eli5 why do muscles get tired after holding the same position for an extended period of time?
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Controlling the muscles takes energy. Picture the muscles as very weak-minded soldiers that can only stand still as long as you yell at them. They let go as soon as you get tired of yelling.
I can’t give you the exact science behind it, but muscles are controlled by nerves which use up ions (iirc mainly sodium) when controlling them. Once they run out of the ions, you feel it as losing strength and being tired. Part of the strength training is being efficient at controlling your muscles in addition to having more of them.
In electronics, you can picture it as normally open switch that’s closed and is opened only when voltage is applied.
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