Get it Wrong: How the Placebo Effect Works During Workouts

If so, then you are experiencing the placebo effect – an improvement in well-being caused by a person’s belief in the action of drugs, procedures or exercises that do not actually work. (We can’t fault paracetamol – it’s a great drug, but it certainly won’t work in two minutes!)

“The placebo effect has been studied for more than 70 years, but only recently has it begun to be considered in the context of exercise,” says Kolbjørn Andreas Lindberg, a researcher at the University from Agder in Norway.

Lindbergh and his colleagues’ study involved 40 people. After a series of physical laboratory tests, they all received different training programs. Half of the participants were told that the exercises had been selected specifically for them based on the test results, while those in the control group were not told.

The results of the experiment were summarized after 10 weeks. It turned out that people who received the “individual program” performed better on average than subjects in the control group, although the training was almost the same.

Why did this happen? Lindbergh thinks it’s about enthusiasm: those who believed in the effectiveness of the exercises worked harder, because they had no doubt that they would get the result. So do not spare money on the coach – it is likely that his work at the stage of compiling the program will have an additional effect.

There is another way to use the placebo effect during training – scientists from the University of Freiburg in Germany discovered this during their study. Their experiment involved 78 men and women aged 18 to 32, divided into two groups.

All subjects were required to exercise for 30 minutes on an exercise bike each day. Before the start of the experiment, the first team saw a series of short films about the benefits of such exercises, the second saw films that minimize the benefits of this type of training.

After the project was completed, it turned out that the participants in the first group had an easier time doing it – they enjoyed the exercises much more. So take the time to study the information on the beneficial effect of the chosen type of fitness – this may be what will make you fall in love!

See also: Annoying calorie counting mistakes that prevent us from losing weight: even phytonies make them!