Can dressing like a faster runner, help you run faster?
Researchers have found that putting on a white lab coat and associating it with doctors or scientists can help you concentrate and make fewer errors.
“The researchers at Northwestern University say that people associate the clothing with care and attentiveness, and therefore show ‘heightened attention’ to tasks when attired accordingly.”
During testing, “On those confusing items, people wearing the lab coats made around half as many errors as their peers.”
So a runner may wonder….will dressing “faster” make me run better?
Now, we’re talking speed relative to yourself here. But what do you think would happen if, instead of doing cognitive tests with students, someone did V02 Max tests with runners?
The first round of testing in more casual running attire. The next round in gear that more closely mimics the attire of elite runners.
-Short split cut running shorts instead of long shorts
-Wearing a singlet instead of a t-shirt
Until someone does that study, we can only guess what the outcome would be. But it would be safe to bet that “dressing faster” would help the runners perform better during the fitness tests.
And maybe it will help you with that new PR at the same time!
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