Scott K. Powers • Edward T.

Howley

Theory and Application to Fitness and Performance

SEVENTH EDITION

Chapter

Factors Affecting Performance

Presentation prepared by:

Brian B. Parr, Ph.D.
University of South Carolina Aiken
Copyright ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display outside of classroom use.
Chapter 19

Objectives

1. Identify factors affecting maximal performance.

2. Provide evidence for and against the central
nervous system being a site of fatigue.
3. Identify potential neural factors in the periphery
that may be linked to fatigue.
4. Explain the role of cross-bridge cycling in fatigue.
5. Summarize the evidence on the order of
recruitment of muscle fibers with increasing
intensities of activity and the type of metabolism
upon which each is dependent.

Copyright ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Chapter 19

Objectives

6. Describe the factors limiting performance in all-out

activities lasting less than ten seconds.
7. Describe the factors limiting performance in all-out
activities lasting 10 to 180 seconds.
8. Discuss the subtle changes in the factors affecting
optimal performance as the duration of maximal
performance increase from three minutes to four
hours.

Copyright ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Chapter 19

Outline

 Sites of Fatigue  Factors Limiting All-  Athlete as Machine

Central Fatigue Out Aerobic
Peripheral Fatigue Performances
 Factors Limiting All- Moderate-Length
Performances
Out Anaerobic
(Three to Twenty
Performances Minutes)
Ultra Short-Term Intermediate-Length
Performances Performances (Twenty-
(Less than Ten Seconds) One to Sixty Minutes)
Short-Term Performances Long-Term Performances
(10 to 180 Seconds) (One to Four Hours)

Copyright ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Chapter 19 Sites of Fatigue

Factors Affecting Performance

Copyright ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Figure 19.1
Chapter 19 Sites of Fatigue

Sites of Fatigue

• Fatigue
– Inability to maintain power output or force during
repeated muscle contractions
• Central fatigue
– Central nervous system
• Peripheral fatigue
– Neural factors
– Mechanical factors
– Energetics of contraction

Copyright ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Chapter 19 Sites of Fatigue

Possible Sites
of Fatigue

Copyright ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Figure 19.2
Chapter 19 Sites of Fatigue

Central Fatigue

• Reduction in motor units activated

• Reduction in motor unit firing frequency
• Central nervous system arousal can alter the state
of fatigue
– By facilitating motor unit recruitment
 Increasing motivation
 Physical or mental diversion
• Excessive endurance training (overtraining)
– Reduced performance, prolonged fatigue, etc.
– Related to brain serotonin activity
• “Central Governor” model
– Conscious and subconscious brain, not spinal cord
or motor unit
Copyright ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Chapter 19 Sites of Fatigue

Peripheral Fatigue: Neural Factors

• Neuromuscular junction
– Not a site for fatigue
• Sarcolemma and transverse tubules
– Ability of muscle membrane to conduct an action
potential
 Inability of Na+/K+ pump to maintain action potential
amplitude and frequency
– Can be improved by training
– An action potential block in the T-tubules
 Reduction in Ca+2 release from sarcoplasmic reticulum

Copyright ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Chapter 19 Sites of Fatigue

In Summary

 Increases in CNS arousal facilitate motor unit recruitment

to increase strength and alter the state of fatigue.
 The ability of the muscle membrane to conduct an action
potential may be related to fatigue in activities
demanding a high frequency of stimulation.
 Repeated stimulation of the sarcolemma can result in a
reduction in the size and frequency of action potentials;
however, shifts in the optimal frequency needed for
muscle activation preserve force output.
 Under certain conditions an action potential block can
occur in the t-tubule to result in a reduction in Ca+2
release from the SR.
Copyright ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Chapter 19 Sites of Fatigue

Peripheral Fatigue: Mechanical Factors

• Cross-bridge cycling and tension development

depends on:
– Arrangement of actin and myosin
– Ca+2 binding to troponin
– ATP availability
• High H+ concentration may contribute to fatigue
– Reduce the force per cross-bridge
– Reduce the force generated at a given Ca+2
concentration
– Inhibit Ca+2 release from SR
• Longer “relaxation time” is a sign of fatigue
– Due to slower cross-bridge cycling
Copyright ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Chapter 19 Sites of Fatigue
A Closer Look 19.1
Radical Production During Exercise
Contributes to Muscle Fatigue
• Exercise promotes free radical formation
– Molecules that contain unpaired electron in outer
orbital
– Capable of damaging proteins, lipids, and DNA
• Can contribute to fatigue
– Damage contractile proteins (myosin and troponin)
 Limits the number of cross-bridges in strong binding state
– Depress sodium/potassium pump activity
 Disruption of potassium homeostasis
• Optimal levels of antioxidants can postpone fatigue
– High doses can impair muscle function

Copyright ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Chapter 19 Sites of Fatigue

In Summary

 The cross-bridge ability to “cycle” is important in

continued tension development. Fatigue may be related
to the effect of a high H+ concentration on the ability of
troponin to bind to Ca+2, the inability of the sarcoplasmic
reticulum to take up Ca+2, or the lack of ATP needed to
dissociate the cross-bridge from actin.

Copyright ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Chapter 19 Sites of Fatigue

Peripheral Fatigue: Energetics of

Contraction
• Imbalance ATP requirements and ATP generating
capacity
– Accumulation of Pi
 Inhibits maximal force
 Reduces cross-bridge binding to actin
 Inhibits Ca+2 release from SR
• Rate of ATP utilization is slowed faster than rate of
ATP utilization
– Maintains ATP concentration

Copyright ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Chapter 19 Sites of Fatigue

In Summary

 Fatigue is directly associated with a mismatch between

the rate at which the muscle uses ATP and the rate at
which ATP can be supplied.
 Cellular fatigue mechanisms slow down the rate of ATP
utilization faster than the rate of ATP generation to
preserve the ATP concentration and cellular
homeostasis.

Copyright ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Chapter 19 Sites of Fatigue

Peripheral Fatigue: Energetics of

Contraction
• Muscle fiber recruitment in increasing intensities of
exercise
– Type I  Type IIa  Type IIx
– Up to 40% VO2 max type I fibers recruited
– Type IIa fibers recruited at 40–75% VO2 max
– Exercise >75% VO2 max requires IIx fibers
– Results in increased lactate production

Copyright ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Chapter 19 Sites of Fatigue

Order of Muscle Fiber Type Recruitment

Copyright ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Figure 19.3
Chapter 19 Sites of Fatigue

In Summary

 Muscle fibers are recruited in the following order with

increasing intensities of exercise: Type I  Type IIa 
Type IIx
 The progression moves from the most to the least
oxidative muscle fiber type. Intense exercise (>75% VO2
max) demands that type IIx fibers be recruited, resulting
in an increase in lactate production.

Copyright ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Chapter 19 Factors Limiting All-Out Anaerobic Performances

Ultra Short-Term Performances

• Events lasting <10 seconds

• Dependent on recruitment of Type II muscle fibers
– Generate great forces that are needed
• Motivation, skill, and arousal are important
• Primary energy source is anaerobic
– ATP-PC system and glycolysis
 Creatine supplementation may improve performance

Copyright ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Chapter 19 Factors Limiting All-Out Anaerobic Performances

Factors Affecting Fatigue in Ultra Short-

Term Events

Copyright ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Figure 19.4
Chapter 19 Factors Limiting All-Out Anaerobic Performances

In Summary

 In events lasting less than ten seconds, optimal

performance is dependent on the recruitment of
appropriate type II fibers to generate the great forces
needed.
 Motivation or arousal is required, as well as the skill
needed to direct the force.
 The primary energy sources are anaerobic, with the
focus on phosphocreatine.

Copyright ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Chapter 19 Factors Limiting All-Out Anaerobic Performances

Short-Term Performances

• Events lasting 10–180 seconds

• Shift from anaerobic to aerobic metabolism
– 70% energy supplied anaerobically at 10s
– 60% supplied aerobically at 180s
• Anaerobic glycolysis is primary energy source
– Results in elevated lactate and H+ levels
 Interferes with Ca+2 binding with troponin
• Ingestion of buffers may improve performance

Copyright ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Chapter 19 Factors Limiting All-Out Anaerobic Performances

Factors Affecting Fatigue in Short-Term

Events

Copyright ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Figure 19.5
Chapter 19 Factors Limiting All-Out Anaerobic Performances

In Summary

 In short-term performances lasting 10 to 180 seconds,

there is a shift from 70% of the energy supplied
anaerobically at 10 seconds to 60% being supplied
aerobically at 180 seconds.
 Anaerobic glycolysis provides a substantial portion of the
energy, resulting in elevated lactate levels.

Copyright ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Chapter 19 Factors Limiting All-Out Aerobic Performances

Moderate-Length Performances

• Events lasting 3–20 minutes

– 60% ATP generated aerobically at 3 min
– 90% ATP supplied aerobically at 20 min
• High VO2 max is important
– High maximal stroke volume
– High arterial oxygen content
 Hemoglobin content
 Inspired oxygen
• Requires energy expenditure near VO2 max
– Type IIx fibers recruited
 High levels of lactate and H+ accumulation

Copyright ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Chapter 19 Factors Limiting All-Out Aerobic Performances

Factors Affecting Fatigue in Aerobic

Performances Lasting 3–20 Minutes

Copyright ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Figure 19.6
Chapter 19 Factors Limiting All-Out Aerobic Performances
The Winning Edge 19.1
Is Maximal Oxygen Uptake Important in
Distance Running Performance?
• VO2 max sets the upper limit for ATP production in
endurance events
– Even though race is not run at 100% VO2 max
• Performance also determined by:
– %VO2 max at which runner can perform
 Estimated by the lactate threshold
– Running economy

Copyright ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Chapter 19 Factors Limiting All-Out Aerobic Performances

In Summary

 In moderate-length performances lasting three to twenty

minutes, aerobic metabolism provides 60% to 90% of the
ATP, respectively.
 These activities require an energy expenditure near VO2
max, with type II fibers being recruited.
 Any factor interfering with oxygen delivery (e.g., altitude
or anemia) would decrease performance, since it is so
dependent on aerobic energy production. High levels of
lactate accompany these types of activities.

Copyright ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Chapter 19 Factors Limiting All-Out Aerobic Performances

Intermediate-Length Performances

• Events lasting 21–60 minutes

• Predominantly aerobic
– Usually conducted at <90% VO2 max
– High VO2 max is important
• Other important factors
– Running economy
 High percentage of type I muscle fibers
– Environmental factors
 Heat
 Humidity
– State of hydration

Copyright ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Chapter 19 Factors Limiting All-Out Aerobic Performances

Factors Affecting Fatigue in Aerobic

Performances Lasting 21–60 Minutes

Copyright ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Figure 19.7
Chapter 19 Factors Limiting All-Out Aerobic Performances

In Summary

 Intermediate-length activities lasting twenty-one to sixty

minutes are usually conducted at less than 90% VO2
max, and are predominantly aerobic.
 Given the length of the activity, environmental factors
such as heat, humidity, and the state of hydration play a
role in the outcome.

Copyright ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Chapter 19 Factors Limiting All-Out Aerobic Performances

Long-Term Performances

• Events lasting 1–4 hours

– Clearly aerobic
• Environmental factors more important
• Maintaining rate of carbohydrate utilization
– Muscle and liver glycogen stores decline
– Ingestion of carbohydrate
 Maintain carbohydrate oxidation by the muscle
• Consumption of fluids and electrolytes
• Diet also influences performance

Copyright ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Chapter 19 Factors Limiting All-Out Aerobic Performances

Factors Affecting Fatigue in Aerobic

Performances Lasting 1–4 Hours

Copyright ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Figure 19.8
Chapter 19 Factors Limiting All-Out Aerobic Performances

In Summary

 In long-term performances of one to four hours duration,

environmental factors play a more important role as the
muscle and liver glycogen stores try to keep up with the
rate at which carbohydrate is used.
 Diet, fluid ingestion, and the ability of the athlete to deal
with heat and humidity all influence the final outcome.

Copyright ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Chapter 19 Athlete as Machine

Athlete as Machine

• Continuing goal to improve performance

• Potential to treat elite athletes like machines
– Collection of parts evaluated by specialists
– Implementation of research to improve performance
– May be exposing athletes to risk
 In research or in implementation of techniques
• Institutional Review Boards
– Minimize risk to subjects being studied

Copyright ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Chapter 19

Study Questions

1. List the factors influencing performance.

2. Is the limiting factor for strength development located in the
CNS or out in the periphery? Support your position.
3. Tracing the path the action potential takes from the time it
leaves the motor end plate, where might the “weak link” be
in the mechanisms coupling excitation to contraction?
4. When fatigue occurs, there is still ATP present in the cell.
What is the explanation for this?
5. Describe the pattern of recruitment of muscle fiber types
during activities of progressively greater intensity, and
explain them.

Copyright ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Chapter 19

Study Questions

6. As the duration of maximal effort increases from less than

ten seconds to 10 to 180 seconds, what factor becomes
limiting in terms of energy production?
7. Draw a diagram of the factors limiting maximal running
performances of 1,500 m to 10,000 m.
8. While a high VO2 max is essential to world-class
performance, what role does running economy play in a
winning performance?
9. Given that lactate accumulation will adversely affect
endurance, what test might be an indicator of maximal
sustained running (swimming, cycling) speed?
10. What is the role of environmental factors, such as altitude
and heat, in very long-distance performances of one to four
hours’ duration?

Copyright ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.