Body Atlas

Fuel, Fatigue and Fibre Types · Muscles

Why can I suddenly run faster when being chased?

Fatigue is several problems at once — and partly in the brain.

The simple answer

There is no single reason a muscle stops cooperating. Fatigue is a pile-up: fuel stores running low, the chemical environment inside the fibre shifting, calcium handling becoming less crisp — and, importantly, your nervous system easing off.

Go deeper

There's more: fatigue is several problems at once — and partly in the brain. The full explanation — and the interactive version you can tap and quiz yourself on — lives in the app.

Explore this concept in Body Atlas →

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