The human mind, powerful enough to create space shuttles, discover penicillin and distract you in supposedly important meetings, also may be able to singlehandedly make your body stronger.

In a small study, people who imagined flexing their elbows for 15 minutes a day, five days a week had about a 13 percent gain in flexion strength after 12 weeks of doing it. People who didn't do these mental exercises didn't see any strength gains. It wasn't an anomaly: Another study found that people gained ankle-bending power just by thinking through exercises to strengthen it. But here's the thing: people who actually did the exercises improved even more (a 17 percent increase for the thinkers versus a 25 percent increase for the doers).

So, can you just sit around and think about exercise instead of doing it? Sort of. Our question is why you'd want to sit around and think hard about one muscle for 15 minutes when you can do an entire, whole-body strength routine in just 20 minutes a day! We suggest a hybrid: Do an actual, move-your-body strength routine, and think about it while you do it. Whether or not being mindful about your workout will boost your muscle power isn't yet known, but engaging your mind in what you're doing can help reduce stress. And we're pretty sure you have some of that you'd like to ditch.

The YOU Docs, Mehmet Oz and Mike Roizen, are authors of "YOU: On a Diet." Want more? See "The Dr. Oz Show" on TV (check local listings). To submit questions, go to www.RealAge.com. (c) 2010 Michael Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet Oz, M.D.

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