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Central Governor Theory: Understanding Your Internal Brakes

The Central Governor Theory, proposed by South African sports scientist Tim Noakes, challenges the traditional view of fatigue in exercise. Instead of attributing it solely to muscle failure, Noakes suggests it's primarily regulated by the brain to protect the body from overheating and organ damage.

Key elements of the theory:

  • Brain in control: The brain constantly monitors bodily signals like temperature, heart rate, and blood chemistry. Based on this information, it sets an "intensity ceiling" to limit exertion and prevent exceeding safe physiological limits.
  • Avoiding catastrophe: The Governor aims to prevent catastrophic failures like heatstroke, cardiac arrest, or organ damage. It prioritizes long-term survival over pushing to absolute physical limits.
  • Fatigue as a feedback signal: The feeling of fatigue isn't muscle weakness, but the brain's way of slowing you down before reaching dangerous thresholds.
That is all well and good but how can we then apply this to our training? A lot of this is still developing but from resources I have seen and my own logical implementation of the theory it would seem that: 

1. Sensible pacing - We all know this but if you go off too hard (as I always do) then you are probably going to suffer as much because your brain makes you suffer as you will because your muscles are suffering. 

2. Do mental training - Train your brain, I will cover that elsewhere e.g. see this book. 

3. Do speed training - 
Option 1 - If you are coached or a coach, set something like 5 reps with the aim of runners being spent after the last rep then add an extra rep or 2. This helps the brain understand it can do more. 
Option 2 - What about us self coached or remotely coached runners? I think double speed works days can help but have no evidence for it. I am not suggesting the completely smashing yourself training that the professionals do but tough all out efforts in the morning, maybe some hill sprints, followed by the same in the evening. 

To check out the original paper see: 
Noakes TD, St Clair Gibson A, Lambert EV. From catastrophe to complexity: a novel model of integrative central neural regulation of effort and fatigue during exercise in humans: summary and conclusions. Br J Sports Med. 2005;39(2):120-124. doi:10.1136/bjsm.2003.010330
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