Effect of mental training on physiological outcomes
fatigue, proper motor behavior
The goal of the MT program was to equip participants with strategies to endure fatigue and enhance endurance by modifying the mental, or central, approach to exercise. These strategies included breathing techniques to both activate the parasympathetic system and/or reduce the activation of the sympathetic system as well as thinking strategies for preparation for and execution of time trial to exhaustion (Jones By using these techniques, one of the primary changes that occurred was a 10–20% reduction in rectus femoris EMG during the post-mental training time to exhaustion trial. Mental training has been suggested to improve motor flexibility, perhaps improving the ability for the cerebellum to select the proper motor behavior (Olsson et al. A reduction in muscle activation as measured by EMG may also have effects on other physiological variables as EMG is traditionally used as a marker of central motor command (Carrier et al. Arousal regulation training may have also led directly to some physiological changes within the post-training TTE. In one of the videos watched by the participants, they were instructed to “breathe deep with their belly as well as slow down the cadence of breathing”. By following these instructions, participants were able to reduce their ventilation which increases parasympathetic activity and decreases sympathetic activity (Cottin et al. 