Reduced Electromyographic Fatigue Threshold After Performing a Cognitive Fatiguing Task

Abstract

Ferris, JR, Tomlinson, MA, Ward, TN, Pepin, ME, and Malek, MH. Reduced electromyographic fatigue threshold after performing a cognitive fatiguing task. J Strength Cond Res 35(1): 267–274, 2021—Cognitive fatigue tasks performed before exercise may reduce exercise capacity. The electromyographic fatigue threshold (EMG_FT) is the highest exercise intensity that can be maintained without significant increase in the electromyography (EMG) amplitude vs. time relationship. To date, no studies have examined the effect of cognitive fatigue on the estimation of the EMG_FT. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to determine whether cognitive fatigue before performing exercise reduces the estimated EMG_FT. Eight healthy college-aged men were recruited from a university student population and visited the laboratory on multiple occasions. In a randomized order, subjects performed either the cognitive fatigue task (AX continuous performance test) for 60 minutes on one visit (experimental condition) or watched a video on trains for 60 minutes on the other visit (control condition). After each condition, subjects performed the incremental single-leg knee-extensor ergometry test while the EMG amplitude was recorded from the rectus femoris muscle and heart rate was monitored throughout. Thereafter, the EMG_FT was calculated for each subject for each visit and compared using paired samples t-test. For exercise outcomes, there were no significant mean differences for maximal power output between the 2 conditions (control: 51 ± 5 vs. fatigue: 50 ± 3 W), but there was a significant decrease in EMG_FT between the 2 conditions (control: 31 ± 3 vs. fatigue: 24 ± 2 W; p = 0.013). Moreover, maximal heart rate was significantly different between the 2 conditions (control: 151 ± 5 vs. fatigue: 132 ± 6; p = 0.027). These results suggest that performing the cognitive fatiguing task reduces the EMG_FT with a corresponding reduction in maximal heart rate response.