves, reduction in muscle energy reserves

and reduction in ATP (adenosine-triphosphate) reserves are among the systems under study. It should be explained at this point that energy substrates, (carbohydrates, lipids and proteins) are used in ATP synthesis. ATP provides the chemical energy required for muscle contraction. Although energy substrate levels diminish under effort, ATP synthesis remains constant. Energy production is therefore not diminished. Once again, the reduction in energy reserves does not provide us with a complete explanation.

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And what about blood lactate? Long considered as metabolic waste, it is actually a source of energy, because it is used by muscles and other organs such as the heart to produce energy. Beyond the critical power threshold (also known as the maximal lactate steady state), we know that in the end, the maximum oxygen consumption capacity will inevitably be reached, quickly followed by a reduced capacity to sustain effort. Blood lactate appears, however, to essentially be a reflection of effort intensity and the bodys limits in using this source of energy rather than the reason for muscle fatigue. Muscle cells tire under effort. What is often overlooked, however, is that at the same time, other cells are recovering. Here again, we are struck by an oddity of nature muscle fatigue and muscle recovery occur simultaneously under full effort. The central nervous systems ability to send an optimum signal to the muscles is also reduced, but the signal is never completely eliminated. Furthermore, a less than optimum signal does not necessarily lead to diminished performance. Thus, you might expect a work team which is physically and mentally tired after working long hours would deliver a poorer performance than the relief team that comes in fully refreshed. In reality, however, the apparently tired team is very often more efficient than the relief team, since they can maintain better coordinated actions. Muscle fatigue does not always lead to diminished capacities; it can sometimes help in achieving the ideal performance rhythm. In short, the physiological dimension only sheds partial light on the nature of muscle fatigue. What about the psychological aspect? Could the way we think explain the end-of-race renewal of energy mentioned above? In our laboratory, we look at several perceptual, sensory and cognitive factors related to athletic performance. We thus manipulate several variables that affect human and motor behaviour: fear, stress, anticipation, expectations, sensory perceptions, perception of time and perceived pain. In terms of endurance, our observations indicate that in doing so, we do not directly improve an athletes physical fitness (VO2max). We do, however, manage to delay the onset of fatigue, or alter its significance for the athletes, which considerably increases their performance. Fear, worry, stress, anticipation, negative emotions and interpretation of sensory information have a significant impact on the physiological and biomechanical reactions of athletes. Thus, as the brains of athletes are hijacked by information they perceive as threatening, they will experience fatigue prematurely.

Although this may seem strange to you, I believe there is a huge difference between a 1000 metre runner who fears the pain he will suffer after 600 metres and a 1000 metre runner who is asked to be sure to run at a level of intensity so that the onset of fatigue occurs at the 800th metre. In the first case, the fear of pain is constantly on the athletes mind, which will hinder his performance. In the second case, fear is not a factor, since the problem has been addressed, and incorporated into the race plan. In addition, the perceived time of onset of fatigue has been delayed. Fatigue is therefore experienced very differently by these two athletes. Lets play some more with your perceptions... I take you into my laboratory and place weights into a crate and ask you to lift it. We repeat this exercise until you have reached your maximum lifting capacity. Lets say you can lift no more than 120 lbs. One of my assistants a little further away places a 120 lbs weight in another crate of the same size and colour. I ask you to give me a hand to move this crate that contains the same load that you just lifted, because my assistant is not strong enough to lift it by himself. You go over to the crate, pick it up, and place it where my assistant asks you to. But before completing this additional task, I omitted to tell you that the crate itself weighs 15 lbs. You therefore lifted 135 lbs rather than the 120 lbs that you had just identified as your maximum physical lifting capacity... Indeed, what your mind thinks, or what it doesnt know, affects your muscle capacity. Most athletes spend enormous amounts of time planning their training, nutrition and recovery period, which is obviously essential. Rarely, however, do we meet athletes who plan their thoughts and their physiological reactions to enable their bodies to react with maximum efficiency. In our laboratory, we consider fatigue as a relative rather than an absolute concept. We thus seek to define fatigue on the basis of the task to be performed. As a result, the type of fatigue felt, its onset, duration and intensity become variables that can be manipulated to enable athletes to take full control of them. From this perspective, muscle fatigue is based on tangible notions that are quantifiable and measurable for the athlete, and which can be incorporated into the athletes performance plan. Muscle fatigue is no longer an abstract idea, and no mental or physical battles are required. This vision literally transforms physical, physiological and psychological reactions related to fatigue.

Dr Denis Boucher, Ph.D., 2010. All rights reserved. | www.denisboucher.com | Muscle Fatigue: The Hidden Dimension of Performance | 3

By looking at muscle fatigue as a resource that can be managed and manipulated, rather than a detrimental consequence, surprising possibilities can suddenly become within our reach. Yes! Human beings are fascinating!

Upcoming articles
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Dr Denis Boucher, Ph.D., 2010. All rights reserved. | www.denisboucher.com | Muscle Fatigue: The Hidden Dimension of Performance | 4