The mind-muscle connection

When it comes to strength training, you may have heard people refer to the “mind-muscle connection,” but what does that actually mean? For years I thought it simply referred to paying attention to and being aware of the target muscle you're working on. This was a way to filter out ambient noise and distractions in the gym that can affect the quality of your workout. As it turns out, I wasn't wrong, but the phrase encompasses much more. In fact, consciously, consciously thinking about moving a target muscle can actually strengthen the muscle without even training it. This may sound like science fiction, but research backs it up.

In a 2014 study at Ohio University's Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine led by lead researcher Brian Clark, 29 volunteers had their wrists wrapped in surgical casts for four weeks. Half of the participants were instructed to sit quietly and imagine flexing their immobile wrist for 11 minutes a day, five times a week. The other group did nothing. When all the casts were removed, the researchers found that the visualization group's wrist muscles were twice as strong as the control group's wrist muscles. (Clark et al., 2014).

This study builds on previous research conducted at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in 2002. In this three-month study, researchers had subjects in a group who physically exercised their pinky finger. Subjects in the second group were instructed to concentrate intensely on flexing the same finger but not moving it. The scientists took measurements of the finger muscle before, during and after each session. While the subjects who actually did the physical work increased their finger strength by an average of 53% at the end of the study, the participants who mentally focused on the images of flexing the finger increased strength by 13.5%, almost a third as much as the training group (Ranganthan et al., 2002).

While this research sounds intriguing in theory, who goes to the gym to exercise their little fingers? Fortunately, a recent study in theEuropean Journal of Exercise Physiologyprovides real-world relevance to the theory of the mind-muscle connection and an evidence-based explanation for the physical payoff for the mental efforts of your training.

The study examined whether focusing on specific muscles (chest and triceps) during the bench press could actually improve the performance of those muscles. Subjects performed the bench press under three different conditions: (1) without focusing on a specific muscle part; (2) while focusing on the contraction of the pectoralis major muscles; and (3) while focusing on flexing the triceps muscles. In each of these three circumstances, subjects performed the bench press at 20%, 40%, 50%, 60%, and 80% of their designated 1-rep maximum (1-RM). Results showed that muscle activity increased when lifters focused their attention on the two target muscles, but only up to 60% of their 1-RM (Calatayud et al., 2016).

Why only up to 60% 1-RM? Creating a mental connection with the muscle you are moving requires focus, attention and focus. This can only occur if you use weights that you can manage, such as: B. the range used in the study of 20 to 60% 1 RM. If you're lifting a weight at 80% of your 1-RM, your entire mental focus will likely be solely on increasing that weight rather than mentally connecting to the quality and intensity of the movement. However, while lifting a challenging yet manageable weight that is 20-60% of your 1-RM, you can mentally focus on the “quality” of the lift. This is the mind-muscle connection in action.

How do you practically create that mind-muscle connection when lifting? Try these two helpful tricks to promote a deeper mind-muscle connection:

1. Langsam bewegen. Konzentrieren Sie sich 2 Sekunden lang konzentrisch, halten Sie bei maximaler Kontraktion 1 Sekunde lang an und kehren Sie dann für 3 Sekunden exzentrisch in die Ausgangsposition zurück. Je mehr Zeit unter Spannung steht, desto mehr müssen Ihre Muskeln arbeiten und desto mehr Zeit müssen Sie sich mental verbinden die Muskelbewegung
2. Heben Sie mit geschlossenen Augen. Dies beseitigt nicht nur jegliche visuellen Ablenkungen, sondern vertieft auch die Verbindung zwischen Geist und Muskel, indem Sie die Kontraktion und Entspannung der Muskelfasern visualisieren können. Hinweis: Dies sollte nicht versucht werden, wenn Sie Gleichgewichtsstörungen haben, schwere Lasten heben oder eine Übung ausführen, für die Sie Hilfe beim Erkennen benötigen.

Try these techniques to improve your mind-muscle connection and see how these small changes in your training can lead to big changes in your results.

References

Calatayud, J. et al. (2016). Importance of the mind-muscle connection during progressive strength training.European Journal of Applied Physiology,116, 3, 27 – 33.

Clark, B.C. et al. (2014). The Power of the Mind: The Cortex as a Critical Determinant of Muscle Strength/Weakness.Journal of Neurophysiology112, 12, 3219-3226.

Ranganathan, VK et al. (2004). From mental strength to muscular strength – gaining strength through the use of your mind. neuropsychology,42, 7, 944 – 956

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