Brain Endurance Training and SOMA: The Next Frontier in Athletic Performance
Athlete development has traditionally focused on physical conditioning, strength, movement quality and recovery. What has been missing is targeted training for the brain. Not mindfulness, not simple reaction games, but structured cognitive loading that builds the brain’s ability to maintain decision making, skill execution and physical output under fatigue.
This is where Brain Endurance Training and SOMA come in. They are redefining how athletes prepare for competition, how they handle fatigue and how they protect against late game errors and injury.
SurfEdge Sports Physiotherapy is one of only two physiotherapy clinics in Australia offering SOMA and dedicated Brain Endurance Training. This is not new territory for us. Kirstie has been working in cognitive load and fatigue science since 2017, trained directly by Grant Hayes, the founder of SOMA and one of the leading voices in global cognitive performance conditioning.
What Is Brain Endurance Training
Brain Endurance Training (BET) is structured cognitive stress training that improves the brain’s resistance to fatigue. The theory is grounded in neurophysiology and the central governor model. Fatigue is not purely muscular. It is heavily influenced by how the brain processes effort, strain, decision making and perceived difficulty.
When cognitive load increases, perceived effort rises, even if the physical task stays the same. This is why athletes slow down under pressure or make poor decisions late in races or games. BET exposes athletes to controlled mental fatigue so the brain adapts and becomes more resilient.
This allows athletes to:
Maintain output at lower perceived effort
Delay mental fatigue
Improve decision quality under pressure
Sustain technical skill despite rising fatigue
Reduce errors that contribute to injury risk
BET is not about reaction speed. It is high level cognitive conditioning.
The Neuroscience Behind BET
Research shows that cognitive fatigue activates regions responsible for effort regulation, motor output and inhibitory control. When these areas fatigue, they reduce motor drive. You feel this as slowing, heaviness, loss of clarity or decreasing accuracy.
BET targets:
Prefrontal cortex resilience
Executive function
Inhibitory control
Working memory
Attentional switching
Movement planning under load
Dual tasking under fatigue
By training these systems, BET improves neural efficiency and alters the way the brain interprets effort. The outcome is improved performance without additional physical load.
What Is SOMA
SOMA is a cognitive performance platform used by elite sporting organisations, Olympic programs and military operators worldwide. It combines validated cognitive stress tasks with real data to track improvements in brain endurance.
Unlike phone based reaction games, SOMA:
Uses validated tasks mapped to specific neural networks
Follows progressive overload principles like physical training
Quantifies cognitive load and mental fatigue
Measures attention, inhibition, processing speed and accuracy
Integrates into physical training for dual task conditioning
SOMA is the gold standard in cognitive performance training and the backbone of BET programs internationally.
Why BET Matters for Athletes
Physical and cognitive fatigue interact. The brain is a major driver of how much force you can produce, how quickly you make decisions and how well you execute skills under pressure.
BET improves:
Sprint repeatability
Decision quality when fatigued
Skill execution under pressure
Race pacing and mental resilience
Perceived effort regulation
Concentration during long events
Tactical awareness late in games
Form under surf fatigue and pressure
For surf sports athletes
Direct carryover into unpredictable surf, late race surges, decision chains on boards and skis and fatigue tolerance.
For endurance athletes
Improved pacing, mental resilience and willingness to push into discomfort.
For field and court athletes
Sharper decision making, fewer late game errors and better tactical awareness.
How SOMA Integrates Into Physiotherapy and S&C
At SurfEdge, BET is embedded into rehab and performance planning.
1. Cognitive Stress Integrated With Strength and Conditioning
Athletes complete SOMA tasks during or after strength sets, intervals or technical drills to simulate pressure and fatigue.
2. Dual Tasking in Injury Rehab
Particularly powerful in ACL, ankle instability, concussion and any injury with proprioceptive or motor control deficits.
3. Monitoring Cognitive Fatigue as a Performance Marker
SOMA provides a profile of cognitive efficiency and fatigue tolerance.
4. Preparing Athletes for Competition Realities
Race chaos, sprint finishes, pressure moments and decision chains. BET helps athletes rehearse and adapt.
What a BET Session Looks Like at SurfEdge
Every session is individualised, but commonly includes:
Warm up with light SOMA tasks
Strength or conditioning blocks paired with cognitive load
High intensity SOMA sets to induce mental fatigue
Return to skill under controlled cognitive stress
Objective tracking of output and fatigue markers
Because SurfEdge is one of only two physio clinics in Australia offering SOMA, our athletes access technology normally seen only in high performance systems.
What Athletes Notice After BET
Athletes consistently report:
Sharper focus
Less mental fade
More accurate pacing
Better tolerance to discomfort
Improved decision making under stress
More consistency in high fatigue scenarios
These subjective improvements match the objective data we collect.
Brain Endurance Training is the missing link between physical preparation and actual performance under pressure. SOMA gives athletes a measurable, progressive and scientifically grounded way to train the brain for fatigue, complexity and cognitive load.
With experience in this space since 2017 and direct training under Grant Hayes, SurfEdge delivers a level of cognitive performance training rarely available in Australia.
If you want to sharpen your decision making, control fatigue and lift your competitive edge, we can help. Book a BET and SOMA assessment at SurfEdge and start training your brain the same way you train your body.