Supporting a uK SucceSS Story: The impacT of - Research Councils ...

Fighting fatigue
PhD student Abdulla Alghannam about to
centrifuge some whole-blood so the supernatant
(plasma) can be removed and stored for later
analysis.
Researchers at the University of Bath led by Dr James
Betts are currently running the latest in a series of studies
to better understand the mechanisms of fatigue during
exercise. They are particularly keen to look at instances
where repeated bouts of demanding exercise are required
without an adequate break for full physical recovery. This
has relevance to intensive periods of competition, such as
the Olympic Games, but also the ongoing daily training of
both athletes and recreational exercisers alike. The team are
examining the differences in fatigue experienced between
an initial bout of exercise and subsequent repeated
bouts, while simultaneously evaluating the impact of
various nutritional strategies on this relationship. The work
combines a broad range of contemporary measurement
techniques from analysis of fuel levels with human muscle
samples, to measuring the concentration of key hormones
in blood, to monitoring changes in central nervous system
activation. The findings will contribute to our fundamental
understanding of human physiology, but with clear
application to the development of evidence-based nutrition
and training programmes for athletes in the lead-up to
the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Another group of
researchers at the University of Brighton are unraveling the
mystery of how the brain determines how much exercise
we are capable of.
“The work combines a broad range of contemporary
measurement techniques from analysis of fuel levels with
human muscle samples, to measuring the concentration of key
hormones in blood, to monitoring changes in central nervous
system activation.”
Although the limits to human performance have been
explored for decades, only within the last 15 years has
the study of the brain’s involvement in exercise tolerance
become debated by sport and exercise scientists. Originally,
researchers assumed that fatigue was caused because
muscles couldn’t operate effectively as a consequence
of prolonged or intense physical exertion. However, the
introduction of techniques such as “transcranial magnetic
stimulation”, a non-invasive method that assesses the
brain’s control of muscles, has allowed researchers to
explore just how influential the brain is in muscle fatigue.
The researchers hope that this research could lead to new
training methods and ultimately improve the performance
of athletes.
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SECTION two : Health and Wellbeing