Does the hype really help? Can words really pump you up? Personally, I think words make a difference. As a writer, of course, I love and appreciate the power of words, with the right quantity and quality. Can a pep talk supercharge your workout? Does talking to yourself, or listening to your friend or coach, help you put mind over muscle?
Researchers explored whether ‘psyching up’ techniques can impact physical performance. I was immediately curious to find out the results of this research. For those who just want to know the outcome, it turns out that overall, techniques like motivational pep talks, music, and visualization really do help lifters improve maximum strength or force.
The study of the pep talk
In a study published in the Strength and Conditioning Journal, the goal was to understand whether doing “psyching up” techniques before performing strength-based tasks can actually help people lift heavier weights or push harder with more force. The researchers assessed 27 quality studies involving over 1,000 participants and different “psyching-up” strategies, which refers to the mental routines people use to help prepare for a big lift or explosive effort.
The results
Overall, about 65% of the tests revealed that using some type of “psyching-up” strategy helped enhance maximum force or strength.
The following are the four most effective methods that consistently enhanced performance:
- Free-choice psyching-up yielded the most powerful results of all methods, and involves choosing whatever mental technique you prefer, such as music, self-talk, or visualization.
- Motivational self-talk was the second most effective for enhancing performance and involves saying encouraging and motivational words and phrases to pump yourself up.
- With PETTLEP imagery, developed by sports psychologists, you visualize yourself performing the lift or movement as realistically as possible in your mind. The PETTLEP model stands for the seven components of creating effective mental imagery: Physical, Environment, Task, Timing, Learning, Emotion, and Perspective.
- Prescribed preparatory arousal uses more controlled ways to put a pep in your step, such as energizing routines like thigh slapping and listening to music or specific breathing patterns, which also boosted max-force efforts.
The takeaway
The researchers pointed out that more studies are needed, recruiting more experienced athletes, and some disparity in the results could be because of the competitive experience of the participants and the type of control condition. The researchers concluded that these mental strategies could improve maximal force production. This study highlighted the true power of the pep talk. “Psyching up” helped many lifters produce more force and lift more weight.
In other words, it could definitely be worth giving yourself that little pep talk in the gym before that big lift. My personal favorite is the potent combo of motivational self-talk followed by visualization with some music to pump me up.
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