Virtual Exercise

Back in the 1960s, the famous basketball experiment established that mental rehearsal of a skill is essentially as effective as physical rehearsal, at least when the person doing the rehearsing has some muscle memory for the skill.

Since then, the principle of mental rehearsal has been applied to a number of sports with similar results. More recently, though, this idea has been applied to weight training--athletes who visualized a workout actually built muscle mass! Here is an article on the subject:

http://www.mindpowernews.com/ImaginaryWorkout.htm

Well, I and several friends have been playing around with this concept. I made a recording to guide me in a visualization of engaging in an evening of my favorite kind of dance. As I mentioned in the comments section, I didn't realize how much it was helping until I slacked off. However, I still find that actual physical exercise is significantly more effective.

One of my friends and I were brainstorming the other night about ways to make virtual exercise more effective. Several questions came up:

1. Does specificity matter? In other words, is it enough to say, "Now you're dancing with great energy," or should I be mentally describing each step? Should I say, "Now you're doing fifteen sit-ups," or should I actually count them out?

I suspect that the latter is the case--more detail should help. In fact, I'm going to set my digital recorder in the room next time I go dancing, so as to later hear the music, the caller, and so on. My friend is considering doing the same at his dojo.

2. Does length of time matter? If I go dancing, I usually pull about two hours, but my recording is about half an hour.

Again, I suspect that could matter, but I also believe that incorporating time distortion should help. In my recording, I mention the moon being high overhead at the beginning of the dance, and the moon setting at the end.

3. Can suggestions that the effectiveness of each repetition is multiplied help?

Well, I honestly don't know, but I doubt it will hurt. I'd love to know other's thoughts about this.

4. Will suggestions that the mental workout continue during sleep be effective?

Again, I don't think any clinical trials have explored this, but I do know that a friend of mine tried this, and he woke up sore in the morning. Maybe suggestions about barely feeling the pain should be incorporated!

I've also wondered about the risk of injury. For example, I had tendonitis in the past, and I'm worried that my rowing machine may cause wrist pain or injury. If I visualize lengthy workouts on that machine, do I risk bringing on wrist pain?

Anyway, I'd like to throw this topic open for discussion. I don't believe that we'll ever replace physical activity with virtual workouts, but this could be an exciting new frontier for hypnosis. Many people who are overweight don't start exercising because they can only handle very little of it. Others overdo it on the first day and then can't move for days, leading them to abandon exercise. There are also people who can't work out because of injuries. In short, I see a lot of applications for this besides getting past my own laziness. :-)

James