We’ve all seen it: The cyclist who swears by a particular pre-workout snack to “guarantee” a great ride or the gym-goer who will only listen to a specific playlist to “get in the zone.” Athletes, too, may resort to eccentric habits. Consider the soccer goalie who bobs his head back and forth minutes before game time or the softball player who conducts an elaborately choreographed routine of touching her bat between pitches.
[See: 12 Psychological Tricks to Get You Through a Workout or Race.]
Most of us have also fallen victim to wacky superstitions. Maybe you refuse to shave in the middle of your recreational football league playoffs or claim the same seat each Saturday morning at your spin class. Such quirks are usually harmless, but do they actually work? In fact, they can. Here’s what research-backed habits you might consider adopting in order to boost your athletic performance:
1. Consider your mortality.
In experiments out of the University of Arizona, scientists asked participants to fill out a questionnaire in between two games of basketball. Half of the subjects randomly received “neutral” questions; the other half answered mortality-related questions like, “What do you think will happen to you as you physically die and once you’re physically dead?” They found that the theory of terror management — or the ability to maintain self-esteem as a buffer of sorts against the anxiety of dying — motivates people enough to perform better on the basketball court, specifically by upping their scoring and effort levels during the experimental task.
The researchers aren’t the only ones to find out that the theory holds water: More than 500 studies conducted over the past 25 years confirm that reminding people of their mortality leads them to tend to their self-esteem as a way of dealing with the threat. So, if you want to impress your buddy the next time you shoot hoops, just remind yourself that you’re not immortal. You might wind up countering that worry by reminding yourself how great you are at the sport — and proving it on the court.
2. Find your competitive spirit.
Comparison is the thief of joy, right? Wrong — if you get joy from athletic success, according to a study revealing that harnessing a personal rivalry can motivate runners to train and race harder and faster. In it, researchers surveyed people online about their feelings toward rivals, and then analyzed running club members’ results from nearly 200 races over a six-year time period, in order to try to identify whether rivalries led to changes in performance over time. “Some people may find it surprising that runners actually pick one and another out [to try to beat] at these kind of races, but my experiences speaking with them suggests they indeed do,” said lead author Gavin Kilduff in a press release. So the next time you want to crush a 5K, harness the rivalries you already have or form new ones. Ideal “rivals” are similarly aged people of the same gender who have run many races together and tend to finish with similar times.
[See: 10 Themed Races to Make Getting in Shape Fun.]
3. Make a strategic playlist.
If you only tune into a certain type of music when working out, you may be onto something. Research suggests specific musical styles can influence sports performance in different ways. Jazz music, for instance, seems to enhance golf putting performance, country music may improve batting success, rap music appears to improve jump shots and running achievements have been linked to up-tempo music.
Of course, such evidence must be taken with a grain of salt. While habits like these may help you on the field or in the pool or on the court, they also may not. Ultimately, there’s very little, if anything, that guarantees success for a performer. That’s a pretty scary bit of knowledge, especially for those of us whose livelihoods are contingent upon successful performance.
So what can you do? You must clear your mind of doubt — and if you turn to specific genres of music, particular items of “lucky” clothing or pre-match rituals seemingly devoid of reason to do so, more power to you. These patterns can all provide reassurance and add a bit of comfort, and therefore eliminate doubt. They can grant you the illusion of control over events that, in actuality, often come down to random bounces or sheer luck.
[See: Mantras that Get 11 Diet and Fitness Pros Through Their Toughest Moments.]
All this to say: It’s not the superstitions or rituals themselves that make a difference; it’s the passionate belief in them that does — even if the ritual has no lab-tested effects whatsoever. Any belief can have remarkably powerful effects, providing you hold it with enough conviction. So to deliver when it really matters, reach for the particular ritual that makes sense to you, be it prayer, abstinence from shaving, meditation or mental imagery. Take your pick. If your belief is there, your desired results might be too.
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These Weird Rituals Really Can Make You a Better Athlete originally appeared on usnews.com
