Is it All in Your Mind?
At least two percent of it probably is, according to THIS RECENT ARTICLE in the New York Times discussing a performance study done on deceived cyclists.
The experiment
In short, two groups of cyclists raced on stationary bikes against an on-screen avatar that was going either two percent or five percent faster than the cyclist’s own best time. The first group was told that the avatar would be going faster while the second group was not.
The findings
The cyclists in the first group gave up from the start when they knew the avatar would be moving faster than they ever had — even when the avatars were going only two percent harder than their best times. They simply matched their own best efforts.
But as has been observed in previous experiments, cyclists in the second group (who were deceived) kept up with the avatars when they were programmed to pedal two percent harder than the athletes ever had. Interestingly, however, five percent was too much more work and the cyclists only kept up for about half the race.
What does this mean?
Well, the line between the physical and mental limitations of performance might lie somewhere between two and five percent. As the study authors note, if an athlete thinks something is possible (within limits), he or she can draw on energy reserves that the brain otherwise holds in abeyance.
Pretty interesting, I think!
Researchers believe one thing we can learn from the findings is that as coaches (and trainers), we can probably get a little more from our clients and athletes if we strategically deceive them a little…
I actually used this strategy on a client before reading the article and found this to be true. He tends to get a certain rep number in his head before he even starts the lift and quits when he gets that number, and then says something along the lines of “I had about two more in me.”
So, last week I told him that he’d done two more pull-ups the previous week than he actually had. Lo and behold, he matched the number I gave him rather than his real personal best and was very happy!
But as the article says, “It is a risky approach… Even small deceptions can erode the trust between athlete and coach.”
Thoughts??
Filed under: exercise research, fitness commentary
