While witnessing your potential physical success in your mind’s eye can help improve focus and build confidence, visualization practices have benefits that go beyond the purely mental. According to a 2014 study Conducted by researchers at Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, mental imagery exercises can actually prevent physical muscle weakness, even without literally moving a muscle. Simply imagining yourself exercising could slow muscle atrophy and make you stronger.
Who knew that the power of thought really is, rightvery powerful?
How does visualization strengthen muscles?
Ohio University researchers tested their mind-over-muscle theory by putting study participants in an immobilizing cast around their wrist for four weeks. While one group was told to vividly visualize flexing their arm muscles for 11 minutes five days a week, the other group was given no instruction at all. Once everyone’s casts were removed, the researchers found that those who exercised with all their mental strength ended up being twice as strong as the others.
Although not only were their muscles stronger, the neuromuscular pathways in their minds were as well, which was shown through magnetic imaging and is likely the cause of the increased physical strength.
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“What our study suggests is that visualization exercises could be a valuable tool to prevent or slow muscle weakening when a health problem limits or restricts a person’s mobility,” said the study author. brian-clarkprofessor of physiology and neuroscience at Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, in a news release.
Needless to say, these findings hold great potential for people undergoing neurorehabilitation (such as after a stroke), as well as those who may simply be trying to recover from injury. For seniors who may not be able to exercise as intensely as they used to, actively imagining time in the gym could keep their muscles stronger.
It’s worth a try?
Some scientists in the field believe that more research is needed to specifically determine the effectiveness of visualization. “Despite a voluminous literature on this topic, there is no definitive understanding of the effects of mental imagery perspectives on muscle strength,” a scholarly article on the topic, published in the Journal of sports science and medicine in 2016, read. “In fact, the literature presents different and sometimes opposing points of view.”
However, the physical therapist Sandra Gail Fraynawho is the founder of Hudson Premier Physical Therapy and Sports in New Jersey, and who is well versed in the world of rehab, says this strategy definitely has its benefits.
“Mental imagery exercises are a neurocognitive approach to visualization techniques that are often used for people looking to relax and get into a better mental space where they create experiences with sensory information in their minds without having the stimulus in advance,” Explain. Self-talk, goal setting, meditation, and quiet visualization are examples of this. “Practicing these imagery exercises, which can be visual, kinesthetic or auditory, is a healthy coping mechanism.”
And that goes for anyone looking to make the most of a bad situation, not just injured athletes. “Having high-stress situations puts one in a psychologically tense state, so being immersed in this will activate the motor region of the brain and change performance and even a state of mind,” says Frayna. “Focusing on mental images without having those external stimuli can be just as helpful as physical exercises.”
Athletes often use this approach prepare for competitions without overexerting their bodies. Trainers will train them to call on as many senses as possible, imagining what an exercise looks like, what it feels like, maybe even what it sounds like, in order for this strategy to be most effective.
So the next time you find yourself in a position where physical exertion isn’t possible, or in a case where you simply want to approach your fitness from an all-encompassing stance, remember that imagining your performance might be the way to go. secret to your success.
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