In the mid-1990s, the San Francisco 49ers were having a basketball game between the 49ers team of the 1980s and the team of 1990s. It was a great pleasure for the fans to see their favorite players from each era square off in a friendly game of pick-up basketball. 

Jerry Rice, who was on the 90s team, was the leading scorer before he checked out of the game in the 3rd quarter. Then he started signing autographs, taking pictures with the fans and having fun with the event. But in the 4th quarter he heard the announcer say that one of the players from the 80s had just become the game’s leading scorer. 

“He might be the world’s best ultra-endurance athlete” –The New York Times

In 2004, a man named Jure Robic won the Insight Race Across America for the 2nd year in a row. The race, commonly referred to as RAAM, is a non-stop 3,000-mile bike tour that is a full 800 miles longer than the Tour de France!  

“Who needs this?”

Said Joe DeSena, founder of The Spartan Race, as he was in the middle of doing an Ironman Triathlon in Utah. Joe is renowned for pushing his body to the limit, but this time he felt like he had pushed his body as far as it could possibly go. He was 10 miles into the run and he was so nauseous that he had to walk over to an ambulance to vomit uncontrollably. 

Joe had all but decided that he was going to amongst those on the DNF (did not finish) list, when he saw a woman with one leg run by him. When he saw the woman pushing herself through a physical feat that many 2-legged people don’t even try, it changed his perspective. Seeing this gave him the strength he needed to run with her for the final 16 miles and finish the race!

What is the effect of physical exercise on a person’s willpower?

That’s the question researchers at Macquarie University in Sydney were trying to find out. There are, of course, many health benefits associated with physical exercise, but what does it do for our self-control?

Willpower itself is like a muscle, so can it become strengthened along with your other muscles through physical activity?