Student working out at the Student Recreation and Wellness Center.

Faster, Higher, Stronger

To perform like an Olympian, you have to think like one. Kinesiology professor Gabriele Wulf explains how to change your thoughts to boost your results.

Focus on the movement of the bar or weight being lifted rather than which muscles you’re targeting. You’ll experience less muscle strain and be able to perform more repetitions. Pictured: A student trains in the UNLV Student Recreation and Wellness Center (R. Marsh Starks/UNLV Photo Services)

What if you could perfect a butterfly stroke that would rival Michael Phelps' or hurl a hammer farther than UNLV student Amanda Bingson will in the Olympics this month?

It might just take a simple mental shift.

OK, so changing your concentration might not help you sprint past Khadevis Robinson (the Rebels assistant track coach will also compete in London), but it will improve your balance, accuracy and consistency, said kinesiology professor Gabriele Wulf.

Instead of directing thoughts to your own mechanics, such as the way you flip your wrist during a basketball free throw or how hard your legs are working on your morning bicycle ride, picture the ball landing in the hoop or imagine the force you are exerting against the pedals of the bike.

Over 15 years and more than 80 studies, Wulf and other researchers have found that focusing thoughts on external results improves sports performance, rehabilitation, or any activity involving motor skills.

"Avoid thinking about anything on your body," Wulf said. "Having an external focus of attention makes performance more automatic and speeds up the learning process, thereby enabling performers to achieve a higher skill level sooner."

Coaches can use the same techniques to guide their athletes. Instead of saying "focus on your hand," coaches can slightly change the wording to "focus on the racquet," Wulf said.

An internal focus on body movements functions as "self-invoking triggers," Wulf said. When a person focuses on their own feet or arms, this implicitly triggers self-consciousness and self-evaluation, which for many athletes could have a negative influence on performance.

Wulf has extended the concept to her work with older adults who have suffered from strokes or Parkinson's disease. For example, Parkinson's patients in one of Wulf's studies improved their balance by shifting their concentration from their feet to the an inflated disk on which they were standing.

The Power of Thought

Wulf had an epiphany nearly 20 years ago when she was windsurfing and teaching herself to perform the power jibe, a complicated move in which the windsurfer changes direction and flips the sail. It requires proper timing and balance as well precise foot positioning.

When Wulf paid attention to her feet on the board or her hands on the boom, she frequently fell or failed to complete the power jibe.

So, she be began to focus on the tilt of her board and how fluidly it turned. "It seemed so simple, but I continued to succeed by changing my thought pattern," she said.

Since then, she's devoted her research to helping athletes, novices, and those suffering from debilitating physical ailments, understand the same concept.

Person in mid-shot during basketball game.
To make that free throw, focus on the basket or ball trajectory instead of wrist flexion or movement. Wulf also found that this reduces muscle strain on the biceps and triceps, which helps endurance. Pictured: Brice Massamba during a 2011 Runnin’ Rebels game (Aaron Mayes/UNLV Photo Services)

Person swimming in a lap race.
Use a mantra, such as “swim quickly” or “swim hard,” or focus on a specific tempo. Do not think about your hip rotation, spinning arms, or how high that elbow is. When Wulf asked intermediate crawl swimmers to imagine pushing the water back, they achieved significantly shorter times than when they were asked to focus on pulling their hands back. Pictured: Returning senior Carmen Robb at a swim meet last season (Geri Kodey/UNLV Photo Services)

Close up of golf ball and golfing wedge.
To improve accuracy, focus on the swing on the club, the face of the club, or the ball’s intended trajectory. Do not think about your arms, wrists, or the way you bend your knees. The same concept improves accuracy in throwing balls, darts and Frisbees or kicking balls. (UNLV Photo Services)

Girl spiking volleyball over volleyball net.
Think about the part of the ball you want to strike rather than the part of the body that will hit the ball. This results in greater accuracy in hitting your target. Pictured: Porsha Hayes, outside hitter on women’s volleyball team (R. Marsh Starks/UNLV Photo Services)

Close up of person using treadmill.
Instead of thinking about moving the legs and feet faster, imagine your shoes clawing the floor as you move. You’ll also breathe better if they focus on your surroundings rather than the breath itself. (R. Marsh Starks/UNLV Photo Services)

Topics:

health and medicine

Campus Units:

Division of Health Sciences,  School of Integrated Health Sciences,  Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition Sciences

You Might Also Like

Keeping It All in the Family
Four family members, including three women and one man, pose after a UNLV volleyball match
Athletics | November 25, 2025

From the football field to the basketball hardwood to the volleyball court, two generations of the Harris family beam with Rebel Pride.

More about Athletics