If you recall, this did not end well for me either.
Lies I have told myself:
– The sunglasses I bought for $10 in Mexico really are Oakleys.
– If it’s on clearance then I have to buy it because it’s practically giving me money back.
– No one will notice if my son isn’t wearing underwear because I forgot to change the laundry.
– I’m only doing 4 Tabatas today.
While believing the first three certainly haven’t done me any favors (it would have helped if my son had kept his mouth shut), according to new research reported in the New York Times, lie #4 may be the key to increasing my exercise performance. Who knew that lying could be as good for you as it is fun? (Okay it’s only fun sometimes like when I told my husband they named the city Elk Mound because a mysterious disease killed all the elk in a week and they had no place to bury all the rotting carcasses so they covered them up with dirt and called it a hill. He totally believed me!)
One morning having just finished my Tabatas (maximal intensity running sprints), sitting on the end of my treadmill and trying not to see stars, Gym Buddy Krista came up and said, “I don’t want to do Tabatas!”
“Nobody wants to do Tabatas,” I gasped. It’s a fact that we can’t start our Tabata workouts until each of us have whined about how much we hate doing them.
“But how do you make yourself do them when they suck so bad?”
“I lie to myself. I tell myself I only have to do 4 rounds (one Tabata is 8 rounds). And after 4 rounds then I tell myself it’s only 6 and after that what’s two more?” It’s true. Sometimes you can see me mouthing the words “just one more then I’m done!” until you are convinced I need remedial counting lessons.
“Well,” Krista declared, “I think your self is way more gullible than my self. I’d never believe me!” It should be noted that I am much more gullible than Krista in all senses so she’s probably right. I have no idea why I believe myself but I do! Every time! Even though I’m a terrible liar!
And yet this morning when I got to the gym, Krista had already finished her intervals. “Wow, you’re already done? How’d you make yourself do it?” I asked.
“I lied to myself.”
See? It works.
And it doesn’t just work for the Gym Buddies and I. Researchers from Northumbrian University in England set up an experiment to see if they could increase the personal bests of professional cyclists by whispering sweet little lies. First the cyclists were tested over the course of a couple of weeks to see what their athletic limit was. Then they were set up with a monitor with two figures on it. The first, they were told, was them. This was true. The second was them also but going at their personal fastest pace. This was a lie. In actuality the second avatar was riding 2% faster than the athletes had ever ridden.
When the cyclists raced what they thought was their best time, they actually beat the avatar increasing their power and finish times by 2%. Two percent doesn’t sound like much but according to the researchers in the world of competitive cycling it’s the difference between being back-of-the-pack and getting a medal. Says Dr. Thompson, the results are “not just day-to-day variability, but a true change in performance.”
The Times article points out that this lends credence to the theory that our minds are more powerful than our muscles when it comes to setting physical limits. As Roger Bannister, first man to run a 4-minute mile, said, “It is the brain, not the heart or lungs that is the critical organ. It’s the brain.”
The trick isn’t perfect however, nor is it limitless. Once the cyclists were clued in to the game, all increases in performance disappeared and some cyclists even got worse. The researchers also discovered that while they could trick the athletes into a 2% increase, 5% was too much and they just quit. They also warned that this could erode the fragile balance of trust between athlete and trainer.
While these researchers were the first to study this effect, I am sure that coaches and athletes have been using deception ever since Noah told the animals all they had to do to win a spot on the ark was to run faster than the unicorns. S0 this study made me wonder what other ways athletes use to trick themselves. Is the “lucky socks” trick just another form of self-deception? What about those mysterious power band bracelets so many pro ballers have been sporting recently? What about repeating a certain mantra? Or having a particular pre-race ritual (two Immodium and a gas station bathroom)?
“It comes back to the belief system within the athlete,” says Dr. Thompson. “Within limits, if an athlete thinks a certain pace is possible, he or she can draw on an energy reserve that the brain usually holds in abeyance.”
What lies do you tell yourself? Have you ever used one to motivate yourself to do better? How would you feel if your trainer tricked you like this? Any of you ever tried the PowerBand bracelets??
I also tell myself that my “Burberry” and “Chanel” sunglasses, each bought on the street in Greece for about $10 are real. (Kind of depressing one day when I went in a Sunglass Hut Store with a friend and saw what the real logos look like, but I try to block that out).
If I didn’t lie to myself about how much cardio I am going to do, I would never do any. I always start by telling myself it’s just 10 minutes on the elliptical (then I kid myself I’ll only do another 5, then another 5). Same when I do intervals on the treadmill. I’m only doing 5 minutes worth, then 10, then 15, then 20 and then when I go back to the elliptical I really am only doing 5 minutes and anyone can do 5 minutes right? (even if they feel like they’re going to die before they even get on the darn machine!)
I definitely lie to myself about my reps for weightlifting when I’m really not in the mood to even start them. I would say it does work for me!
I think a large part of it is distracting your mind from what is tough.
“I think a large part of it is distracting your mind from what is tough.” I think you nailed it with this! Yes.
Hiding something is the same as lying, right? That’s one of the reasons I never check my heart rate: If I can see how high my heart rate is, then I start slacking off when I approach my perceived maximum. (I probably exceed the maximum “safe” level on a regular basis.)
I don’t have any science to back this up but I kinda think most heart rate training is crap. I haven’t worn a heart rate monitor in 2 years and my fitness has not suffered…
The thing with this is that it can also work the opposite way for anyone with an unhealthy relationship to exercise. When left to my own devices (without a trainer, class, teacher, etc) I tend to WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY overdo it with cardio, weights, anything – because I keep telling myself I’ll ONLY do five more minutes on the treadmill, or ONLY do one more rep with the weights… but that turns into another hour, or five or six more reps (on top of whatever I’d already done) and I’ve pushed myself past the point of it being healthy. (Though I do think my yoga teacher lies to us about how many seconds we have left to hold poses! Her “five more seconds” seem an awful lot like 30…)
Oooh good point about the reverse problem! I do have that issue with workouts in general – which is why I still limit myself to an hour day and the gym buddies stay on me about it – but I’ve never done that with Tabatas;) And yes, I think all yoga teachers have that same counting issue!
I probably do! I definitely use serious denial when it comes to pain and performance. It does help me keep on keeping on, however!
I totally tell myself lies! I do it when holding a plank (only 10 more seconds, then ten more, then just till the song on my ipod ends, etc…) or when doing standing splits (we’re going to 20, psych! Really 25.) When doing pushups I will double count numbers so 1, 2, 3, 3, 4, 5, 6, 6, 7, 8, 8, etc… It’s all about sneaking in that little bit extra when your conscience isn’t looking. Mentally you totally buy it and your body gets the benefit of extra effort without the tears, tantrums and free weight throwing that being asked to push a little harder can induce.
Is it terrible that this: ” the tears, tantrums and free weight throwing that being asked to push a little harder can induce.” really makes me want to workout with you? Floor show!
I’ve always wondered about the lying-about-your-age-thing: wouldn’t it make more sense to lie up rather than down? People claim to be younger than they are, but what if they tacked on 5 or 10 years? Then others would look at them and think “Wow, she’s 35?!?! She looks 25!” Although, to be honest, I’ve never seen the point in lying about my age. Too much work.
As far as lying to myself about my workouts, I used to. But then I caught on, and now I know when I’m lying and don’t believe myself. That trust is gone. I now check my pockets for heart rate monitors, my collars for sweat stains, and my computer for workouts logged. It’s so sad!
“I now check my pockets for heart rate monitors, my collars for sweat stains, and my computer for workouts logged. It’s so sad!” You just made my day.
I just tell myself to do one rep…and usually by then I fel better and I finish. I can’t lie to myself…it doesn’t work. The closest thing to it I do is sometimes when I get to 5 I’ll count 5 about 5 times before moving on to 6, but part of that may be me not being fully awake yet 🙂
It’s okay, we’ve discovered that’s impossible to do math when you’re working out really hard;)
I made peace with lying to myself about what my actual workout entailed in gymnastics days. You have to hide a little bit from yourself when you’re doing crazy things that make no sense for any non-adrenaline addict! 🙂
I think for me it’s more about breaking the workout up into manageable chunks that I can digest mentally than looking at the whole workout and getting overwhelmed. A 10 mile run is mile 1, get warmed up, mile 2-4 try to keep the horses in the gate so I have something left, mile 5-7 maintain, and then 8-10 KICK and finish strong. My mind may jump between segments (for example, in mile 2, I may mentally think about the last 5k), but I rarely think about the run as a whole. It’s not 6 miles to go, it’s 3 more miles until my last 5k (yes, I switch between metric and non metric, it’s just how I roll ;D)
I’ve been working on that because if I’m going to be tackling a marathon, it can’t be about 26.2 miles, it needs to be about what I’m doing each 5k or 10k segment. 26 miles is scary as hell, but stringing together 5ks and 10ks? Easy (at least that’s the hope).
And when I’m REALLY not having it, I’ll set a turn back point (goal was 20 miles on the bike, I can quit at 10 if I’m not feeling it), but once I’m going, I rarely stop. Although… I’d LOVE to see what I can do on a treadmill or a stationary bike if they tweaked the numbers so I was actually running/biking faster than it said I was 😛
I think I lie to myself more that I really need to do 1.5 hours of fitness in a day, then lying about making myself do it.
So is Tabatas training like HIIT training?
Tabatas are a particular form of high intensity interval training. I linked up above to my post that explains all about them – you should totally try it!!
I TOTALLY do this! I am very good at convincing myself things will either: be easy, taste good, or help me lose weight. Seriously, if I didn’t hate sales so much I would be an amazing saleswoman. 🙂
I also like the trick of , say I’m on a 10 mile run…I’ll say: “well, if you make it to 5 miles you can totally stop running…at least you did half!” Then, once I get past 5, it’s like I’m just doing “extra”! 🙂 works every time…well..MOST every time…haha
This is so so so awesome!!
I’ve done that before (intentionally/motivating-ly, & a few times unintentionally/forgetfully.. “Oh? We have another pick-up here?” or “Oops! I thought that was our last 400…”) & it so works! It really helps me reach my limits & be a better runner. But I’ve also been on that flip side where it’s really lying, thinking “I have to run. Hard. Everyday. If I don’t… I’ll wind up gaining 10 pounds & my thighs will go from muscle to fat & not even attempting to starve myself will help that.”
Lies. Lies. Lies.
Not good lies.
But I think there are also good, healthy… tricks/techniques/methods… to help really better yourself in a truly good, healthy way! So.. possibly, maybe there are good helpful lies! (Oxymoron?:)
& I so feel like I run a better race knowing that I’ve got my trusty blue sports bra on. 🙂
P.S. I love, love, love reading your blog! It’s like, a part of my day! Thank you so much for writing!
I think a large part of it is distracting your mind from what is tough.” I think you nailed it with this!
Yes, I agree with the above. If I am on the treadmill, I might up it to a higher speed & tell myself I can do it for 20 seconds but then I go longer or tell myself just 5 more minutes & then I get there & do more…
Weights, I don’t mind those! 😉
I was just lying to myself last night. I had 5 workouts, back to back, and repeat 10 times. I lied to myself and told myself I had only 5 to do, and then 3 and then 2. It worked. I find, when I lie to myself it’s easier to take a big chunk of what you have to do, then two smaller numbers. It helps keep me motivated cause after the one big number, there’s only smaller ones left after that. And who doesn’t feel better when thinkin about smaller numbers when exercising?
I do this ALL THE TIME when I’m swimming laps. I love swimming, but a workout is a workout, no matter how you spin it. So I’ll tell myself I only have to do a certain number of a set, but then when I’m on the next to the last one, I usually manage to convince myself to do a couple more after what would have been my last one. I don’t know why it works, but it does. Maybe it’s because I know I can tell myself I’m a complete rock star if I do, say, 10 50’s on the :55, instead of the 6 I was planning on originally.