Thread: Can I use lucid dreams to gain physical strength?

Ummmmm.....no.

lol.

I figured that. Just checking.

Originally posted by kungfurabbits

SUMMARY: If I work out in my lucid dreams, can I gain any muscle in the real world.

If you know how to sleepwalk, & start lifting weights while doing it, maybe.
Other than that, you can only gain knowledge, and if you are lucky, a glimpse of right now or tomorrow!!

If there is something you want to get better at, like Tennis or Snowboarding, then Lucid Dreaming can improve your skill. Lucid Dreaming can be extremely powerful for motor skill enhancement. This is not only true because of the vividness of the imagery, but also because the physiological nature of REM sleep is ideal for establishing neural pattern without actual movement. Experiments also show that you can get physically stronger with mental training.

I found this on a site about lucid dreaming. I don't know what you would think of this so I copied and pasted it. The website is

http://www.web-us.com/lucid/luciddreamingF...reaming%20serve

lol ofcourse not.

Mucles get bigger becouse when you use them alot, tiny cracks appear in the muscle-tissue, when they 'heal' the overal muscle sieze increases.

Just totally no.

yeah... i'm gonna go with 'no' on this one. nice try though.


as for improving one's skill...well...you know, i'm not sure. in my dreams i'm a *phenomenal* dancer--rhythm coming out the wazoo. in real life, well, not so much. i really don't think one can get better at any physical activity via dream-practice. there are lots intangible things one can practice and get better at while sleeping (like perhaps social practice, etc.) but again i'm not sold on getting physically better at anything from sleep. i mean, that's just an oxymoron if you think about it.

I seem to recall that there was a study a few years back that concluded that if one was to think intensely about exercise, then it was very much possible for that person to experience some of the effects of the real thing.

So I'm going to say no, but admit that I might just be wrong here.

I wish that I'd payed more attention to this when there were talking about it on the radio.

Yea, but do you think that some one could train themself in a lucid dream. Like teach your self to be real good at basketball or some other sport in a lucid dream and have it really affect your game?

you can practice muscle memory, I believe. You practice form in shooting and stuff for basketball. You can also create realistic situations with another player or another team and find out how to get past it. You can practice fakes/jukes, passes, etc on a mental level (that is, you can practice strategy).

Originally posted by ataraxis
you can practice muscle memory, I believe. You practice form in shooting and stuff for basketball. You can also create realistic situations with another player or another team and find out how to get past it. You can practice fakes/jukes, passes, etc on a mental level (that is, you can practice strategy).

Except the chances of gravity, strength, speed or absolutely anything relating to reality(even the basketball net) being the exact same as they would in real life is slim, your mind isnt that exact on things, you create most things in your dreams on only what youv'e already seen or know in reality. Which means if you train in a dream on say basketball, and everytime you do a successful layout in that dream. Chances are your muscle memory would be wrong as to what should be done in reality. It would only be correct in the dream if you already have it corrected in reality.

Originally posted by sh2dak


Except the chances of gravity, strength, speed or absolutely anything relating to reality(even the basketball net) being the exact same as they would in real life is slim, your mind isnt that exact on things, you create most things in your dreams on only what youv'e already seen or know in reality. Which means if you train in a dream on say basketball, and everytime you do a successful layout in that dream. Chances are your muscle memory would be wrong as to what should be done in reality. It would only be correct in the dream if you already have it corrected in reality.

How do you know this? The mind is very accurate about these types of things. Think about it. Right now, can you imagine a pretty damn near accurate depiction of something like, say, throwing a ball. You can imagine running and then throwing a tennis ball... let's say it hits a tree and hits the ground. You can imagine how it forms the arcs and what angle it bounces off pretty accurately. Sure, you might be fooled that you are better than you really are, but it helps for layups when like, deciding where to shoot and the such. You've "seen" everything you need to create a realistic game of basketball in a dream.

Adapting your technique in a dream i can understand and agree its possible, since it would be similar to visualising something before you do it, and its what lots of people do, its even what i do before i try a new tricking move, or a new type of flip on a trampoline, or even jump over to something ive never jumped to before. I dont doubt this, but you mustn't get this confused with the actual requirements of reality. Just because i visualise it doesnt mean i have it correct, i can visualise all i WANT it will never be correct untill ive done it myself, and by that time i wont need to visualise, because ill already have had success.

seeing as dreaming and visualising are pretty much the same process: if what you say is true then it would mean that if we visualise what we want to do before we do it, such as a layout in basketball and successfully score, then you would successfully score in reality from a successfully performed layout. We both know this isnt true, and that the only way you could get a layout is with actual physical practice, that is true muscle memory.

Edit: Apologies, ive just re-read ur post, im pretty tired. I see what you said and that its just enough to create a realistic game. Which i 100% agree on.

Originally posted by sh2dak
Adapting your technique in a dream i can understand and agree its possible, since it would be similar to visualising something before you do it, and its what lots of people do, its even what i do before i try a new tricking move, or a new type of flip on a trampoline, or even jump over to something ive never jumped to before. I dont doubt this, but you mustn't get this confused with the actual requirements of reality. Just because i visualise it doesnt mean i have it correct, i can visualise all i WANT it will never be correct untill ive done it myself, and by that time i wont need to visualise, because ill already have had success.

Indeed... I see what you mean. But if you shoot at the court, it may not go straight in the hoop. It might spin around... and sure, it might go in where it wouldn't go in in reality, but as long as you don't want to attempt to control your dream it should realistic enough. I understand what you're saying about visualizing not being correct, but me, for example, having viewed physics for about 14 years (since I was born), I can make a pretty damn accurate prediction of how a ball would act when thrown just by intuition alone. And if I were a basketball player, my prediction would be that much more accurate.

seeing as dreaming and visualising are pretty much the same process: if what you say is true then it would mean that if we visualise what we want to do before we do it, such as a layout in basketball and successfully score, then you would successfully score in reality from a successfully performed layout. We both know this isnt true, and that the only way you could get a layout is with actual physical practice, that is true muscle memory.
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Yeah... it's more of like... if you practiced for example, one of those jukes where you put the ball undery our leg, it would be very likely that you'd do it correctly in a dream (the litlte nick that would hit your leg in reality might dissapear, it might go to your hand nicely instead of behind you too much, etc), but it also helps to see how the other reacts to it and how you react accordingly.

Edit: Apologies, ive just re-read ur post, im pretty tired. I see what you said and that its just enough to create a realistic game. Which i 100% agree on.[/b]

It's alright happens to the best of us. I responded to your post anyways... hope we might reach a mutual agreement on the "physics" of dreams

Originally posted by kungfurabbits
I know mental strength can be gained. Although I think the chances of my question is going to be no is really great, I figured I might as well ask.

SUMMARY: If I work out in my lucid dreams, can I gain any muscle in the real world.

Did you seriously summarize a 2 sentence post?

Originally posted by ataraxis


Did you seriously summarize a 2 sentence post?

For some reason, I XDed incredibly when I read that.

Originally posted by kungfurabbits


For some reason, I XDed incredibly when I read that.

Do you think you could perhaps expose your self to pain in a dream to improve endurance? Not exactly the same thing as gaining muscle but still similar.

Originally posted by danbarber
Do you think you could perhaps expose your self to pain in a dream to improve endurance? Not exactly the same thing as gaining muscle but still similar.

I was going to say something to this effect.

I think a lot of physical prowess is more a mind over matter sort of thing. The "Zone," as any athelete can tell you, is not a state of physical preparedness. It is a state of mind. It is a state of Knowing you've got the goods to complete a certain task, with, or without, maxing out on physical effort.
I once saw a single man lift a downed helicopter off of it's side to save his friend that was pinned underneath. Pure adrenaline. Even he said, when it was over, if the situation wasn't as dire as it was, he couldn't have done it.
There is a lot to be said for "Not thinking about the challenge." When your mind is focused, partially or completely, voluntarilly or involuntarilly, on how big of a challenge what you're about to do is, you are more aware of your mortality. You Feel your muscles burning. You wonder how long you can take the strain. You doubt your ability to be able to accomplish such a great feat. When the mental aspect of the task becomes second nature to you, or in the case of the man/helicopter, simply vanishes all together, you are capable of things far greater than you may think.
So, to practice a feat such as lifting a 250lb barbell in your dreams, over and over, (possibly for weeks of practice) trying to consciously simulate the weight as best you can, while you may not alter your physical strength, you may take some serious strain off of the task when you try it in waking life. The trick is, fooling yourself into thinking it is as easy as it was in your dreams. Difficult for some, impossible for others.