Do you think it's possible that our brain sets limits on how much strain we can put on our muscles?

Question

I always wonder if our brain has set a limit on how much strain we can put on our muscles, so that we don't overexert ourselves. Do you think so?

Answer 1

Yes, the brain is in the loop, but then again, so is the rest of your nervous system. :)

Your nerves set a limit on how hard you can go at any given moment: this limit is called PAIN. Duh. Sorry to be so obvious here, but basically, the idea is, if we didn't have this limit, this sense of pain, we can and *would* over-exert ourselves to the point of self-injury.

Think it isn't so? Do a Yahoo or Google search on either "lightning strike survivors" or on "psychomotor epilepsy symptoms". In both cases, an excess of electricity in the nervous system, either from outside in the lightning strike, or from within during the seizure, overrides the conscious brain and reflexes alike, and in the process, *some* people have torn muscles, snapped ligaments and in rare cases broken their own bones from uncontrolled muscle exertion.

In particular, I knew one young lady when I was younger (a neighbor's daughter), last time I saw her I was fifteen or so, she was about seven, and she had psychomotor epilepsy...the doctors knew about this because when she was five years old, she had her first seizure, and in the process *completely* ripped a bathroom sink out of the wall, pipes and all, before she had passed out. At the ripe old age of five years old.

Or....for something less extreme, you could always search under "hypnotic pain reduction". This one is a little harder to find, but basically, the idea is that you *do not* want to completely eliminate someone's sense of pain while they are under a hypnotic trance, as the person so entranced might break a bone or something....

I found this out the hard way myself one time, as hypnosis has been my hobby for six, going on seven years. I had put someone under for meditative purposes, and to get the person to relax more, I had *modified* her sense of pain so that it just felt like warmth....

And I shouldn't have, because the session ended when the subject had, without my immediate knowledge (session was in real-time, but over the phone because of time issues) blew her nose so hard she made it bleed fairly seriously. Of course this immediately brought her out--it was only a light trance--but it sure had *me* worried. :(

Point is...yeah, we have a limit, *pain*, and it is there for a reason.

Thanks for your time....and I hope I was helpful (well, more helpful than I was annoying or any such thing).

Answer 2

I think our brain does set a limit.

We have a built in self-defence system. Like our immune system and nerves that feels pain when we touch a hot object, I'm pretty sure the brain also sets a limit on how much strain our muscle can take at any given time.

But i'm also pretty sure that this strain is not fixed. Proper weight training programs can signal to our brain that we NEED to be stronger and we CAN strain a bit more thatn what we are doing now. That's roughly the basic principles in all workout programs.

In fact this principle is applicable to all facets of our lives.

But i'm no brain expert. So, for more details do consult with someone who's more knowledgeable.

Answer 3

No, the limit of your muscles are physical, not mental.

Obviously a small muscle cannot pull as much weight or as long as a larger muscle, hence why your work out to get stronger.

The reason your muscle stops working at full strength while using it is because of oxidation in the muscle, which cripples the cells. It's a natural side effect from your body when it burns energy.

Answer 4

Depends on the action (resistance training or aerobic training) and the muscle type, but ATP-PCr (phosphocreatine and adensine triphosphate) primarily fuels such forceful contractions (maximal effort up to maybe 8-12 seconds) not oxidative reactions (though they are present in a sort of background sense), muscular fatigue at this exceptional level or maximal lifting intensity would correlate to the phosphagen system using the energetic forms of its primary metabolic substrates faster than they can be reconstituted.

Answer 5

yes, but they can be overcome. I've had competitive training in gymnastics and went to the junior olymipcs for swimming. i know that we think that we can only do so much, but then get suprised by what our body can actually do.

I also was reminded of this when I went through boot camp for the military. I was a heavy smoker and drank beer and partied before boot camp and did fine/ great actually. you just need someone to push you or a reason to do so.
you'd be suprised what the body can actually do when pushed to do so