EndurElite Chief Endurance Officer Matt Mosman discusses if wearing good luck charms and superstitious behaviors before exercise can improve the performance of runners, cyclists, and other endurance athletes.

Video Transcription:

Can Superstitious Behaviors Improve Endurance Performance?

Magic eight-ball, is this lucky underwear on my head clean? The answer is no? Gross. Good morning, my endurance friends. Matt Mosman, the endurance guru over at EndurElite. In the spirit of St. Patty's Day I thought I would shoot a video on superstition and good luck charms and if these things can enhance athletic or endurance performance.

Now, before we get to that I know you have some burning questions. One, these are not magically delicious, that's false advertising. Two, those underwear were clean so no worries there. Three, I was gonna wear a lucky rabbit foot to complete this awesome outfit but then I thought PETA would get all over my case. They'd probably shut down EndurElite and I couldn't do these videos anymore and then God knows so what else could happen. But probably the most burning question you have right now is what is up with this t-shirt and are you seeing things right? And you are. This is actually a cat wearing a leprechaun outfit, holding a leprechaun, riding a unicorn kitty cat. There is so much magic and good luck right here that I'm kinda losing my mind.

But, back on task, can superstitions or good luck charms improve endurance performance? And the short answer is yes. Now, I know a lot of you probably have your superstitions before races, like listen to certain music or putting your gear on a certain way. Or you may wear a good luck charm during a race like a bracelet or a necklace and you feel like this gives you a competitive advantage. And you are actually correct. And there's actually been done some research on this through questionnaires and actually measuring performance. And what the research have found is that when the athletes do these superstitions or wear these good luck charms, they actually perform better than when they don't do them or don't wear them.

Now, is there something magical about something that your superstition you're doing or a bracelet you're wearing or anything like that? No, you big dummy, not at all. More than likely it is a placebo effect is what the researchers think. And basically, they think in a race situation, for example, that there's so many variables out of your control that doing this superstitious activity, or wearing that good luck charms gives you a sense of control, helps you stay focused and distresses you. So basically it's something you can rely on when everything else is so out of your control. So if you have a superstition, you have a good luck charm, you like to use them or wear them before a race, keep on doing so because more than likely it's going to enhance your performance.

So that is about it for today, my endurance friends. If you like this video share it with a St. Patty's Day or superstitious or lucky charm wearing friend. Head over to the EndurElite blog at www.endurelite.com to check out zany more videos like this, subscribe to our YouTube channel. And until next time stay fueled, stay focused, stay fast and have a great St. Patty's Day.