Have you ever wondered why some people can run or cycle with ease, while others feel tired after just a short jog? Of course, being fit and having strong muscles plays a big role—but the brain is also involved, especially in how we feel effort.
Effort is the energy we use to do things like running, pedaling a bike, or lifting something heavy. But effort isn’t just about how much energy we use. It’s also about how hard we think the activity feels—and this feeling can be very different from person to person.
When something feels too hard, we usually avoid doing it. But when it feels easier, we are more likely to enjoy it and keep going. So, what if we could make exercise feel easier, even if we’re working just as hard?
That’s exactly what Benjamin Pageaux, a professor at the Université de Montréal, and a group of researchers in France set out to study. They wanted to see if they could reduce the feeling of effort by using a vibrating device on people’s tendons.
In their experiment, published in the Journal of Sport and Health Science, volunteers pedaled a stationary bike under two conditions. In one condition, their Achilles and knee tendons were vibrated with a small device for 10 minutes before they began cycling. In the other condition, there was no vibration.
Each person was asked to pedal for three minutes at a level they felt was either “moderate” or “intense.” They had to adjust their speed to match how hard they felt they were working.
Here’s what happened: When the vibration was used, people pedaled harder and had higher heart rates—even though they said the effort felt the same as when there was no vibration. That means the vibration tricked their brain into thinking the exercise wasn’t any harder, even though they were actually working more.
Why does this happen? The researchers believe it’s because vibration changes the signals sent from the body to the brain. By changing how the tendons and nerves react, the vibration may adjust the way the brain experiences movement and effort. Basically, the brain gets different information, and so it feels like the work is easier.
This idea is still new, and there’s a lot more to study. The test only lasted three minutes and hasn’t been tried in longer workouts like running a marathon. But it’s the first time this effect has been clearly shown during a short cycling task.
Next, the scientists want to learn more about what’s going on in the brain. They plan to use brain scanning tools like EEG and MRI to see how the brain reacts to tendon vibration during exercise. They’re also looking at how pain and tiredness can make exercise feel harder, which could help them find ways to do the opposite—make it feel easier.
The big goal is to help people who don’t usually exercise feel more motivated. If exercise feels easier, more people might be willing to give it a try—and stick with it.
As Professor Pageaux explained, “By understanding how the brain weighs the effort and the rewards of exercise, we can help more people get moving.” And staying active is one of the best things we can do for our health.
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