Indiana University researchers say a little deception caused cyclists in their 4-kilometer time trial to up their performance even after they realized they had been tricked.The findings support the idea that the brain plays a powerful role in how hard athletes push their bodies.
"The idea is that there's some sort of governor in your brain that regulates exercise intensity so you don't overheat, or run out of gas, so to speak," said Ren-Jay Shei, a doctoral student in the IU School of Public Health-Bloomington. "In this case, the governor was reset to a higher upper limit, allowing for improved performance."
For the study, 14 trained, competitive male cyclists participated in four time trials. For each session, they rode cycle ergometers, which are stationary bikes that measure such variables as speed and power output and display the readings on computer monitors on the handlebars.
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