Enhancing Strength Gains With the Power of the Mind

Participants in both training groups will perform 6 weeks of moderate intensity, whole-body elastic band training. Participants in the control group will participate in all testing procedures but not perform any training. Participants from both groups will be instructed to maintain their normal physical activity levels and dietary habits. All training sessions will be home-based and virtually supervised by research personnel. Participants will complete 2 training sessions in the first week and 3 training sessions per week for the remaining 5 weeks. Each training session will last about 45-60 minutes and consist of 7 exercises performed in the same order by each participant, including both multi-joint (chair squat, chest press, leg press, back row) and single-joint (knee extension, knee flexion, elbow flexion) exercises. Participants will perform 12 repetitions for each exercise for the first 3 weeks, then volume will be increased by progressing to 4 sets for the remaining 3 weeks. There will be a 60-second rest interval between sets and a similar tempo will be used between groups. Both training groups will perform the same training protocol, but participants in the maximal mental effort group will mentally urge their muscles to contract maximally during each repetition. That is, despite using a moderate intensity, participants will imagine the feeling of maximal muscle contraction of the primary muscles during each repetition. Several measures of strength, neuromuscular function, physical function, and body composition will be measured before and after the training or control period.