Research:

• When athletes visualise their training sessions, "Research shows that Imagining lights up identical parts of the brain that would be energised if you were actually working out", " when you vividily imagine... electrical and chemical changes occur in the body so that you actually activate some of the muscles involved. - Colleen Hacker, Muscle and Fitness Hers Oct 2004 by Michele Bender.
  
• He controlled his body in ways most people could hardly grasp. "Mentally most people have no connection with their muscles," he reflected (Arnold Schwarzenegger).
  When he worked out, Arnold used a technique of visualization. He saw in his mind's eye what his muscles should be like, basing the picture on another bodybuilder, an image he had seen somewhere else, or an exaggerated version of his own reality. And then he worked until he had turned that vision into a precise, physical reality. He did this first of all with bodybuilding, but it was the essential technique he applied to all aspects of his life.
  'Fantastic' - The life of Arnold Schwarzenegger by Laurence Leamer.
  
• by Tom Platz (former Mr Universe)
  When I first entered the realm of serious bodybuilding, I visualized myself as "Mr. Michigan". In my quiet moments, I would say out loud, "Tom Platz - Mr. Michigan". Over my bathroom mirror, I had a note that said, "You are looking at the future Mr. Michigan -- and the Universe". Oddly enough, I felt this visualization actually produced a mental stress on my muscles that caused them to respond as dramatically as physical exercise.
  You may have heard me comment that muscle growth begins in the mind. I absolutely believe that is true.
  
• The volunteers who thought about exercise showed 13.5 per cent increase, and maintained that gain for three months after the training stopped. A separate group who did not do mental training, showed no improvements.

• How to use meditation to take your mind and body to new heights
  To the aggressive competitor, the perceived image of meditation seems in total contradiction to the smash-mouth mind-set so prevalent in modern athletics.
  Meditation, when properly applied, can propel your physical progress into the stratosphere. And you need nothing but a few simple guidelines. Yet athletes so intent on training every muscle, so methodical in their approach ignore the critical mind/body link and then lament their stagnation. Mental mastery eludes them and their progress grinds to a halt.
  In the martial arts world, meditation has a 1,000-year-old track record as a performance aid. T'ai chi ch'uan, karate, kendo, aikido and judo are just a few of the martial arts that use meditation before practice and competition. And, believe me, the practitioners are not meditating for any touchy-feely space-cadet rationale. They meditate because they perform better as a result.
  Written by: Marty Gallagher (1994 National Powerlifting Champion in the 242-pound class (Masters division). He was the '92 World Champion. He has practiced meditation for 22 years and a student of martial arts for 20. ) Originally featured in: Muscle & Fitness
  
• Dr Guang Yue, an exercise physiologist at Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Ohio, unveiled these results at the Society of Neuroscience. He explained the muscles move in response to signals from nearby nerve cells called motor neurons.
  That suggests you can increase muscle strength solely by sending a larger signal to motor neurons from the brain”, said Dr Yue.
  
• 'Unless my mind triggers the will to improve my physique, it won't happen. Essentiall, the mind is the master potentiator in bodybuilding.' - Tom Platz, Mr Universe, 'Pro-style Bodybuilding', Sterling Publishing co., Inc.