How Well Can You Guess Your Lifting Speed?

People often wonder how well they can judge their own strength and speed when lifting weights. A recent study dug into this, focusing on the bench press. The goal was to see if people could accurately sense how fast they were lifting different weights.

The Study

Practice Sessions

• Participants went through practice sessions.
• They familiarized themselves with a scale to estimate their lifting speed.

Testing Phase

• Tested with seven different weights.
• Noted perceived speed and percentage of maximum lift.

Results

• Accuracy in Speed Judgment: People were pretty good at matching perceived speed with actual speed.
• Percentage of Maximum Lift: Decent at guessing but not as accurate as speed judgment.
• Small Changes in Weight: Participants could differentiate speed even with minor weight changes.

Implications

• With practice, people can improve their ability to sense lifting speed.
• This skill can be useful for optimizing workouts.

Conclusion

Next time you're lifting weights, pay attention to your speed. You might be better at judging it than you think!