ENGLISH - ARTICLE - "Will Practicing A Skill In Your Head Make You Better At It?"

Health

Will Practicing A Skill In Your Head Make You Better At It?

Short answer: Only if you’re already good

By Daniel Engber Posted October 5, 2015     

Jason Schneider

When Carson Palmer, the two-time Pro Bowl quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, hurt his elbow a few years ago, he took a week off from throwing the football. But in his head, Palmer practiced every day. “You stand right behind the center, and you see the coverage unfold as you would if you had the ball in your hands,” he told ESPN. It seemed to do the job. The following weekend, Palmer had the best game of his career.

.- Pro - Bowl: the National Football League: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pro_Bowl

.- a Quarterback: US American football position: mariscal de campo: http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/quarterback

.- a Coverage: Breadth: alcance, cobertura: http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/coverage

.- the Breadth: width: anchura / of experience, understanding: de experiencia, conocimientos, amplitud, anchura: http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/breadth

For more than a century, scientists have been trying to understand how this mental training works. In the 1930s, researchers demonstrated that when you’re imagining an action, your brain sends signals to your muscles—subtle triggers too weak to make the muscles contract but ones that might help train the body to perform. Alternatively, mental practice might create a blueprint in your head, like an inner how-to guide for a particular skill.

.- Subtle: nearly undetectable: sutil, imperceptible: http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/subtle

.- a Blueprint: figurative (plan, design): figurado: proyecto, esbozo: http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/blueprint

Sports psychologists have conducted hundreds of studies comparing imagined and physical practice for actions such as throwing darts, juggling, and tap dancing. Overall, the research shows that mental training works. A 2012 study, for example, compared 32 amateur golfers who putted to another 32 who merely held a golf club in their hands and visualized their swings. Under the same training regimen, both groups improved their putts by getting the ball about 4 inches closer to the hole.

.- to Juggle: object in air: hacer malabarismos: http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/juggle

.- Tap Dance: dance with clicking shoes: http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/tap-dance

.- to Putt: golf: hit slightly: golpear la bola: http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/putt

.- a Golf Club: sports: un palo de golf. http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/club

.- a Swing: oscillation: una oscilación: http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/swing

.- an inch: 2,54 cm: una pulgada: http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/inch

Visualization has advantages over the real thing: You can do it anywhere, even when injured. It’s safe—a major plus for high-stakes performers such as gymnasts and surgeons. And you can practice for longer periods of time because you’re not constrained by physical fatigue. That’s not to say it’s easy: “We’ve had Olympic-level athletes sitting in our lab, visualizing for two hours,” says Tadhg MacIntyre, a sports psychologist at the University of Limerick in Ireland. “When we’re done, they’re absolutely exhausted.”

.- a Stake: stick: un poste, una estaca: http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/stake

.- to be Constrained by (Sb/Sth): limited. by laws, means: restringido/ forced: obligado, constreñido / forced to do sth: obligao/forzado a hacer algo: http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/constrained

It doesn’t work for everyone, though. “If you’re a novice, the impact can be negative,” warns MacIntyre. “If you’re trying to visualize a free throw, and you don’t even know the proper handgrip and movement, then you’re probably going to mentally rehearse the wrong skill, and your skill is going to be impaired.”

.- Though: although. aunque: http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/though/ however: sin embargo / even if: aunque: http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/however

.- a Novice: a beginner: un novato/a, principiante, inexperto/a: http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/novice

.- to Rehearse: practice performing: ensayar, practicar: http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/rehearse
.- Impaired: ability: habilidad: disminuido / Progress: perjudicado/a, detenido/a: http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/impaired

This article was originally published in the September 2015 issue of Popular Science.