Post by cjm on Oct 6, 2015 12:46:33 GMT
www.popsci.com/will-practicing-skill-your-head-make-you-better-it
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When Carson Palmer, the two-time Pro Bowl quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, hurt his elbow a few years ago, he took a week off from throwing the football. But in his head, Palmer practiced every day. “You stand right behind the center, and you see the coverage unfold as you would if you had the ball in your hands,” he told ESPN. It seemed to do the job. The following weekend, Palmer had the best game of his career.
For more than a century, scientists have been trying to understand how this mental training works. In the 1930s, researchers demonstrated that when you’re imagining an action, your brain sends signals to your muscles—subtle triggers too weak to make the muscles contract but ones that might help train the body to perform. Alternatively, mental practice might create a blueprint in your head, like an inner how-to guide for a particular skill.
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When Carson Palmer, the two-time Pro Bowl quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, hurt his elbow a few years ago, he took a week off from throwing the football. But in his head, Palmer practiced every day. “You stand right behind the center, and you see the coverage unfold as you would if you had the ball in your hands,” he told ESPN. It seemed to do the job. The following weekend, Palmer had the best game of his career.
For more than a century, scientists have been trying to understand how this mental training works. In the 1930s, researchers demonstrated that when you’re imagining an action, your brain sends signals to your muscles—subtle triggers too weak to make the muscles contract but ones that might help train the body to perform. Alternatively, mental practice might create a blueprint in your head, like an inner how-to guide for a particular skill.
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