Hill/Noakes Central Governor Model

[Mithra]

Very long article I cam across but found fascinating, written by Richard Gibbens Here

The most enduring model of endurance physiology is the Cardiovascular/Anaerobic model. Initially suggested by British physiologists A.V. Hill and associates in the mid-1920s, this model has been promoted by scientists, coaches, and athletes world-wide for nearly 80 years. This model basically posits that a lack of oxygen to working muscles is what ultimately limits exercise performance. Most adherents to this model use the terms VO2max, lactate threshold, and running economy when discussing training or physiology; terms which are used to describe particular aspects of this model. Though this model continues to be accepted today by most runners and coaches since the 1970s an increasingly large body of research has challenged the validity of the cardiovascular/anaerobic model. However, despite the increasing volume of evidence against it, the model has persisted as the primary model of endurance physiology.

I believe the main reason the cardiovascular/anaerobic model has persisted in the face of the large body of evidence to the contrary is that no other comprehensive model of endurance physiology has been proposed. So, while the deficiencies of the cardiovascular/anaerobic model are well known, the absence of another model to replace it has allowed continued support for the cardiovascular/anaerobic model.

Recently one of the primary opponents to the cardiovascular/anaerobic model, noted researcher and author Dr. Tim Noakes, proposed a new, revolutionary, comprehensive model of endurance performance that he has termed the Hill/Noakes Central Governor Model. The existence of a physiological governor was first suggested by A.V. Hill, the same physiologist credited with the cardiovascular/anaerobic model. However, Hill

 

[Mithra]

Where does fatigue occur?

Now that we have established that fatigue is not an absolute event and is instead a relative event -you could even call it a pacing strategy - we have to determine where fatigue occurs. Do the muscle fibers themselves become fatigued and not contract as quickly and/or powerfully or is fatigue occurring elsewhere and then interfering with the muscle contraction? Perhaps it is occurring in multiple locations at the same time? These are very important questions to answer accurately in order to determine the cause or causes of fatigue.

Muscles contract because they receive a signal from the brain that causes them to contract. If they do not receive the signal they don

 

[Mithra]

Bump because I find the topic fascinating and there has to be a few cardio nerds out there

 

[Revok]

Man, that's interesting and it makes a lot of sense. So much of what your body can do at any one time is limited what you know you have to do next, and it applies during both endurance and HIIT training. If you know, even subconsciously, that you've got to run another hour or seven more hill sprints, something holds your performance back a little during the middle portion of the work. Only the very beginnng and the very end tend to be truly 100% efforts.

So, there is no <s>spoon</s> fatigue...