ENERGY DRAIN 5
Your feeling of exhaustion may be all in your head. In a recent Welsh study, cyclists who felt mentally fatigued stopped pushing themselves sooner than those who felt refreshed did, even though both groups' cardiovascular and muscular responses to exercise were the same. Brain drain may increase activity in the anterior cingulate cortex, an area of your brain in which motivation, emotion, and perception of physical effort converge, the researchers say.FIGHT IT: Cue up your iPodCranking LMFAO does more than just motivate you; it can also boost your exercise performance. "People listening to music can run about 15 percent longer," Dr. Edlund says. The benefit extends beyond endurance: A recent study from California State University at Fullerton found that people who listened to tunes they liked performed squat jumps more quickly and forcefully. Use the PaceDJ app ($2, pacedj.com) to create a cardio mix of songs with tempos that range from 125 to 140 beats a minute. Then, when you lift, switch to a motivating playlist.