That's Fit

If you're a big lifter, it turns out that it may help to also be a big talker. All those Newt Rockne-esque pump-up speeches you say to yourself before gripping the iron actually has a measurable effect on performance.

Researchers from the University of Wales found that athletes who gave themselves a motivational pep talk before physical activity experienced a four percent increase in power. Not a huge boost -- not at first blush, anyway -- but remember that four percent of 500 pounds is 20 pounds. In a powerlifting competition, this can mean the difference between going home with a trophy or just a pat on the back. For the rest of us mere mortals, this four percent power boost may help us pump out one more rep or let us go just that much longer in our daily run.

All this being said, I don't suggest standing on top of a weight bench and hollering out vaunted statements about your strength and power. A nice internal pep talk with yourself is probably will probably work just fine.