Athletes are always looking for ways to improve their performance. While rigorous training and a strict diet — and sometimes performance-enhancing drugs — are how most athletes gain a leg up on the competition, new research into the role of the brain in muscle activation and endurance is providing insights into novel ways of improving athletic ability.
A 2020 study published in Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport examined the effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) on muscle endurance in athletes performing a traditional back-squat.
tDCS stimulates brain cells by either making them more or less excitable. Positive and negative electrodes are placed on the subjects head, and a weak electrical current passed through the brain tissue.
In the present study, the tissue targeted was the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), which has been shown in experimentation to contribute significantly to endurance when performing demanding physical activity like lifting weights.
The majority of studies, however, have focused on upper-body strength and endurance. The authors of the present study thus decided to examine the effects of tDCS on the DLPFC for the back squat (a squat performed with the bar over the shoulders).
Eleven healthy males at an intermediate level of resistance training with at least one year of experience lifting weights were recruited for the study. Participants were first tested for strength and endurance in the back squat, and then again one and two weeks later following tDCS or a sham procedure (as a control).
The study’s results show that the total number of repetitions performed by those who received tDCS was significantly greater than the sham control group. Anodal (increases excitability) tDCS produced the largest effect.
Interestingly, individuals in the control group experienced a decline in repetitions only from the third set onward, whereas individuals in the tDCS group performed significantly more repetitions in the first set compared to the second and the second set compared to the third.
The authors note a few limitations, including the number of participants (only 11), and some anomalous results including one participant performing better after the sham procedure.
While transcranial stimulation may not make it onto the training regimens of professional athletes just yet, studies like this are beneficial not only for athletes but also the scientific community. Understanding exactly how the brain controls the body is useful not only for improving the performance of healthy subjects but also the lives of individuals with movement pathologies.
The study, “Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) Improves Back-Squat Performance in Intermediate Resistance-Training Men“, was authored by Lucas Antunes Faria Vieira, Eduardo Lattari, Marco Antônio de Jesus Abreu, Guilherme Moraes Rodrigues, Bruno Viana, Sérgio Machado, Bruno Ribeiro Ramalho Oliveira, and Geraldo de Albuquerque Maranhão Neto.