What is pseudo-maximum performance?

Pseudo-maximum performance, put briefly, is the idea that there is no maximum performance; we are always capable of performing better. It may be that mental toughness is the key to driving ourselves even farther. Some research suggests that a technique called 'dissociation' can be the tool for athletes to push themselves even farther.

The technique, as tested in runners, involved three components:

Saying "down" to themselves at each step
Focusing attention on an object in the distance
Breathing in sync with footfalls

Runners dissociating while running showed significant increases in endurance over a control group of runners, who ran in their normal way. There's also the story, as reported by anthropologists, about Tibetan monks who ran 300 miles in 30 hours. They focused on distant landmarks, like mountains, and repeated a mantra to themselves with each step - a remarkable similiarity to principles of dissociation. Of course, the tale is probably untrue, but the similarities cannot be denied.

The question remains - how far can we push ourselves? What is the true limit? According to University of Texas professor Dr. Benjamin Levine, we don't know: “How does the brain interact with the skeletal muscles and the circulation? How much of this is voluntary and how much is involuntary? We just don’t know.”

While dissociation research has primarily been done with runners and cyclers, the same principles of focus and self-regulation could work with other sports.

Check out the whole New York Times article here.