Key Points:
- Swearing during workouts boosts focus, confidence, and endurance by reducing mental barriers.
- Benefits come from mindset changes, not direct strength gains.
- Effective, but should be used in context-appropriate settings.
Swearing during physical effort can improve strength, focus, and confidence, according to psychologists who found that timed expletives helped volunteers exercise longer by increasing psychological flow and reducing mental restraint.
Researchers say the effect is not about shock value or anger, but about how socially charged language changes attention and self-belief during demanding tasks. The findings appear in a new study published Thursday in American Psychologist.
Swearing Linked to Longer Physical Endurance
The research was led by Richard Stephens, a psychologist at Keele University in the United Kingdom, who has spent more than a decade studying the mental and physical effects of swearing.
“In many situations, people hold themselves back, consciously or unconsciously, from using their full strength,” Stephens said. “Swearing during workouts is an easily available way to help yourself feel focused, confident, and less distracted, and go for it a little more.”
In the new study, 192 adult volunteers were asked to perform chair pushups while repeating either a swear word of their choice or a neutral word every two seconds. Participants continued until they could no longer maintain the exercise.
Those who swore were able to perform the pushups for a significantly longer time than those who used neutral words, Stephens said. The result mirrors earlier findings linking swearing to improved tolerance of pain, including keeping a hand submerged in ice water.
“That is now a well-replicated, reliable finding,” Stephens said. “The question we wanted to answer was how swearing during workouts helps.”
Psychological Flow May Explain the Effect
After completing the exercise, participants filled out surveys measuring their mental state during the task. The questions assessed confidence, distraction, humor, emotional positivity and disinhibition, as well as psychological flow.
Psychological flow is the feeling of being fully absorbed in an activity, with a strong sense of focus and enjoyment. It is commonly associated with peak performance in sports, work and creative tasks.
The researchers found that participants who swore reported higher levels of flow, confidence and focus than those who used neutral words. The team believes the emotional charge of socially designated swear words helps reduce self-consciousness and mental barriers that limit effort.
“Swearing during workouts may act as a shortcut to that focused state where people stop holding back,” Stephens said.
The study did not find evidence that swearing increased physical strength directly. Instead, the benefits appear to come from changes in attention and mindset that allow people to use more of their existing capacity.
Low-Cost Tool With Broad Implications
Stephens said the findings help explain why swearing is so common across cultures and situations involving stress or effort.
“Swearing is literally a calorie-neutral, drug-free, low-cost, readily available tool at our disposal when we need a boost in performance,” he said.
The authors suggest the effect could have practical implications beyond the gym. Potential applications include athletics training, physical rehabilitation and situations where people need to overcome hesitation or discomfort.
In the study, the researchers caution that context still matters. Swearing may be socially inappropriate or harmful in some settings, particularly workplaces or public spaces with strict norms.
The team also emphasized that the research focused on voluntary, self-chosen swearing during effort, not verbal abuse directed at others.
Still, the authors said the findings support the idea that swearing during workouts can serve as a simple psychological intervention when peak performance is required.
“When used appropriately, swearing during workouts may help individuals not hold back,” Stephens said.
For people facing a particularly strenuous workout or stressful task, the researchers say a well-timed swear word might offer more than momentary relief.
The raised eyebrows, they added, may be the only real downside.
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