Men’s Health has a small guide on how to use your mind to get your body to perform just a little extra. Run another mile, bench-press your last rep, pedal faster, swim another lap or do another crunch.

Source: Mind Over Muscle

There it is: Your mind drifts. Your body’s got plenty more, and scientists have proved it. Researchers at the University of Cape Town in South Africa have pinpointed where the stop order comes from. It has to do with receptors in the brain called interleukin-6.

“Our brains turn on the pain before we actually run out of fuel,” says Timothy Noakes, M.D., a professor of exercise and sports science at the University of Cape Town. It’s a safety measure — the brain tells the body to shut down to protect it from injury.

In short, our brains screw with us. They stop us from getting the most out of our workouts, and from losing that last 10 pounds. Guys like Lance Armstrong and Michael Phelps have figured out how to fool the brain and body into giving more. It’s a bit more than “I think I can.” But not much. Here’s what the experts say.