Brad,
For me anyway, the mind body connection most definitely manifests itself in the weight room. I would even go so far as to say that variable has almost as much of an effect on my performance as do physical factors like muscle fatigue, etc.
It seems certain days I can 'will' myself to get through a set, weight, rep, whatever. Usually I have to be pretty positive about the set (not just have a lot of energy or desire). I find this interesting because I have gone into the gym all gung-ho about lifting and yet had a question in my head about whether I could lift the weight and, lo and behold, I don't. Other times I have gone in with a bad mood, fatigued, but with a positive attitude and have been able to lift successfully when, by all rights, I should have failed.
When I was in 10th grade I researched and wrote a paper on mind-body synergy and athletic performance, specifically talking about Bob Beamon's long jump record that seemed to be 20 years ahead of it's time. Beamon talked about how everything clicked for him on that jump...a definite mind-body connection.
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