Adarq.org

All conclusions of studies will be listed in this original post (TABLE OF SUMMARIES) for quick reference.


This is a very interesting subject, that I believe highly in. Post any studies related to mental training & it's effect on strength & performance.


1.

The improvement in muscle strength for trained groups was accompanied by significant increases in electroencephalogram-derived cortical potential, a measure previously shown to be directly related to control of voluntary muscle contractions. We conclude that the mental training employed by this study enhances the cortical output signal, which drives the muscles to a higher activation level and increases strength.

2. Strength increases from the motor program: comparison of training with maximal voluntary and imagined muscle contractions

Together these results indicate that training-induced changes of synergist and antagonist muscle activation patterns may have contributed to force increases in some of the subjects. 7. Strength increases can be achieved without repeated muscle activation. These force gains appear to result from practice effects on central motor programming/planning. The results of these experiments add to existing evidence for the neural origin of strength increases that occur before muscle hypertrophy.

3. Can Mental Practice Increase Ankle Dorsiflexor Torque?

4. Mind, muscles and motoneurones

Mental imagery of exercise helps performance but the way in which it works is multifactional: it evokes muscle contraction sufficient to activate muscle receptors. Furthermore, it is possible for subjects to focus specifically on control of particular muscles even without feedback from them.

5. Effects of imagery motor training on torque production of ankle plantar flexor muscles

The results of this study show that imagery training of lower leg muscles significantly increased voluntary torque production of the ankle plantar-flexor muscles and that the force increase was not due to nonspecific motivational effects.

6. Effects of pretest stimulative and sedative music on grip strength.

showed that participants (N = 50) evidenced higher grip strength after listening to stimulative music (M = 43.94 kg.force) than after sedative music or a white noise control condition. Sedative music yielded lower scores than white noise.

7. The effects of synchronous music on 400-m sprint performance

This finding supported the first research hypothesis, that synchronous music would result in better performance than a no-music control, but not the second hypothesis, that performance in the motivational synchronous music condition would be better than that in the oudeterous condition. It appears that synchronous music can be applied to anaerobic endurance performance among non-elite sportspersons with a considerable positive effect.

8. Does mental practice enhance performance?

A meta-analysis of the literature on mental practice was conducted to determine the effect of mental practice on performance and to identify conditions under which mental practice is most effective. Results indicate that mental practice has a positive and significant effect on performance, and the effectiveness of mental practice is moderated by the type of task, the retention interval between practice and performance, and the length or duration of the mental practice intervention.

9. The effects of positive and negative imagery on motor skill performance

An investigation was carried out into the effect of imagery instructions on a simple motor skill accuracy task (putting a golf ball). Thirty college students were blocked on their putting ability and randomly assigned within blocks to one of three experimental conditions: (a) positive imagery, (b) negative imagery, and (c) control. Subjects in the two imagery conditions were given the identical instructions for imagining the backswing and putting stroke. In the positive imagery group, subjects imagined the ball going into the cup, while subjects using negative imagery visualized the ball narrowly missing the cup. Subjects in the control group putted without instructions. On each of 6 consecutive days a 10-putt trial was conducted for each subject. There was a significant main effect on performance improvement for the experimental manipulation. Post hoc analyses showed significant differences among all groups, with positive imagery producing the most improvement, the control condition producing less, and negative imagery resulting in performance deterioration. Results are discussed in relation to the existing literature, and future research directions are delineated.

10. Using Motor Imagery in the Rehabilitation of Hemiparesis , Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Volume 84, Issue 7, Pages 1090-1092

A motor imagery training program consisting of imagined wrist movements (extension, pronation-supination) and mental simulations of reaching and object manipulation making use of a mirror box apparatus. Twelve 1-hour experimental sessions were delivered, 3 times a week for 4 consecutive weeks. Performance of the paretic limb improved after the imagery intervention, indicated by increases in assessment scores and functionality and decreases in movement times. The improvements over baseline performance remained stable over a 3-month period.

11. Improvement and generalization of arm motor performance through motor imagery practice

These findings put forward the idea that mental training facilitates motor learning and allows its partial transfer to nearby workspaces. They further suggest that motor prediction, a common process during both actual and imagined movements, is a fundamental operation for both sensorimotor control and learning.

12. Muscular responses during motor imagery as a function of muscle contraction types

Thirty right-handed volunteers were asked to lift or to imagine lifting a weighted dumbbell using different types of muscle contraction, i.e. heavy concentric, light concentric, isometric and eccentric contractions.Especially, the imagined eccentric condition elicited a significant weaker muscular activity than all other conditions. In addition, the changes in the EMG pattern mirrored those usually observed during physical movement. These findings support the hypotheses of a selective effect of MI at the level of muscular activity and of incomplete inhibition of the motor command during MI.

13. Does motor imagery enhance stretching and flexibility?  

The imagery training programme resulted in selective increased flexibility, independently of the stretching method. Overall, the improvement in flexibility was greater in the imagery group than in the control group for the front split (F1,18 = 4.9, P = 0.04), the hamstrings (F1,18 = 5.2, P = 0.035), and the ankle stretching exercises (F1,18 = 5.6, P = 0.03). There was no difference in shoulders and side-split flexibility (F1,18 = 0.1, P = 0.73 and F1,18 = 3.3, P = 0.08 respectively). Finally, there was no correlation between individual imagery ability and improvement in flexibility. Psychological and physiological effects of motor imagery could explain the increase in range of motion, suggesting that imagery enhances joint flexibility during both active and passive stretching.

14. The mind of expert motor performance is cool and focused

15. Passion and performance attainment in sport

Furthermore, results differentially linked the two passions to achievement goals and subjective well-being (SWB). Specifically, harmonious passion was a positive predictor of mastery goal pursuit and SWB, whereas obsessive passion was a positive predictor of mastery, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance goal pursuit and was unrelated to SWB. Mastery goals were positive predictors of deliberate practice, which was a direct positive predictor of performance, whereas performance-avoidance goals were direct negative predictors of performance.

16. Imaging motor imagery: Methodological issues related to expertise

It is suggested that MI is more about the neurobiology of the development of motor skills that have already been learned, but not perfected, than it is about learning motor skills de novo.

17. The embodied nature of motor imagery: the influence of posture and perspective

Thus, proprioceptive information on actual body posture is more relevant for 1PP imagery processes. Results support the embodied nature of 1PP imagery and indicate possible applications in athletic training or rehabilitation.

18. Mental Imagery Inflates Performance Expectations but not Actual Performance of a Novel and Challenging Motor Task

However, imagery practice did not benefit performance as only the physical practice group performed better on the balance task compared to control.

19. Effects of Synchronous Music on 400-Metre Sprint Performance

This finding supported the first research hypothesis, that synchronous music would result in better performance than a no-music control, but not the second hypothesis, that performance in the motivational synchronous music condition would be better than that in the oudeterous condition. It appears that synchronous music can be applied to anaerobic endurance performance among non-elite sportspersons with a considerable positive effect.

20. Effects of Music on Work-Rate Distribution During a Cycling Time Trial

These results suggest that music improves cycling speed mostly in the first few minutes of a 10-km time trial. In contrast to the findings of previous research, which suggested that music lowers perceived exertion at a constant work-rate, the participants in our time trials selected higher work-rates with music, whilst at the same time perceived these work-rates as being harder than without music.

21. The effect of motivational and relaxation music on aerobic performance, rating perceived exertion and salivary cortisol in athlete males

Based on the findings,
aerobic performance during the motivational music conditions was significantly higher than the relaxation and no music treatment. Furthermore, RPE and cortisol concentration significantly were lowered five minutes after exercise for relaxation music conditions than motivational music and no music conditions. But there were no significant differences in salivary cortisol concentrations at 30 minutes after exercise between three groups.

22. Difference In Wingate Power Output In Response To Music As Motivation:

Results indicated a significant difference in anaerobic performance when using motivational music. Peak power, average power, overall anaerobic power, and the drop in power over time were all significantly different (p<.01) than when music was not used. Performance was significantly better in all categories when motivational music was present (p<.01).

nvm bad post

THis is definitely what I'm most interested at the present moment; I actually perform mental training on all non-training days, for around 10 minutes minimum, and I've thought of more unique exercises to perform, but haven't seen significant strength gains or anything. THe only time I noticed a different was when I did a lot of trampoline trianing in my head, a lot of overspeed training using springboards, trampolines, other bouncy platforms, and my SVJ became a lot faster with minimal ROM.

What I'd like to see is these studies performed on trained athletes who have already learned to recruit 90%+ of their muscle fibers. In untrained ppl it makes sense to see these gains, but I wonder if it's possible to see gains in MUSCLE through mental training. What if we could trick the body into building more muscle by thinking about it. That would be really cool.

Yeah I did mental training involving trampolines and springboards for four straight weeks and noticed a quicker SVJ. It was like a 1/8th squat, used to be slower.

But yeah I'm wodnering if mentally training can help recovery of muscles since you are bringing blood to the muscles just by thinking about contracting them. And maybe that increases protein synthesis in the muscles? That would be weird but awesome