Now, this is going to sound a bit “out there,” but research shows that you can get stronger by watching someone work out.

Really!

I don’t mean working out yourself – I mean literally sitting and watching someone else do it.

Hear me out.

It’s a phenomenon known as action observation, and it taps into a specialized network in the brain called the Mirror Neuron System (MNS).

In one study, volunteers were asked to put an elastic band around two fingers and stretch them into a V-shape – 25 times, two sets, every other day for a couple of weeks.

Their strength improved by 50%. Makes sense.

But here’s the surprising bit:

Each time, someone else just sat opposite them and watched them do the exercise – nothing else.

No moving. Just watching.

Their strength improved by 32%.

Let that sink in.

How does that even happen?

When you observe an action, your MNS fires up and simulates the movement in your brain – as if you were doing it yourself. That’s what the “mirror” part of “mirror neuron system” refers to.

It’s not just in your head either. These simulated movements activate the neural circuits that control your muscles. And when those circuits are repeatedly activated – even passively – they strengthen the muscles too.

So in this case, just watching someone stretch their fingers literally made the observers fingers stronger.

How cool is that?

This has big implications – not just for strength, but also for recovery, mood, and skills development.

Why do our brains do this?

Long before we had complex language, our ancestors used gestures – facial expressions, body movements, and hand signals – to communicate feelings and intentions.

To truly understand others, our brains evolved a powerful system: the MNS. It allows us to understand what others are doing or feeling by internally “mirroring” them.

And today, it’s still doing that job – behind the scenes.

It’s why emotions are contagious.

Why we feel uplifted around happy people and uneasy around stressed ones.

Our brain mirrors the facial expressions we see and produces the associated feeling in us.

It’s not just empathy – it’s neurobiology.

How can we use this?

Let’s take stroke recovery.

In one study, all participants received daily physiotherapy over 4 weeks. But half were also asked to watch videos of able-bodied people doing everyday movements for 30-minutes after each session.

Both groups had the same physio.

But the action observation group recovered faster and showed greater improvements.

It works in sports, too. 

In a study of golf putting, one group practiced 60 putts a day for three days. Another group practiced just 30 putts a day, and spent the other half of their time watching an expert do 30 perfect putts. 

After three days, the second group – those who did action observation – performed significantly better in testing, despite doing half the amount of physical practice. 

Try this

If there is a physical movement you’d like to improve?

• A tennis serve?
• A dance move?
• Rehabilitation after an injury?
• Even improving your mood?

Find a video of someone doing it – ideally an expert, not an amateur.

Your mirror neurons will reflect what you observe, so watch the best examples you can.

Watch the video at least 20 times a day if you can, and see what happens over a week.

Want to go deeper?

Watch my YouTube video where I dive further into the science and share some more examples.

References

 Elastic band study
 Stroke study
 Golf putting study