Mind Muscle Connection Bodybuilding
Experienced bodybuilders who have been training with weights for at least 3 years need to understand the importance of the mind-muscle connection if they want to continue getting gains. It takes time to master, but essentially it is the ability to generate more force in a movement.
Whether this force is generated in order to complete a set with a selected weight or the completion of a 1RM (one rep max). The total force generated in order to complete a task is the mind muscle connection that you have with the muscle groups concerned.
From a single body-part movement like barbell curls to the compound lifts of power-lifters, all require that connection to generate a little extra force than you generated the last time you trained that body-part. The objective, using a light or a heavy weight, is to increase the amount of muscle fibers recruited and the extent of the contraction.
Ideally the targeted muscle will achieve 100% contraction, but that comes from practice. Knowing your muscles, where they are and how they contract will enable this process. It is more than just another training technique like forced reps or negatives, it is the relationship you have with your muscles.
The communication between what you want your muscles to do and how effectively they do it, is what sport is all about. Hand—eye co-ordination comes from this place in your brain that can quickly tell your muscles what to do. Bodybuilders take this a step farther by constantly testing this communication.
Sports science tells us that when the mind tells the body to do something, the brain will then release a chemical neurotransmitter to the muscles as quickly as possible. This neurotransmitter is called 'Acetylcholine' and serves to send messages to muscles.
Training aids like visualization techniques and motivational music and videos are just things that help you get to the gym. The workout and what you are thinking about when you are completing a set is going to reflect directly on the results that you get.
When the mind muscle connection is working on all cylinders it will fire up all the muscle fibers available in that body-part. It takes months and years of practice to perfect this relationship between mind and muscle. Increasing both the size and strength of a specific muscle group takes specific focus, if it easy everyone would have muscles.
Note: For more information on increasing the power of your mind read Dianetics by L. Ron Hubbard.