Mind and Muscle Connection, Supplements and the Placebo Effect
The Mind Muscle Connection, Supplements with the Placebo Effect The Placebo Effect has dated back for years, it really became popular in World War II. Supplies ran short due to the lack of supply and the demand on them. They would often run out of medicine, especially painkillers, and had to give the individual peace of mind, they gave the placebo effect.
Sometimes they would inject the soldiers with what they were told to be morphine, but was actually a healthy dose of saline solution, or saltwater. The good news is that, when injected with the “morphine,” most of the soldiers’ pain would vanish, at least temporarily.
The Placebo Effect The medics weren’t exactly tricking the soldiers; they were activating a placebo effect. The placebo effect is basically a series of reactions in the brain that can change its psychological or physiological functioning. Like in the example of the soldiers, they thought they were getting morphine, which they know dulls the pain immediately, but they were given saltwater. The reaction was the same; it cancelled out the pain, at least temporarily. The reason for this is because your brain controls your body, and your mind can subconsciously control your brain.
Muscle Building Placebo Effects The placebo effect spills over into the muscle gaining environment through other drugs known as supplements. The truth is, many of the supplements on the shelves don’t actually contain any active ingredients that would cause someone to gain muscle. Some supplements are like a shot of saltwater, they are useless and just get carried out. Other supplements have very little active ingredient, but not enough to account for any muscle growth that someone might experience while on the supplement.
Most muscle gaining hopefuls don’t simply walk into a store and purchase any flashy tub of powder they see. They usually make “informed” decisions based upon what they’ve read in magazines or heard from others. In most cases, when someone starts taking a dietary supplement for the first time, it’s a leap of faith. They are using the supplement for one simple reason, because they believe it will work.
The belief that it will work is the main factor here. When someone really believes in something, with no doubt, amazing things can occur, even in the body. By thinking and believing that a supplement will build muscle, it just might. The brain takes your thoughts as instructions and because of your strong belief, it goes about making what you believe happen. It has to.
When someone starts taking a new supplement, they believe it will work, otherwise they wouldn’t take it. Now, with everything staying the same, your belief that the supplement will do what it is supposed to is enough to spark muscle growth. How many people actually don’t change anything when they start a new supplement? Almost all trainees will actually ramp up their training and change their outlook on what is possible when they start a new supplement.
Give Yourself Some Credit If you were to make those improvements to your muscle gaining strategy: training more intensely, eating better, and resting properly, wouldn’t you gain muscle anyway, even without the supplement? The answer is a resounding Yes! Too many people get on a supplement and give all credit for improvement to the supplement. Give yourself more credit! You did the work, not the supplement! Chances are, the supplement didn’t even do anything, and it was just a placebo. Some supplements are worth taking and do the body some good, but if you don’t build the foundation with solid training, nutrition, recovery… the supplements won’t do you any good. Now if supplements can’t help build muscle with poor training and nutrition, do you think they help with proper training and nutrition? Maybe a little, but it’s you getting the results, not the supplement.
Below are a few easy things to do to get off of unnecessary supplements:
1. Slowly reduce your intake of the supplement and monitor your results. Make sure that you really believe that they will improve, use the placebo effect to your advantage.
2. realize that it’s you doing the hard work, not the supplement. Give yourself the credit.
3. Start believing in yourself and your ability to gain muscle. Just as a belief in a supplement can cause growth, believe in yourself and see what happens.
Now it’s time to use the Placebo effect for your benefit and to help your mind build muscle using the mind and muscle connection.
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categories: Mind and Muscle,mental muscle,mind and muscle connection,placebo effect,supplements,weight training,weight lifting,health,fitness
