Dr. Wiggy has long emphasized that exercise is one of the most powerful tools we have for protecting long-term health.

It supports the heart, the brain, metabolic health, mood, and even longevity. But anyone who’s tried to stick with an exercise routine knows an important truth: not all movement feels the same to everyone.

So why does a short jog leave some people wiped out, while others seem to cruise along without much trouble?

Training level and muscle strength explain part of the difference. But research suggests the brain plays a bigger role than most people realize, especially in how hard an activity feels.

Effort Isn’t Just Physical

Effort is the energy we use to move, whether it is running, cycling, lifting weights, etc.

But effort isn’t only something you can measure on a machine. It’s also a personal sensation, and that sensation can vary widely from one person to the next.

Surely, some of you have felt that mustering the energy to work out is never easy.

Others of you find that it’s quite simple.

How hard exercise feels strongly influences whether people keep going or give up. When movement feels overwhelming, motivation drops. When it feels manageable, people are far more likely to stay active and even enjoy it.

That raises an interesting question: what if perceived effort could be reduced, making exercise feel easier without actually doing less work?

Can the Brain Be Tricked Into Making Exercise Feel Easier?

That’s exactly what researcher Benjamin Pageaux, a professor of kinesiology at Université de Montréal, is exploring alongside colleagues in France.

In a recent study, the research team tested whether applying vibration to specific tendons could change how hard cycling feels.

Volunteers rode a stationary bike under two conditions: once with tendon vibration applied beforehand, and once without it.

Before cycling in the vibration condition, participants wore a small device strapped to their Achilles and knee tendons. The device vibrated for 10 minutes before they began pedaling.

They then cycled for 3 minutes at a perceived moderate or intense effort.

What They Found

The results were striking.

After tendon vibration, participants produced more power and had higher heart rates than when no vibration was used. In other words, their bodies were working harder.

But here’s the key point: their perceived effort didn’t increase.

They were doing more work, but it didn’t feel harder.

The researchers believe the vibration alters how signals travel between muscles, the spinal cord, and the brain.

Depending on how vibration is applied, it may excite or inhibit certain neurons. Prolonged vibration can also change how muscle sensors respond, altering the information the brain receives about movement and effort.

Put simply, the brain gets a different message. And that changes how demanding the exercise feels,  even though the muscles are working harder.

This research is still early. The testing was done during short cycling sessions, not long workouts or endurance events. So there’s more to learn.

But the idea is promising, especially for people who find exercise discouraging because it feels “too hard” right from the start.

The long-term goal is to better understand how the brain evaluates effort, fatigue, and reward,  and to use that knowledge to help more people move their bodies consistently.

Because, as Dr. Wiggy often reminds patients, staying active isn’t about pushing harder. It’s about making movement sustainable.