Abstract
BACKGROUND: Biological factors are ultimately responsible for the cessation of effort in short, maximal glycolytic efforts. However, how these factors are sensed by the brain and act in a loop or feedforward way to regulate the distribution of effort is still unclear. METHODS: A systematic review of existing literature on short term glycolytic exercise has been performed on publicly available databases (Google Scholar and Pudmed). RESULTS: The problem of effort termination in fast maximal glycolytic activities after 100 years of research is still open. It is not clear if a central governor of effort exists, if the limitations are in the energy transport and utilization system, or in the psycho-social factors. CONCLUSIONS: The solution probably resides in a mixture of factors, but how the different components interact is still a mystery for science due to the philosophical grounding of the experimental approaches.