Placebo Effect in Training
Mental
Reading
The common argument that comes up with every new training system is people who are good (pros/Olympians) used this training once or many times so it must be good. It’s a logical fallacy saying that it worked from some therefore it must work for all. Elite athletes are a completely different breed from the common athletes you’ll be coaching on a daily basis.
What I feel many people forget about when it comes to training is the mental game. Everyone fixates on the mental aspect of meets. But no one seems to think about the mental aspect of training.
I've abandon reading books about training and athletic theory. I learn more about that reading journal articles, talking with other coaches and through personal experience than I have reading most books on technique.
The books I do read now are all based in psychology and neuroscience. Learning how people's brains work has done more for my coaching that any of those 600 page text books that teach the basics of periodization.
What I first learned is that the brain is a very odd thing. Science can't explain exactly how the brain works, they make assumptions based on test but can't pinpoint what part of the brain does exactly what and why it happens. My favorite of all is the placebo effect.
If you don't know a placebo is, it’s a substance that has no therapeutic effect. In every medication test (reliable ones at least) they use a placebo which is usually a pill made of or filled with sugar.
For example, say they are testing how a certain pill works for lowering blood pressure. They will usually have two groups, one taking the actual drug and the other taking a placebo. None of the people know which they are getting but they know what the test is trying to improve their blood pressure.
When they test them and measure the results they'll find that the drug has let's say a 20% decrease in blood pressure and the placebo group has a 10% decrease as well. They call this the placebo effect. No one can explain the placebo effect yet but your brain believes that the placebo is the real thing and makes sure that whatever effects that it's meant to change, in fact, do change.
So if you're brain thinks it's taking a pill to lower your blood pressure and even though you are taking the placebo, still IT LOWERS YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE! Now that I've rambled for a bit let me get to my point. No one seems takes into account a placebo effect in training.
Just like with the placebo, if your coach told you to do a work out, you trust your coach, you'll do the work out AND IMPROVE. No matter what they told you to do. If they said jumping in place 100 times will improve your vertical, you'll do it and hot damn you're vertical jump will go up 2”. You trust your coach and assume that they know what they are doing so if they say something will help you improve; your brain is convinced it will work too so your brain makes it happen.
This is why every work out can be effective. You believe it will work so your brain follows suit and make sure, it actual does. Just because a certain work out does work for a while or because someone of notoriety is doing it doesn't mean it's the best possible thing they could be doing.
Dan John says it best with
“I’m convinced that everything works. I think everything works for about six weeks. So, I really embrace and love things that get me outside of this marvelous six week zone."
If you find a program that works for 4-6 weeks great, but once you pass that mark you’ll know if you have a good program or not.
If sugar pills can shrink cancer cells I'm sure the “sitting down and standing up” work out can add 1ft to your shot PR as long as you believe it will.
Mental Placebo Psychology
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