Pushing The Limits Of The Human Body

Humanity has toppled scores of world records over the past few decades, but how much more progress can we make?

Published Aug 12, 2014 8:51 PM EDT

Most Weight We Can Lift — After Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt broke the 100-meter world record at the 2008 Olympics, Mark Denny, a biologist at Stanford University, wondered: Had “Lightning Bolt” sprinted as fast as a human can go? After analyzing records back to the 1920s, Denny predicts humans may one day cover 100m in only 9.48 seconds, or .10 seconds faster than Bolt’s current record of 9.58 seconds––a lot speedier in a sport where differences are measured by the 100th of a second. PRO TIPS: How To Improve Your Fitness Even when your brain says no way, there are tricks to coax your muscles into running faster and biking longer. Race Against A Worthy Rival In a 2012 study, English cyclists were told to pedal as fast as they could. Then they raced against a computerized competitor going one percent faster, and kept up. So it’s a good idea to train with someone better. Breathe Easy, Or Hard Tim Noakes at the University of Cape Town had runners take a maximal oxygen consumption test that started surprisingly tough and got easier. He found that oxygen levels actually don’t limit performance. Gargle Gatorade In a 2008 study, cyclists gargled sugar water and spat it out, tricking their brains into thinking they’d ingested carbs. Swilling drinks stimulates taste-bud receptors, boosting the metabolism. Illustrations by Muti

We humans are programmed to grow stronger, faster, and smarter; to climb higher, live longer, and populate every last inch of real estate. We’ve toppled scores of world records over the past few decades, but how much more progress can we make? No matter how we enhance our natural capabilities, our potential is bound by certain scientific principles—laws of physics, biomechanics, and thermodynamics—that don’t yield to human ambition. We asked scientists to define where, exactly, those boundaries lie, and to provide some take-home tips that’ll help you stretch your own potential.

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_This article originally appeared in the September 2014 issue of _Popular Science.

weight illustration

run speed

Hardest We Can Punch

Tallest We Can Grow

Keenest Our Ears Can Hear

Most We Can Remember

Smartest We Can Get

Most Colors Our Eyes Can See

Most Friends We Can Have

Longest We Can Go Without Food

Deepest We Can Dive

Highest We Can Climb Without Extra Oxygen

Longest We Can Go Without Sleep

Oldest We Can Live