one year of strength training
Last year around this time I had my first strength training session with a personal trainer. I had only 3 sessions with them, but due to a fundamental incompatibility – they had…
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a telling study on the pain tolerance of ultra-endurance runners
In 2013, Freund published a telling study on the pain tolerance of ultra-endurance runners competing in the TransEurope Footrace, an epic pain-fest in which participants covered 2,789 miles over 64 days with no rest days. He asked eleven of the competitors to dunk their hands in ice water for three minutes; by the end, they rated the pain as about 6 out of 10 on average. In contrast, the nonathlete control group gave up after an average of just 96 seconds when their pain maxed out at 10;
mentally fatigued subjects reported higher levels of perceived exertion
After the mentally draining computer game, the subjects gave up 15.1 percent sooner in the cycling test, stopping on average at 10 minutes and 40 seconds compared to 12 minutes and 34 seconds. It wasn’t because of any detectable physiological fatigue: heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen consumption, lactate levels, and a host of other metabolic measurements were identical during the two trials. Motivation levels, as measured by psychological questionnaires immediately before the cycling tests, were the same—helped along by a £50 prize for top performance. The only difference was that, right from the very first pedal stroke, the mentally fatigued subjects reported higher levels of perceived exertion. When their brains were tired, pedaling a bike simply felt harder.
the brain alone that sets and enforces the seemingly physical limits we encounter
But starting in the late 1990s, a South African physician and scientist named Tim Noakes began to argue that this picture is insufficiently radical – that it’s actually the brain alone that sets and enforces the seemingly physical limits we encounter during prolonged exercise.
the answer I must seek
My partner pitter patters around the house constantly, always looking for something to do, always scheming up some new creative project of hers. Being with her is an ongoing lesson and reminder…
my multi-decade journey with migraines
Writing some of my recent posts made me reflect on how far I’ve come with regards to my chronic migraines so far, so I thought it’ll be fun (to nobody except myself)…
my experience on starting exercise from zero
I don’t know if people know this, but I used to be extremely sedentary and I hated any form of physical activity. Only upon hindsight I realised it was probably related to…
did i just do my first pull-up?
Wanted to write a note but I guess this warrants a proper post since I’ve completed my main aspiration for 2024! Today while trying our home pull-up bar I realised I could…
from creativity to activity
I started making websites and dabbling in photoshop when I first got my computer at 15. I never felt particularly creative as a child and I hated art classes so when that…
the uncomfortable phase of learning
I have begun strength training for the first time in october last year. I had three personal training sessions before I traveled to japan, and when I got back there was a…