One of the main things I miss about being an athlete is those pregame feelings. That excitement and rush before a game is something that was for sure taken advantage of, so why not write about it while I am washed up now?
While you're standing on the sideline waiting for a big game to start, your heart is pounding, your hands are shaky, and suddenly you feel like you could sprint through a wall. Not necessarily saying you became this unstoppable athlete, but your body is getting some help from adrenaline. What exactly is happening inside your body that makes the pregame adrenaline rush feel so powerful?
The pregame feeling starts with the sympathetic nervous system, or the “fight-or-flight” response. Your body does not need to wait for the game to start to prep for what is about to happen. Research has shown that trained individuals can experience an anticipatory rise in epinephrine and norepinephrine before exercise begins (Egan & Sharples, 2023). These hormones help prepare the body for action by increasing cardiovascular activity and making more energy available to working muscles.
Where does that sudden burst of energy come from? Epinephrine binds to adrenergic receptors throughout the body, producing different responses depending on the tissue. In the heart, activation of β1-adrenergic receptors increases heart rate and the force of contraction, increasing cardiac output and helping deliver more blood to working tissues. In skeletal muscle, β2-adrenergic signaling can influence membrane excitability and excitation-contraction coupling. β2-receptor activation stimulates cAMP-dependent protein kinase signaling, which can increase Ca²⁺ release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (Cairns & Borrani, 2015). The released Ca²⁺ binds to troponin, causing tropomyosin to move and allowing actin and myosin to interact and generate force. Epinephrine also increases the availability of fuels such as glucose and fatty acids that can be used to produce ATP during exercise (Zouhal et al., 2008). Basically, your body is making sure your muscles have the blood, fuel, and physiological preparation they need before you even step onto the field.
That pregame rush isn't only responsible for making you feel ready to run through a wall. The same sympathetic response also contributes to that racing heart, shaky hands, and butterflies before a game. Your body is essentially preparing you to face whatever is waiting on the other side of the field. So, if a little adrenaline can help prepare an athlete to perform, what happens when pregame nerves cause too much of it?
References:
Cairns, S. P., & Borrani, F. (2015). β-Adrenergic modulation of skeletal muscle contraction: Key role of excitation–contraction coupling. The Journal of Physiology, 593(21), 4713–4727. https://doi.org/10.1113/JP270909
Egan, B., & Sharples, A. P. (2023). Molecular responses to acute exercise and their relevance for adaptations in skeletal muscle to exercise training. Physiological Reviews, 103(3), 2057–2170. https://doi.org/10.1152/physrev.00054.2021
Zouhal, H., Jacob, C., Delamarche, P., & Gratas-Delamarche, A. (2008). Catecholamines and the effects of exercise, training and gender. Sports Medicine, 38(5), 401–423. https://doi.org/10.2165/00007256-200838050-00004
I always look at pro athletes when watching sporting events and like to think about if they feel the same intensity of adrenaline they did when they were younger or since they are pros and do it so often is the response of adrenaline as strong? Does being calm during win or go home situations help the athlete stay focused at his task or do we need that adrenaline to better performance? I think its a very interesting discussion to be had.
ReplyDeleteThis was really interesting! As an athlete, I agree that a little adrenaline rush can help increase performance, but too much can be detrimental. Extremely high levels of adrenaline can decrease performance, especially in sports that require accuracy and concentration (archery, shooting, etc.). So, it seems there is evidence that too much adrenaline can decrease athletic performance.
ReplyDeleteI also thought this was interesting as it taps into psychology as well as physiology. It seems as though the increase in adrenaline can have an adverse mental effect, which then is manifested in a physiological way. This is fascinating, especially when we realize the significance of mentality in sport, as well as physicality.
Krahenbuhl, G. S. (1975). Adrenaline, arousal and sport. The Journal of Sports Medicine, 3(3), 117–121. https://doi.org/10.1177/036354657500300304
This relates so well to what we are talking about in class yet also real life experiences. I still feel an adrenaline rush before I start every game but I wonder if that feeling can decrease as you find yourself in the same pregame position week after week. Does one get accustomed to the rush and would that be a good thing or a bad thing?
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