Up the Mental Game to Up the Strength Gains

Leg day is about to go down today. The anxiety has creeped up knowing the daunting task that lies ahead for you. Week after week you have been pushing up load and reps and now you are approaching new Personal Records. The physical demand from this leg day might try and take your soul, but mentally the preparation has begun to conquer. You visualize yourself in that moment annihilating the set, nothing can stop you, personal record achieved! Does this form of mental technique actually lead to more strength gains?

Study: Effects of Mental Training on Muscular Force, Hormonal and Physiological Changes in Kickboxers

Design: For 12 weeks elite level kickboxers were resistance trained with one group applying positive self-talk and visualization techniques (PT-MT group) while the other group only trained without the mental component (PT group). There was a third control group that did no physical or mental training as well serving as a control.

Variables measured (beginning, midpoint, end of study):

1.     One rep max was tested on the bench press and half squat, max distance medicine ball throw and max higher countermovement jump

2.     Resting heart rate, blood pressure, testosterone and cortisol levels were measured

Purpose: To investigate if mental imagery would lead to increases in strength, testosterone: cortisol ratio and decreases in cortisol, heart rate and blood pressure over physically training alone.

Results:

1.     Both PT and PT-MT groups increased performance measures, the PT-MT group made the largest increases in all performance measures.
2.     The PT-MT group had elevated testosterone:cortisol ratio and decreased blood pressure and heart rate compared to the PT group.

The Mental Techniques Used:Self-talk: Between imagined exercise and actual exercise the athletes were instructed to write down any negative self-talk and turn it into a positive motivation statement. So, rather than “this next set is going to be hard to get 10 reps on”, think “I can get more reps than I ever had on this next set”.

Mental Imagery: during each session athletes would imagine themselves performing each exercise maximally through their own eyes, not watching themselves perform the lifts.

Takeaway: Add in positive self-talk and mental imagery for a positive boost in performance and potentially even reduced stress markers. This isn’t going to be massive gains, but improving your mental state might squeeze out a few more gains and may carry over to having a more positive outlook in the rest of your life as well.

Train Hard!

John Jewett MS RD

Reference: Slimani M, Taylor L, Baker JS, et al. Effects of mental training on muscular force, hormonal and physiological changes in kickboxers. J Sports Med Phys Fitness. 2017;57(7-8):1069-1079. doi:10.23736/S0022-4707.16.06421-5