What Pianos, Free Throws, & Paddling During Covid Have in Common

Or better yet, why do I post entire downwind races on YouTube... knowing that most people have no interest in watching 1 hour or more of soundless race footage of someone else?

One word: Visualization

I only have so much room on my computer, so putting long videos of downwind runs on YouTube is just a way for me to free up space. But I will be watching them later. Next time I'm prepping for a downwind race or falling asleep on a plane to an event... those videos will be up on repeat. Because even if I am not engaged in the activity, if I watch the bumps in the video as if I'm paddling, then my brain doesn't care where I am or what I'm doing. It thinks we're riding those bumps.

In 1995 Dr. Pascual-Leone discovered that people visualizing how to play the piano learned a sequence just as well as those who actually practiced the sequence by hand. Neurologically, they had the same changes in their brain as people who practiced in real life (Link to study).

But that's small, what about bigger things that require more muscle?