Fitness Mantra: Swearing before exercise boosts stamina

Test subjects were asked to swear before either hopping on an exercise bike for an intense 30-second session, or gripping a device designed to measure hand strength. The volunteers were asked to use whatever swearwords they would use if, for example, they suffered a bang to the head. 

When compared with volunteers who were asked to say less emotionally charged, “neutral” words, the ones who swore performed better in both bike and handgrip tests. On the bikes, peak power was increased by an average of 24 watts, whereas bad language boosted grip strength by 2.1 kilograms on average. The bike group included 29 participants, whereas 52 people took the handgrip test. 

The findings, which build on previous research showing that cursing can increase tolerance to pain, were presented in Brighton at the British Psychological Society’s annual conference. But although the scientists had ideas as to what could drive the process, they have yet to rule for sure on the topic. Dr Richard Stephens, from the University of Keele, who led the study, said the strength gains seen by the scientists could be due to swearing stimulating the body’s sympathetic nervous system – “the system that makes your heart pound when you are in danger”. 

He also suggested that the discomfort of undertaking exercise may be relieved by the distraction of swearing. “It could be that it involves the pain relief effect we registered (in previous research). Pain perception and pain relief are quite complex things. Swear words have a distracting effect,” said Dr Stephens.