Mind Body Connection Weight Lifting
You don't have to be training for a long time to first realize the importance of the mind body connection when doing a movement. Over the last hundred years there have been many experts who showed anecdotal proof that the more a muscle can be controlled the stronger it would be.
Going to the gym just to complete the required sets and reps without thinking about what you are doing is certainly not going to have the same benefit as concentrating on every movement. Peak contraction of a muscle does not happen only because of the weight lifted.
Muscle isolation takes a specific focus on what you are doing. For example when doing a simple movement like barbell curls, your triceps are the antagonist in this movement and are still being worked. Effective muscle isolation will attempt to totally relax the triceps as the biceps lifts the weight.
This takes time, effort and practice to perfect, beginners should always be trying to isolate a specific muscle group when doing any movement. Many years ago a researcher called Maxick wrote that his and other volunteers he had studied conclusively prove the ability to control any muscle contraction including relaxation will be the only factor that determines strength.
From hand-eye coordination when playing sport to lifting a weight, the ability to contract or relax a muscle means strength and is directly connected to the neural muscular pathways created when training correctly. All of this will only happen when you think about what you are doing.
The body-mind connection or the muscle-mind connection cannot be overstated when doing any movement. Obviously the chances of getting injured when doing a movement without thinking about what you are doing is a major concern, but more importantly is the tension you create by thinking about the muscle being worked.
Sports science has proven to us that muscle grows because of the time under tension (TUT). Tension is the key when trying to get the muscle to respond, we need to always make sure we are concentrating on what we are doing. Talking with your friend while doing sets and reps will not get results, you need to think about the tension on a specific muscle group.
Note: For more information on the power of your mind read Dianetics by L. Ron Hubbard.
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