8 ms·

What Is Fatigue?

101 points by iKenshu 12y ago

tfigueroa 12y ago
A great companion to this article is the "Limits" episode of Radiolab. It features a low-speed, long term bike race with interesting results - both in what the athletes can endure, and the ways in which they endure it.
- Klinky 12y ago
  Was about to post this. Here's the link to those who want to listen: http://www.radiolab.org/story/91709-limits/ http://www.radiolab.org/story/91709-limits/
  - Tyrant505 12y ago
    This is extremely interesting.. also interestingly produced which surprisingly I could stand because of the content!
- jpravetz 12y ago
  And the "9-Volt Nirvana" Radiolab podcast on "trans-cranial direct current stimulation", or tDCS, which is also mentioned in the article. http://www.radiolab.org/story/9-volt-nirvana/ http://www.radiolab.org/story/9-volt-nirvana/
jamesaguilar 12y ago
Huh. I wonder if I should put up a bunch of positive and encouraging signs and images in my home gym to exploit this effect. Also, my lifting buddies and I often joke around with each other with certain phrases. Some of those, like yelling, "light weight" after a particularly tough set, seem to cut with the grain of this article. On the other hand, phrases like, "no pain no gain," or talking about "this heavy ass weight" (not that the weight I'm lifting is really that heavy) cut against. I wonder whether changing our terminology/"battle cries" would have a positive effect on the work we can accomplish. Very interesting link. Thanks for posting, iKenshu.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- Disruptive_Dave 12y ago
  This has to be the first time Ronnie Coleman has been referenced on HN. I approve of this.
kyllo 12y ago
Marcora believes that this limit is probably never truly reached—that fatigue is simply a balance between effort and motivation, and that the decision to stop is a conscious choice rather than a mechanical failure Perhaps, mechanical failure is also possible. Extremely strenuous exercise can actually cause muscle tissue to break down and enter the bloodstream, resulting in rhabdomyolysis, a potentially lethal kidney condition[1]. This was quite rare, but recently many cases of it have happened to people who do Crossfit.[2] [1]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhabdomyolysis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhabdomyolysis [2]http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-robertson/crossfit-rhabdomyolysis_b_3977598.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-robertson/crossfit-rhabdo...
- derf_ 12y ago
  There are many other things that can go wrong long before this happens. Think joints, ligaments, tendons... I say this as someone who once walked 100 km in a bit under 21 hours. I am not an athlete. When I was done my knees had swelled to the size of grapefruits and I could not bend my legs anymore.
  - makeset 12y ago
    Why did you do that?
    - jklp 12y ago
      I was on the support team for my friends earlier this year for the Oxfam 100km trailwalker[1] - a fundraising event - though I know they're other endurance events where people run for 200kms and longer 1. https://trailwalker.oxfam.org.au/melbourne https://trailwalker.oxfam.org.au/melbourne
visakanv 12y ago
I wonder how this translates to psychological fatigue when it comes to creative work? I remember thinking- I can't stand the crazy "work your asses off, zero days off, 24/7, successful people don't have time to sleep" rhetoric some people have, but I also can't shake the notion that I'm nowhere near as productive as I actually could be. I imagine people at the top of their fields are operating at near max optimal capacity- but I've just been so annoyed and frustrated lately by how difficult it is for me to reasonably tell whether I'm actually tired or I'm just bullshitting myself to procrastinate from my obligations/work (stuff that I actually like doing, that I actually think is important to me.) I have yet to have a conversation with anybody about this that I have found remotely satisfying. Maybe I'm looking for something that doesn't exist, and that I should focus entirely on the present. But I also know that I screw that up all the time... ah well. Back to work.
- thenomad 12y ago
  Have you done research on this? If not, I'd recommend it - you will probably find it encouraging. A surprising amount of the people at the top of their fields - particularly creative fields - actually don't do the 24/7 thing. Sleep and breaks tend to feature quite heavily.
- agumonkey 12y ago
  To me optimal capacity != high bandwidth. Sometimes stopping is required to have deep insights that will make you reach levels you couldn't before. The awareness required to balance between the two is subtle.

101 points by iKenshu 12y ago

A great companion to this article is the "Limits" episode of Radiolab. It features a low-speed, long term bike race with interesting results - both in what the athletes can endure, and the ways in which they endure it.

Klinky 12y ago
Was about to post this. Here's the link to those who want to listen: http://www.radiolab.org/story/91709-limits/ http://www.radiolab.org/story/91709-limits/
- Tyrant505 12y ago
  This is extremely interesting.. also interestingly produced which surprisingly I could stand because of the content!
jpravetz 12y ago
And the "9-Volt Nirvana" Radiolab podcast on "trans-cranial direct current stimulation", or tDCS, which is also mentioned in the article. http://www.radiolab.org/story/9-volt-nirvana/ http://www.radiolab.org/story/9-volt-nirvana/

jamesaguilar 12y ago

Huh. I wonder if I should put up a bunch of positive and encouraging signs and images in my home gym to exploit this effect. Also, my lifting buddies and I often joke around with each other with certain phrases. Some of those, like yelling, "light weight" after a particularly tough set, seem to cut with the grain of this article. On the other hand, phrases like, "no pain no gain," or talking about "this heavy ass weight" (not that the weight I'm lifting is really that heavy) cut against. I wonder whether changing our terminology/"battle cries" would have a positive effect on the work we can accomplish. Very interesting link. Thanks for posting, iKenshu.

deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
Disruptive_Dave 12y ago
This has to be the first time Ronnie Coleman has been referenced on HN. I approve of this.

kyllo 12y ago

Marcora believes that this limit is probably never truly reached—that fatigue is simply a balance between effort and motivation, and that the decision to stop is a conscious choice rather than a mechanical failure Perhaps, mechanical failure is also possible. Extremely strenuous exercise can actually cause muscle tissue to break down and enter the bloodstream, resulting in rhabdomyolysis, a potentially lethal kidney condition[1]. This was quite rare, but recently many cases of it have happened to people who do Crossfit.[2] [1]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhabdomyolysis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhabdomyolysis [2]http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-robertson/crossfit-rhabdomyolysis_b_3977598.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-robertson/crossfit-rhabdo...

derf_ 12y ago
There are many other things that can go wrong long before this happens. Think joints, ligaments, tendons... I say this as someone who once walked 100 km in a bit under 21 hours. I am not an athlete. When I was done my knees had swelled to the size of grapefruits and I could not bend my legs anymore.
- makeset 12y ago
  Why did you do that?
  - jklp 12y ago
    I was on the support team for my friends earlier this year for the Oxfam 100km trailwalker[1] - a fundraising event - though I know they're other endurance events where people run for 200kms and longer 1. https://trailwalker.oxfam.org.au/melbourne https://trailwalker.oxfam.org.au/melbourne

visakanv 12y ago

I wonder how this translates to psychological fatigue when it comes to creative work? I remember thinking- I can't stand the crazy "work your asses off, zero days off, 24/7, successful people don't have time to sleep" rhetoric some people have, but I also can't shake the notion that I'm nowhere near as productive as I actually could be. I imagine people at the top of their fields are operating at near max optimal capacity- but I've just been so annoyed and frustrated lately by how difficult it is for me to reasonably tell whether I'm actually tired or I'm just bullshitting myself to procrastinate from my obligations/work (stuff that I actually like doing, that I actually think is important to me.) I have yet to have a conversation with anybody about this that I have found remotely satisfying. Maybe I'm looking for something that doesn't exist, and that I should focus entirely on the present. But I also know that I screw that up all the time... ah well. Back to work.

thenomad 12y ago
Have you done research on this? If not, I'd recommend it - you will probably find it encouraging. A surprising amount of the people at the top of their fields - particularly creative fields - actually don't do the 24/7 thing. Sleep and breaks tend to feature quite heavily.
agumonkey 12y ago
To me optimal capacity != high bandwidth. Sometimes stopping is required to have deep insights that will make you reach levels you couldn't before. The awareness required to balance between the two is subtle.