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Just Imagining a Workout Can Make You Stronger

45 points prmph 1 hour ago 21 comments

hmokiguess 50 minutes ago | parent

I guess it is all in your imagination

bch 37 minutes ago | parent

You think that’s air you’re breathing?

skyberrys 44 minutes ago | parent

Am I doing the same sort of exercise prep when I write out a plan before executing the actions?

I did think from the title it would be a silly story, but it does make me thing about how mentally reviewing something before trying to do it does help out the result.

MrFantastic 42 minutes ago | parent

I think it would be hard to imagine what a heavy lift feels like if you never done it. The pinky example might have helped just because it gave the test subjects an example of what muscle it works, firing the pinky and the ring finger at the same time would be a stronger pull because they share the flexor digitorum profundus. They also would have had to test it first to establish a baseline.

I think that one reason people have trouble with pullups is that they just don't understand how to tense up their entire body torso to pull themselves up.

amelius 41 minutes ago | parent

This is why I watch soccer.

Forgeties79 39 minutes ago | parent

“Gotta do deads, kids”

thecloudlet 35 minutes ago | parent

Pilots do this too: "chair flying," rehearsing procedures in your head before the real flight. It works well for checklists, but chair flying a workout still sounds funny to me.

arjie 26 minutes ago | parent

The first time I saw this 'chair flying' is the Blue Angels briefing room video[0]. Can they actually remember the whole flow with the drawings etc. and imagine the whole scene with their hand movements etc? Absolutely unbelievable. I've never missed them in all the years since I moved to San Francisco. They're so tight in when they fly and they visualize the whole thing in a chair? Crazy to me.

0: https://youtu.be/PFxszP-1tHI?t=81

Klonoar 23 minutes ago | parent

Race car drivers often make use of this as well.

It can legitimately help you drive a lap faster in e.g qualifying.

andai 21 minutes ago | parent

There's muscle growth and metabolic changes (including at the level of the cell), but strength is also largely neurological.

Similarly, a headset can "read your thoughts" (inner voice) by detecting subtle activations in the facial muscles. A student at MIT constructed such a headset about ten years ago:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=VnMS8WMDDhs

bronco21016 19 minutes ago | parent

Came here to share exactly this. Pilot training has long emphasized “chair flying”. At my first airline we sat at paper mockups and repeatedly drilled procedures until you could recite them in your sleep. Fortunately, modern tech has given us “flyable” digital mockups. Not quite a full sim but an arrangement of touch screens where everything functions as a real plane.

During longer periods away from flying I will spend a few days prior to the next flight mentally chair flying normal procedures.

I do think there’s some level of experience necessary for this to be beneficial though. Chair flying a plane I've never flown isn’t likely to be very productive without feedback from an experienced pilot. I would imagine the same is true for a couch potato trying to imagine a difficult squat set.

keyle 34 minutes ago | parent

(2016)

But hey, this makes meditation oddly interesting now. swole the mind!

vorticalbox 28 minutes ago | parent

If I remember correctly I read a paper a few years ago that tested this with people learning piano.

The control just did their lesson and the second after the lesson sat and just imagined them playing what they learned no finger movement allowed just thinking.

The second group over all learned faster.

andai 25 minutes ago | parent

The oldest study I found on this was with basketball, I believe in the 1950s. The theory was that since the imagination group was able to make perfect shots every time, this accelerated the process.

https://sci-hub.ru/10.1080/10671188.1960.10613109

Clark, L. V. (1960). Effect of Mental Practice on the Development of a Certain Motor Skill. Research Quarterly, 31(4), 560–569.

chneu 3 minutes ago | parent

I was gonna do a top level comment if nobody else mentioned it.

One thing that a LOT of pro basketball players do is visualize their movements before the game or whatnot. I'm sure athletes in all sports do this but I played bball for 30 years so that's my reference.

It works.

Hugsbox 13 minutes ago | parent

I feel like I do this anytime I get really into chess, and some other skills. Spend a lot of time mentally practicing it. I don't think it ever actually improves the skill, but it might reinforce what I already know. It can't be a very strong boost though, because I'm still shite at chess.

demibabs 27 minutes ago | parent

About to hit 3 sets of Hopes and Dreams, I’ll be jacked.

joegibbs 22 minutes ago | parent

I have no proof but I really think this is going to be another one of those pop-science "facts" that is eventually proven false. One of those ones like "playing classical music makes plants grow faster", it just doesn't sound right.

svachalek 13 minutes ago | parent

Thinking about a scary moment can make your pulse race, your eyes dilate, and cause you to sweat. Thinking about a lover can do all that and other things. So clearly the imagination can affect the body. Not saying this study will hold up necessarily, but it's not that far fetched.

fnctrev 22 minutes ago | parent

I think this makes sense.. mind-muscle connection, coordination, efficiency of lifts.. you can lift more and do it more efficiently without your muscles necessarily actually being bigger.

bob1029 6 minutes ago | parent

I have learned that merely thinking about deadlifting a personal record can produce more adrenal response than the act itself. I think it might be better to draw the mind trip out a little bit before you do the lift each time. I feel like it reduces the chance of injury when you give your body a few moments to prepare for the onslaught.