Effect of mental training on perceptual outcomes
RPE, fatigue, pain
Rating of perceived exertion was not changed with mental training despite a decrease in rectus femoris EMG. During both pre- and post-mental training, RPE increased at the same rate and ended at the same absolute value. A previous self-talk training intervention similarly found that there was not a decrease in RPE after training (Basset et al. Likewise, perceptions of leg specific fatigue and pain during the time trial were not changed by mental training nor were end-exercise maximal levels of fatigue and pain. As the time trial to exhaustion consists of an exercise at a fixed intensity until failure, it would be expected that there would be no difference with mental training in leg fatigue and pain. During exercise, it is thought that leg fatigue and pain are caused by activation of the Group III/IV afferent neurons by the combination of several metabolites including lactate, ATP, and protons (Light et al. 