I have a multipart question here so stick with me. Let’s say you have control over a human body how much better could it perform physical activities than if it were under normal control? (in other words if physical pain from exercise was not a factor the body was just pushed to its max, but with out permant damage like running until its heart stopped ect.) Also how much could it be improved? I know this would depend heavily on how good of shape it was starting out and what activities it was doing, I’m just trying to figure out just how much we are limited by the mental part of physical activity.
Taking me for example, how much could I be improved by just mental pain not being a factor.
Right now I can run about a 6:40 mile. I can bench a max of about 185lbs (max meaning I can lift it one set and that’s it).
Jimsus
*if part of this doesn’t make sense let me know, I have a tendency to ramble with out ever making my point clear
Your body would still obey the constant laws of conservation of energy.
For example, if you could control your bodies hormones, you could increase the rate and force of contraction of your heart, thereby increasing the output of blood from the heart and increasing the blood pressure. You could greatly increase the breakdown of glycogen to glucose in the liver, raising the level of blood sugar.
You could increase the level of circulating free fatty acids.
Using, the extra amounts of glucose and fatty acids as fuel, you could massively increase your energy output.
However, these efforts would only come at a cost, and you would need to constantly replenish your energy supply of sugar and fats, or face imminent or dire exhaustion.
In other words, you could choose to do what was possible, but ultimately the laws of reality would come crashing in.
I.E. body pain is a signal, yes you can choose to ignore the information from the nervous system, but the cause of the pain will still be there, still acting against your body system.
You could eventually rip your muscles/tendons apart. Studies of muscle fiber recruitment indicate that the margin of unrecruited fiber often exceed the safety margin for tendon attachemnt damage. Also you would be exerting unaccustomed forces without learning how to handle them. Learning how to safely exert forces is important, as everyone who’s ever injured themselves by rapid overtraining knows.
I’m not sure how much protection you can expect from the reflexive feedback from pain and other sensors at the spinal level, below your conscious awareness. Clearly they don’t always prevent injuries, and it would probably depend on how you blocked pain. Hypnosis subjects, and people in chemically altered states have injured themselves by exerting excessive forces.
If you are on the verge of heart attack, vomiting and blacking out after that 6:40 mile, then you probably couldn’t go much faster. If not, then you could.
As far as strength, whatever mind to muscle connection you have gained would be your ultimate potential. Not aware that you can exceed this connection of recruitment without time and training, but maybe you could.