I took this class mainly because I was interested in the course material and it has paid off. Learning about the central governor and how the mind plays a role in feats of endurance has been my favorite part of the course. It is amazing to study the safety nets that our mind places on our body to prevent damaging itself from exertion. This extends from the diaphragm’s call for air in divers to the unconscious pacing that occurs in ultramarathons and bicep curls – there’s always more in the tank if the mind knows it is almost done! Most of this has come from reading Endure, but the discussions in class have been great.

From lecture, I really enjoyed learning about skeletal muscle. I liked learning about the differences between fiber types and how long it takes to convert from one fiber to another! Learning about the effects of training and detraining was super interesting! I particularly thought it was neat that the improvements seen early on are due to neurological improvements in motor unit recruitment and then later improvements are due to hypertrophy (in resistance training). I am a bit surprised that endurance training can inhibit mTOR and thus slow down muscle growth if you train both resistance and endurance. Too bad we don’t gain more muscle fibers during resistance and endurance exercise. That certainly would make gaining strength and endurance at the same time a lot easier!

One aspect of exercise physiology that I would have liked to learn more about would have been the physiological effects of sleep and recovery. Everyone says sleep is crucial to performing well during exercise and I am sure there are physiological reasons that would be interesting to explore. Overall it was a great class and I am glad I took it!