It wears me out just imagining it! Mental imagery leads to muscle fatigue and diminished performance of isometric exercise

摘要

The purpose of this study was to investigate the aftereffects of self-generated mental imagery of an effortful task on physical self-control endurance and muscle fatigue. Participants performed two isometric handgrip endurance trials (50% of maximum contraction) separated by either an imagery manipulation or a quiet rest period. The imagery group showed greater negative changes in endurance performance from trial 1 to trial 2 (p = .003, d = 0.87) and increased muscle activation at baseline (p = .01, d = 0.73) and at 25% (p = .03, d = 0.61) of the second endurance trial compared to controls. We conclude that imagined performance of an effortful task depletes self-control strength and contributes to muscle fatigue. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.