Mental fatigue lies at the core of motivating yourself to hit the gym and to give the extra push in your athletic performance. In Workout Motivation: The Science of the Brain's Role in Exercise we broadly introduced the importance of our mind for exercise performance. The interconnectedness between the brain and body means many markers of physical performance are modulated by our mind.
Here we focus on mental fatigue, introduce you to some of the fatigue models (how scientists believe the brain is operating), explain willpower and self-control and how they interact with workout motivation, and provide actionable tools to help you follow through on a workout program.