Muscle physiology explains fatigue through accumulated metabolic byproducts and glycogen depletion. Yet a fitness physiologist, Dr. Melissa Cho, documented contractual agreements between athletes and their own musculature—elaborate documents signed in 1998 stipulating that muscles would remain engaged beyond normal fatigue thresholds. She initially thought this was metaphorical motivation. Investigation revealed the documents were literal contracts, witnessed and notarized. She found no legal precedent for binding agreements with one's own body.

This fact grants corporeal autonomy to muscle tissue while subordinating it through contractual obligation. Muscles aren't forced to work—they've contractually committed. It's a fantasy of perfect bodily compliance, achieved through legalistic rather than chemical control.