mental technique for weight lifting : EFT

D

Dieguz

New Member
Hello to all.

In the weight training world we always focus on the "phyisical" training techniques, (exercises, routines, HIIT, HST, MaxStim...)...but not in the Mental part of it.
There are some cool mental training techniques to help us lift more, be less fatigued etc...
One of the most powerful (and incredible!) technique is EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique)...
in the EFT, we finger tapping in particular body points (similaro to accupressure points) that help us to fight anxiety, reduce pain and increase performance.
Here a very interesting article on using EFT for weight lifting.

http://www.emofree.com/performance/weight-lifting.htm

to learn the standard EFT procedure this video recorded by the EFT inventor

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQp0kA5a5OI

or this one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYT9VpYuuEo

I'm experimenting EFT in my workouts and i experiment 2 or 3 more reps on all exercises

Diego
 
the Gary Craig's site is : http://www.emofree.com/
and it is free.

You will find a simple guide to EFT.
you may find the EFT protocol very strange; it is strange but it works

The site is a huge resource, there are a lot of articles on

eliminating fobias
cure fears
...

and peak performance on sports (cure injuries also)

The site is really huge, so it is a little difficult to browse.

Dieguz

PS: there's the community also :

http://eftcommunity.emofree.com/forums/t/1112.aspx (an article for weighlifting)
 
Basically, from what I can gather, the idea is that you will tap on certain areas of your body while thinking of certain emotions, in order to regain 'balance' to your body's energy field.

Sounds like pseudoscience to me, but maybe it might work for some people, due to placebo effect. I don't know though, I'm pretty skeptical about it. I guess I could try it, but I'd guess that my skepticism might blunt any psychological effects I may otherwise experience.
 
Hm.. a quick search on google turned up a fairly critical wikipedia article.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotional_Freedom_Technique

<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">
EFT has been labeled as pseudoscience in The Skeptical Inquirer magazine, based on what the journal describes as its lack of falsifiability, reliance on anecdotal evidence, and aggressive promotion via the Internet.[6] Gary Craig, the developer of EFT, has argued that placebo-controlled studies of EFT are impossible, because tapping anywhere on the body will manipulate &quot;energy meridians&quot;. Skeptics have asserted that such an argument renders EFT untestable via the scientific method, and therefore a pseudoscience.[6][7] This argument is also addressed by the Waite and Holder paper, in which the participants tapped on a doll, rather than themselves. Other critics have suggested that EFT's successes are likely to stem from &quot;characteristics it shares with more traditional therapies&quot;, rather than manipulation of energy meridians via tapping.[4] A recent article in the Guardian suggested that the act of tapping parts of the body in a complicated sequence acts as a distraction from, and therefore can appear to alleviate the root distress.
</div>



So... my diagnosis is that this technique is no different than when we psyche ourselves up before lifting, and therefore are able to achieve a new PR or get in more reps.
As we all know, your strength is effected by your state of mind, motivation, etc, so if you do something to get your motivation up, you can experience improvements in performance. This EFT thing might work for some people for that kind of thing, but personally, I'd rather just go in there, growl at the weights for a few seconds, then start lifting.
 
hello Totentaz.

i appreciate your criticism

It is pseudoscience, but it works very well.
It was invented to cure fobias and pains, but it could be used to increase performance in sports.

if you want, try the protocol discussed in the article.
It is very important you learn the entire protocol (there is the video) and use the correct phrases.

I'm training for strength in this period and i'm doing the following experiment (for example on weighted dips)

Set a weight with you can do 4 reps to failure.

the reps sequence may be like this:

1 set) 4 reps to failure
2 set) 4 reps to failure
3 set) 2 or 3 reps to failure

after the 3 set, do one or two EFT rounds (with the correct phrases)

4 set) you should able to do 4 or 5 or 6 reps!!!!

i'm not joking; it works really

Dieguz
 
It works because you believe it works.

I can lift more if I eat a can of spinach and put on a superman shirt before my workout.
biggrin.gif
 
<div>
(scientific muscle @ Nov. 29 2007,11:06)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">It works because you believe it works.

I can lift more if I eat a can of spinach and put on a superman shirt before my workout.
biggrin.gif
</div>
amen brother!
 
The site is so confusing, I wonder if it's on purpose. It reminds me of the motto &quot;confound and conquer&quot;. Perhaps the method works because people are just too confused to think of anything, namely their lower back pain. It reminds me of another motto &quot;what you don't know can't hurt you&quot;. Which reminds of yet another motto &quot;ignorance is bliss&quot;. I could spit out a few more but I think we get the picture of what this method is all about. It's all about putting the brain on the shelf for the duration of the workout.

I like to keep mine just in case. But to each his own.
 
Good stuff, Bryan. I liked to see that my technique of having &quot;special&quot; workout music that I only listen to during workouts is one of the methods.
I looked into EMT a while back and left still skeptical for the reasons allready stated. Distraction and placebo faiths are powerful tools, and can yeild results, but the crayola about &quot;energy meridians&quot; reminded me of a visit to a healthfood store for vitamins.
The lady had me hold my arm out and resist her pulling it down while I held different vitamin formulas to my chest, or &quot;energy center&quot; and supposedly the best vitamin for me would make my arm stronger. Guess what? As it went on a bit, her vitamin selections were &quot;worse&quot; for me as my arm got more tired.
Go figger.
 
I play golf. Many who play badly find it difficult to forget about the technique and focus on the shot. Those who play well know how to focus on what to do and allow the motor cortex to deal with the how. Too many mediocre players interfere with their motor cortex's primary function of controlling the body. As a result, they hesitate then doubt and finally fail.

The intellect deals best with purpose than with function. We must analyze the function before we learn it. But once it's time to execute, there's no time for lengthy analysis. The intellect will deal best with commands such as &quot;throw ball there&quot; or swing club and strike ball&quot;. But it falters when it's confronted with &quot;contract bicep just this much&quot; or &quot;flex elbow about this amount of degrees&quot; and so forth. The motor cortex, on the other hand, can deal with all these complicated mechanical functions that our body can perform. It's only a matter of allowing it to do its job. Not interfere.

I laugh to myself when I see a guy lifting a very heavy weight yet still looks like he's learning the lift he's going so slow. Perhaps he's stuck on &quot;must get technique perfect&quot;. Instead, he should lift the object and be done with it. The less he interferes with his motor cortex, the better it will perform, the heavier and/or the more often he can lift the bar. It's that simple.

So the next time you doubt your ability, instead of thinking &quot;lift bar in that precise fashion and I must get my form down and I must not look like an idiot and what the hell am I thinking I can't do it etc etc&quot;, think &quot;lift bar&quot;. What do you think the best golfers think when they strike a ball? I don't know but I think &quot;back of the ball&quot;. Mediocre players will think &quot;OK, elbow straight, bent right leg, weight on the front foot, bring back club to here, try for parallel, what the hell is this, it's not supposed to happen like this, I'm screwed, I'm going to hit the ground, I'm going to hit the ground, Oh my, I hit the ground&quot;... We get the picture.

There's also the fact that mediocre players or in this case mediocre lifters never practice the lifts, they only perform them thinking that it will be sufficient. Practice makes perfect is what I know.

I guess if this EFT method can help focus on the lift instead of the technique, it should be good enough. I just think it's too complicated for no reason.
 
<div>
(Totentanz @ Nov. 29 2007,10:00)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Sounds like pseudoscience to me, but maybe it might work for some people, due to placebo effect.</div>
You might be one of those people who claim they can not be hypnotised! They usually fall first.

The tapping thing is no placebo but makes your mind &quot;go wonky&quot; as it tries to sort the different impulses coming in. This then gives the opportunity to give the subliminal commands to the subconscious mind that takes over from your own 'rational' mind that knows that you can not lift 200 kg THAT often or make 12 reps with THAT weight.

If you have a chance to see the hypnotist Paul McKenna do his work with people with fears or over weight people you could see that it works.

You do not have to understand everything for it to work for you. Try it first, give your comment afterwards.
 
<div>
(Jari @ Nov. 30 2007,06:07)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">You might be one of those people who claim they can not be hypnotised! They usually fall first.</div>
Nice ungrounded assumption. But we'll never know.

<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">The tapping thing is no placebo but makes your mind &quot;go wonky&quot; as it tries to sort the different impulses coming in.
</div>

Okay, so in other words... placebo.

<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">This then gives the opportunity to give the subliminal commands to the subconscious mind that takes over from your own 'rational' mind that knows that you can not lift 200 kg THAT often or make 12 reps with THAT weight.</div>

I guess that's why EFT can be verified using the scientific method then? Oh wait, it can't.
If it were actually doing something to your brain or your nervous system, or whatever, then it would be something that could be verified. And it can't be verified, so that says something.
What does it say? Sounds like it's saying &quot;placebo effect&quot; to me.

<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">You do not have to understand everything for it to work for you. Try it first, give your comment afterwards.</div>

Well, if I followed that rule, I'd be doing all kinds of dumb stuff.
Personally, I like to see some kind of verifiable results from something before I bother trying it out. It isn't necessary to try something out first before you can determine whether it has any value. Just look for verifiable results first (not anecdotes) and go from there.

And... EFT looks rather dubious, so I'm not going to waste my time trying it out. I already know how to control my emotions, so why do I need some tool that doesn't even work to do something that I don't even require?
 
<div>
(quadancer @ Nov. 29 2007,22:31)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Good stuff, Bryan. I liked to see that my technique of having &quot;special&quot; workout music that I only listen to during workouts is one of the methods.
I looked into EMT a while back and left still skeptical for the reasons allready stated. Distraction and placebo faiths are powerful tools, and can yeild results, but the crayola about &quot;energy meridians&quot; reminded me of a visit to a healthfood store for vitamins.
The lady had me hold my arm out and resist her pulling it down while I held different vitamin formulas to my chest, or &quot;energy center&quot; and supposedly the best vitamin for me would make my arm stronger. Guess what? As it went on a bit, her vitamin selections were &quot;worse&quot; for me as my arm got more tired.
Go figger.</div>
I have often wondered why this kind of demonstration doesn't have you holding a constant load while 'testing' the different products to see how your 'energy center' responds?

Of course it would have been just a little bit scientific that way and wouldn't have shown any 'useful' results at all; you would always seemingly prefer the first product (when your delts were less fatigues) and not the subsequent ones (or am I being too much of a cynic?
tounge.gif
)
 
Don't knock it till you've tried it, Totentanz.
I have heard hitting your testes with a hammer will give you super-human strength for a few minutes.
So please, try it first, give your comments afterwards.
 
Well, since I can't comment on the effectiveness of those things you guys proposed until I try them out... I guess I'll be back in a while to let you know if any of that works.
sad.gif
 
<div>
(Jari @ Nov. 30 2007,06:07)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE"><div>
(Totentanz @ Nov. 29 2007,10:00)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Sounds like pseudoscience to me, but maybe it might work for some people, due to placebo effect.</div>
You might be one of those people who claim they can not be hypnotised! They usually fall first.

The tapping thing is no placebo but makes your mind &quot;go wonky&quot; as it tries to sort the different impulses coming in. This then gives the opportunity to give the subliminal commands to the subconscious mind that takes over from your own 'rational' mind that knows that you can not lift 200 kg THAT often or make 12 reps with THAT weight.

If you have a chance to see the hypnotist Paul McKenna do his work with people with fears or over weight people you could see that it works.

You do not have to understand everything for it to work for you. Try it first, give your comment afterwards.</div>
Go wonky? Subliminal? Subconscious? I don't need to understand?

This all sounds like we must not understand for the method to work. Religion works on the same principle. The less we know, the more we believe. What's in it for the thinking man then? I guess it won't work for him since he understands. Or should he stop thinking? Should he stop seeking an explanation? Should he stop seeking proof?

I remember a novel called Dune. It's a work of science fiction. It was mostly fiction with very little science. In it, there was this thing about tapping the muscles to teach them to obey. Science or fiction? It can't be science since EFT can't be tested scientifically. So it must be fiction.

But like I said, to each his own.
 
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