How to Increase Your Athletic Ability | The Scientific Truth

You may think you just have to run more, or lift more weights-but the truth is, there is a scientific way to increase your athletic ability! Join Stefan Chin for a new episode of SciShow and learn how you might be able to perform better, according to science!
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Original Episodes:
Why Are So Many Pro Athletes Lefties?
• Why Are So Many Pro At...
Do "Game Faces" Really Work in Sports?
• Do "Game Faces" Really...
Does Lactic Acid Really Cause Muscle Pain?
• Does Lactic Acid Reall...
Performance Enhancing Drugs
• Performance Enhancing ...
Football, Dementia, and the Future of Sports
• Football, Dementia, an...
Unexpected Dangers of Sports
• Unexpected Dangers of ...
Why Athletes Choke Under Pressure
• Why Athletes Choke Und...

[@datscootusee213]

Hey scishow! Can you guys do an episode on pain, pain tolerance and how people build that up, and the relevant science behind the nervous system? I've been nighting as an educator for the local highschool, and I have some scars which prompted a conversation with the students over pain.

[@phantomstrider]

I dont know if I'm considered "professional" but I am an ultra marathon runner and also left handed. Not really related to hands but i think thats considered an athlete.

[@umugumu]

Just looked up ultramarathons, damn you guys can run! x.x

[@phantomstrider]

@@umugumu Thanks! 😄 Just a marathon coming up next week. That's enough for me at the moment lol

[@umugumu]

@@phantomstrider Hey that's already a very awesome feat! Good luck out there :)

[@TheVigilante2000]

As a right handed armature fencer, Tom is right. First time I even fenced a left hander was in competition. Did not go well.

[@tomorrowhowever7488]

While I Am a righty, and my first sport was not martial arts, I did learn that conditioning myself to change direction mid fight was beneficial.

[@Psilomuscimol]

I am left handed but use a sword with my right hand. And bow and gun.

[@lightbeingform]

Yep, I fenced foil and we had one lefty on the whole team that had to spar with everyone on the team (meaning she had to fence foil, epee, and sabre), making everyone better at dealing with lefty opponents... But ofc it made her better at everything too 😅

[@user-ko4zp1wm2i]

well... as a Right Hander it is way harder to play against left handed people because most the enemies would most likely be right handed, you are just more skilled to fighting right then left handed. Even left Handed peopel have problems fighting against left handed people if they rarely fight against one.

[@warpdriveby]

I don't think this applies across all sports though. You're certainly right in many cases, I've experienced this in boxing and fencing, but not in wrestling. It makes a difference in baseball, especially in hitting off a lefty pitcher, but it makes absolutely zero difference to a lineman, I played all the way through college and never knew who was _____handed.

[@MontananMusician]

I was forced to bat right handed in school.. I prefer left tho

[@mrcroob8563]

Thank you for repeating what the video said

[@ANONM60D]

@@warpdriveby I'd argue that with wrestling it's less common because most wrestlers practice their movements in mirror images. You may favor one leg as the lead, but practicing movement with either leg as the lead is essential. Even still, many people just picking up the sport only play unilaterally

[@warpdriveby]

@@ANONM60D That might be spot on, I didn't wrestle for nearly as long or as seriously

[@purplepowerranger23]

Anyone who works out knows that your game face definitely helps you tough out those last 20 mins

[@lightbeingform]

13:08 screenshotted and wallpapered to get me through the holidays in general 😂

[@hunterjaekel8168]

Reducing risk of brain injury in football was my grad research. Kinda funny to hear it being talked about here on KZbin

[@mataichi14]

If they use sweat for an analog for stress they better do their measurements in AC. I work outside usually in Louisiana or Texas and in summer simply being outside means sweating a lot. It's hot and humid so by the sweat test I would seem extremely stressed every time I stepped outside no matter what I was actually doing.

[@definitelynotskynet]

Made me laugh when you said cheerleading at first. I was a flyer back in the day. I got thrown up in the air and didn’t always get caught. Sometimes a human head broke my fall. That shit’s dangerous.

[@JohnDrummondPhoto]

Being left-handed is an advantage. If you play baseball or golf, the real advantage for right-handers is being left-eyed (i.e. left eye dominant). A right-handed batter or golfer who is left-eye dominant can see the ball better to hit it. If you're a pitcher, being a lefty is a huge advantage. If you don't have the stuff to be a starting pitcher, a lefty reliever with decent talent can still write his own ticket for years.

[@anyascelticcreations]

Hmm. I've always been able to choose which eye to focus with. I didn't seem to have one or the other dominant. I never really tried any of those sports, though. I guess I might have been good at them. 🤷‍♀️

[@cathleenc6943]

Carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide problems at indoor ice rinks could easily be eliminated if ice rinks transition to electric zambonis. Since the zamboni isn't going very far, and is rarely used for more than 10 minutes every hour, keeping it charged would be no problem.

[@sqyrek478]

Can we cast Anthony in a reading rainbow reboot?

[@purplepowerranger23]

With the psych video, I want to say that the increase in physical power you feel when angry is one of those things you definitely can feel happen to yourself, even if there is no direct correlation through experimentation

[@Psilomuscimol]

I think it's because dopamine allows you to over exert yourself without feeling pain as bad.

[@piggybackride89]

Great Host!

[@Odysseus38]

Idk if its just me but as a hockey player I play better when im talking and smiling and having fun rather then getting super anxious and over thinking every play because its gotta be perfect Its a bit of the kevin holland affect if anyone watches ufc

[@thedevildick1]

Thank goodness for this channel. They make science fun!

[@Shaden0040]

Do a video on left handed people being forced to be right handed and how it causes dyslexia in those people.

[@holeshothunter5544]

I used to do that all of the time. I won 238 drag races at Baylands and more obscure places, I would be astride 'QIKR'N'U' a 1200 CC 200 Horsepower V-max Motorcycle. I designed and built much of it myself: I made a roaring snorting black and chime monster.. I would line up against some poor schnook (he would be poorer by a$100 in a few seconds!). I'd grab a handful of throttle and the front brake, and hit it. The ibike would roar once and jump 2 feet straight up in the air. The guy in lane 2? His face white he sat stunned or dead as I merrily took off when the light turned green. My nickname Holeshot Hunter was eon at that track thru psychology and sheer muscle. I won 2 trophies with that one run.

[@ReddCinema]

Thanks for the tips!

[@jandoel]

At this point, I assume everyone my circle will be as excited as I am to learn a new fun fact as I am. It would be pretty hard to put up with my nonsense otherwise 🤣

[@anyascelticcreations]

Interesting. I naturally have resting game face, unless I have reason not to. I do tend to do well at tasks that require dexterity or concentration. My dad has resting game face even more than I do. And he broke every sports record in his school without really trying. I'd believe that there's a connection.

[@JustanotherrandomTom]

How to be 1st: *Has “Push Notifications” on.

[@God-ld6ll]

i am omnitemporal though

[@wanderlustexcursion]

No alternate to Scieshow when it comes to science infoand research work

[@TheKrispyfort]

What's the correlation between ACE related head injuries (including being "shaken" as babies & early childhood), Schizophrenia, and CTE?

[@danmaier2824]

I always played better when I was relaxed, when I could smile at the other team while they got angry. Always played worse when I was angry

[@Psilomuscimol]

I thought when you break bones they grow back together with the hollow kinda filled in in the middle making them stronger.

[@ardellolnes5663]

Great. Never been huge on sports... But just in life... Quite a few concussions. Back degenerative disc from factory work. Had a 6" summer so sprains, sooo many. I work in house keeping so rotator cuff and carpal tunnel. Did gymnastics when I was little. I can say all of these repetitive injuries have caused chronic pain and stiffness. Aaaahhh track! Toe injuries! Yup. I'm gonna die Aaaahhh! Seriously tho, physical jobs, especially being a lot lighter than most guy's who are 6'1" means I had to throw myself into lifting my end because I weighed 165#, while the other guy is 6'0" 220#. It makes a difference. Walking miles and miles on concrete floors. A lot of repetitive motion, and throw in random injuries like that 500# pallet fell of scale on your foot, or that chain did not keep that steel on the gooseneck and crushes both hands, and it arctic. Both cause and effect. Falling on 3" lugs in a sawmill. Almost fell 30' to steel decks below. That guy cut boards too short so you accidentally staple hand building a crate. I'm really not accident prone. It's the jobs are that dangerous. So I went to housekeeping. My hands just open up, it's very physical, cardio, fast paced. But... Air conditioning is nice. Oh yeah heat exhaustion and fatigue. Did you say something about sports being dangerous? I agree, let's expand it to dangerous jobs

[@swedneck]

for people who want to simply build muscle i highly recommend renaissance periodization on youtube, they have very good advice that's based on proper science.

[@bjarulez]

In football ⚽️ being left footed is always good, people hate playing against them

[@darkangelprincess101]

I always use my game face when i do puzzles. Its a subconscious reaction

[@ezrakornfeld8436]

13:40 bold of you to assume we “all” have it. I personally was born with weak pituitary gland and at about age 6, it just stopped working. I was like 3 feet tall for a long time. Now I have to do a shot every day to supplement myself with HGH. My predicted eventual height will be about 5”10.

[@Psilomuscimol]

My ex wife's brother had that problem. He's still short.

[@embersofwolfenflame7346]

How does handedness work with ambidexterous individuals and athletes?

[@Psilomuscimol]

They have the benefit of changing hands or stances and surprising the opponent. Or if they're used to one way you do the other.

[@jimmyross1672]

why do i have to deal with joint pain and bleeding ulcers and i cant sleep because all i do is toss and turn all night long no joke i iltterly wake up like every 20 minutes and toss and turn and toss and turn all night long and i noticed i would wake up like littetyly ever 2 minutes so i dont get no sleep and its been like this for 10 years now lol i even went to the ER 4 times because of stomach problems and they still dont know whats wrong with me lol im 100 pounds and im 36 years old and yes all i do is eat all day so who knows

[@MS-iy4bb]

So, what am I missing here….. 7 pieces of a 100 piece puzzle…. In FiVE minutes?!?

[@JohnDrummondPhoto]

"ANGER IS AN ENERGY!!" - Public Image Limited, "Rise" Who knew, Zamboni Head © would actually be a thing. Yes, I'm copyrighting that. Talk about players hurting themselves celebrating: who can forget Kendry Morales hitting a walk-off grand slam, jumping on home plate, breaking his leg, and ruining his career. P.S. we miss Olivia.

[@dangerousflyer4485]

I can't stop thinking about the line from deadpool "your gonna get killed by a zamboni!!!"😂😂

[@CyberiusT]

/30 CENTIMETRES?!?!/ Jeez, man, I'm about ready for a fight if someone gets that close - without invitation, or obviously trying to overcome a noisy environment. Try more like 2 metres.

[@bballanalytics1552]

MLB has NO left-handed catchers, last one was in 1980... should have mentioned this.

[@ponyote]

R. Lee Ermie would be proud.

[@blackpackhomesteadchrisand7337]

Back in the Medieval times the would use left handed people to storm the castle towers, due to the spiraling stair case.

[@cornycornsnake]

Objection: Misleading title. This episode seems to be more about risks than about improvements.

[@stevenboykin116]

That's funny, I take propranolol and it doesn't do nothing for my shooting. I shake like a tree in a hurricane.

[@NoctisTheBogWitch]

I take propanolol as an off label mental health med.

[@Psilomuscimol]

Try memantine maybe.

[@NoctisTheBogWitch]

@@Psilomuscimol Why? It works lol. But thank you. Scishow did a video on how beta blockers help anxiety.

[@Fartucus]

Here's the simplified version to skip the video. Be born with great genetics. Thats it.

[@roberttolbert7002]

I hate to be that guy but we're the psychic studies replicated.

[@amyx231]

Sports are EXPENSIVE! If you want to have classes and stuff, it’s $1500-2000 a year (Ice skating season and martial arts year), or at least $300-500 (membership plus gear - and that’s early 2000s numbers). It’s not realistic to have more than maybe 2 sports. Families aren’t gonna be able to afford that.

[@jacktravers5049]

This just in: living life leads to deterioration of body

[@crazygamer56]

Cavitation

[@josef1858]

This should be called, "Nerds taking the fun out of sports" 😂 As an athlete I'm like, yikes. As a nerd I'm like, this is interesting 🤔

[@keepinitreal2908]

There is no last place...everybody is a winner....gag!

[@gabrielarock368]

Love you

[@edgyanole9705]

Bot

[@glenngriffon8032]

I miss Olivia

[@TheBigTripper420]

Boo hoo

[@SiLVERSERG]

after first.

[@TrejoS1.80.3.]

Noooooooooo

[@Mol0t0k]

Let’s be real here NFL only cares about one thing - MONEY.

[@matthewegeler]

Second

[@melissapyle7879]

The science kids teaching the jocks how to b better. 😆 Spoilers: be born with it..

[@Psilomuscimol]

Or artificially enhance yourself. Or even just lift weights and run.

[@LuukvdHoogen]

very interesting, please work a bit on your intonation. after a while I only hear a repeating 4-tone melody in your voice. just trying to help, keep it up

[@mastequila90prof]

I don’t agree I’m a professional boxer with over 23yrs of experience, over 150 amateur fights, and 12 professional boxing matches... I’ve faced lefty’s maybe 10 times. It’s known southpaw’s are awkward to fight because there isn’t enough of them out there…

[@Psilomuscimol]

One step to better athleticism: tren or any other testosterone increasing method.

[@kuntamdc]

By cheating .. good joke haha

[@Morbpious]

Bruh if you get within 30cm of someone I think they'd be pretty uncomfortable gameface or not

[@jimmyross1672]

lol also if your a shaky type of person then maybe you shoudlnt be handling a gun period lol

[@Ondrix]

Hard work and drugs.

[@midnightisnice]

Why don’t buildings turn into gigantic cookies like on those prison albums

[@charlieangkor8649]

Eat clen Tren hard Anwar give up.

[@Q269]

They can't use drugs to heal? Cmon

[@Psilomuscimol]

I'd sue. Healing isn't the same as cheating.

[@solotekle2999]

First

[@ramicollo]

💉

[@enterchannelname7623]

i came to booste my atletic ability not this i wasted 35 min come on

[@StitchesLovesRats]

Is it "transition to female" perchance?

[@Psilomuscimol]

Sex can't be changed. Unless you count sex as your genitals and not your chromosomes. But gender can be chosen freely.

[@StitchesLovesRats]

@@Psilomuscimol according to who?

[@combatjjforlife5304]

Be a male in female sports thats the easiest way

[@Kev376]

How to be a first place athlete in 2023. Be born male.

[@xVMouseVx]

If you are a man, say you're a women then you'll magically start winning

[@Psilomuscimol]

Woman

[@YouTubeviolatesmy1stamendment]

I'm really surprised that I didn't see this when I first come out I would have commented pretended to be a woman that'll get you first place you may not like it but it's true

[@Slow_o.O]

Train all your life to become a top 500 athlete then identifying as a female seems to be a good strategy... 😕🤷‍♂️