Relationship between the Duration of the Psych-up Interval and Strength Performance

Abstract

In this article, the authors examine the process of "psyching-up" by athletes. While research has shown that athletes who partake in "psyching-up" behavior perform at a higher level than athletes who do not, there had not previously been an examination of this type of behavior and its benefits. By varying the duration of the "psych-up" interval, the authors were able to measure strength performance. The results proved that psyching up does in fact play an important role in muscular strength performance, while the duration of that psyching-up has no effect on that performance. Males were also found to psych up for a longer period of time than females.