ABSTRACT
For over a century, physiologists have tried to find the limits of performance following a reductionist approach. Although this approach has provided a wealth of descriptive knowledge about acute and chronic changes of systemic components with different types of exercise, it has failed to supply a unified and clear explanation about the limits of exercise tolerance. Trying to find such limits in specific sites or processes, the initial and major focus of research has been the muscle and its metabolism, followed by the brain (McKenna and Hargreaves 2008). Owing to controversial findings (Cairns 2006; Enoka and Duchateau 2008; McKenna and Hargreaves 2008; St Clair Gibson and Noakes 2004; Nybo 2008; Weir et al. 2006), more recently, an increasing attention has been paid to integrative approaches (Lambert et al. 2005), with renewed emphasis being placed on the role of the brain in establishing the limits of exercise tolerance (Marcora and Staiano 2010, Noakes, St Clair Gibson and Lambert 2005; Taylor et al. 2006).
