Hypnosis Builds Strong Muscles, Maybe

Writing for Men’s Health, Grant Stoddard spends some quality time with the Pete Siegel, the man who calls himself "the best peak-performance hypnotherapist in the world." Stoddard hopes to learn, once and for all, if the claim that hypnosis can help us build more muscle in less time is all hype or all hypnosis. The piece points out that, according to Shawn Arent, Ph.D., C.S.C.S., a professor of exercise
science at Rutgers University, no large-scale studies have been
conducted on hypnotherapy in athletic performance. "That’s not to say
that it may not be extremely effective for some people," says Arent. "We just don’t
know enough about the processes involved. So, from a purely scientific
standpoint, the jury is still out." But by the end of the piece, Stoddard’s verdict is very much in: The writer comes away persuaded that some message–encouragement, praise, guilt–provided by Siegel is doing something almost magical to his muscles. Men’s Health delivers an interesting read, and it comes with a bonus: 32 minutes of an audio interview with Siegel. Hang on to you id.