Non-Linear Analysis of Physiological Activities, And Physical Performance during a Self-Pace Time-Trial Cycling Exercise

Recently, in exercise physiology, a new model to regulate the central neural effort and fatigue has been proposed. This model is called the Central Governor Model (CGM) which theorizes that physical activity is controlled by a regulator in the central nervous system, and that the human body works as a complex integrative system. However, CGM is a highly contentious theory which has far from complete acceptance within the exercise physiology community. Therefore, this paper addresses and analyses some important aspects of this model. To analyse the irregular and complex physiological control signals, nonlinear mathematical methods that are fractal analysis and recurrence analysis were employed in this research to find out respectively the complexity and the characteristics of physiological signals during a self-paced time-trial cycling exercise. Results showed that the characteristics and complexity of the cardiovascular control system were significantly different from that of the respiratory system. Moreover, different physical body anthropometrics demonstrated similar complexity and characteristics for each type of physiological control system. This research attempted to relate the complexity and characteristics of physiological activities with the performance of the cyclists.