Fifteen athletes were scattered around the room. Everyone was looking at Gideon Ariel. "We'll give you steroids," he lied. It was 1972, and Ariel was researching sports performance with her research partner William Saville. On this particular day, the two men were giving the athletes an interesting proposal. Ariel explained that the study would last 11 weeks.
Athletes will lift weights in the first 7 weeks, and those who do better during that time will be rewarded with Dianabol, an anabolic steroid, in the last 4 weeks of training. Athletes who did not know that the researchers were lying to them. After an initial seven-week training period, scientists randomly selected six athletes as winners. However, even though they were told that they were getting real steroids, they actually got placebo pills. What happened next surprised everyone. Four weeks later, when the researchers conducted the final test, they set their own record of all the tests. Before placebo pills, proponents added an average of 5.8 lbs. (2.6 kg) on their scale during the first 7 weeks of training. After believing they were taking steroids, they added an average of 41.8 lbs. (18.9 kg) in just four weeks of training. That’s a 7x increase about half the time. The same situation has been played in almost all trials. During the first 7 weeks of training, the lifters increased their bench press to about 10 lbs. (4.5 kg) on average.
After four weeks of receiving placebo pills believed to be steroids, the athletes added an average of 29.3 lbs. (13.3 kg) on their bench press numbers. In a military machine, they have risen by an average of 1.6 lbs. (0.7 kg) for the first 7 weeks but added 16.7 lbs. (7.6 kg) within 4 weeks of placebo pills. The evidence was clear. Every athlete was strong simply because he believed that he was using steroids. They expected to improve and did so.
Placebo effect
The placebo effect (or placebo response) occurs when false treatment improves a person's condition simply because they hope it will be helpful. For example, consider a weight-loss study that divides participants into two groups.
Group A is told that they are taking a weight loss pill, but they are actually getting a sugar pill like a placebo. Group B is told that they are taking a weight loss pill and are actually getting one.
If Group A decreases, they are said to experience a placebo effect (they lose weight simply because they expect to lose weight). If Group B loses the same weight as Group A, the weight loss pill is considered ineffective because it did not work better than the placebo. The placebo effect often gets a negative explanation because if a new drug does not work better than a placebo, it does not work. Therefore, we often associate the placebo effect with inactive substances. This mindset can be useful for testing new drugs, but it often hides an important message: The development of Placebo is still a real improvement. That wasn't the real steroids the athletes were given, but that was the real benefit they made in the gym. Whether they are lifting weights because they are actually taking steroids or just because they believe they are taking steroids, they are lifting weights anyway. If you believe something is working, it probably does. But not always for the reasons you thought.
If You Think It Works, It Works
When we believe that a certain strategy works, we find ways to make it work. The power of the placebo effect — and, in general, the prospect of success — is that it draws your mind to a focused position where you actively seek all reasons for your success. We all have a default performance level. Most of our days are spent grinding away at normal speeds. But I am sure there is more within us - not just more, but more, more.
Imagine the results if you could find your body, mind, and heart all the same. Think of what kind of work awaits you, as long as you have the courage and confidence to believe. How can we make ourselves feel this way? How can we prove that we believe we have the power to do more?
Honestly, I'm not sure. Properly measuring your psychology and your performance is the deceptive thing you can do. However, the placebo effect makes one thing very clear: you have unused energy inside you, and you just wait to get out.
You must be logged in to post a comment.