This was another interesting section of Dr Michael Moseley’s book “Just one thing”.
I have read similar studies in the past, that have shown that mental imagery can actually increase your strength. The thing that interested me the most was how they found that the muscles didn’t actually get bigger, they just got more fine tuned.
I’ve always thought there must be a good reason a lot of professional sportspeople spend time on mental imagery!
Of course this is a small study and more research would need to be done, but it does show the importance of really thinking about what you are doing when exercising or learning a new skill.
I hope you found this interesting.