Thread: Mind-muscle connection

Cany say i know to much about it heard a little bit. All i do when lifting i try to concentrate on the musle i want to target and then try to imagine that muscle growing with every lift. Takes a bit of concentration but i seem to get a better feeling of 'yeah i worked that' the next day (you know muscle soreness) Hope this helps a bit

Go check out Frank Zane's site.. he was really big into that... Meditating.. he also sells those glasses... Go check it out:


http://www.frankzane.com/

Good Luck

When you first begin lifting, a lot of what occurs is not actually strength, it is neurological connections being established, effectively teaching your body how to lift the weight. This is why newcomers often experience large "strength" gains in the first 3-4 weeks of lifting. As for beyond that, the mind-muscle connection is basically being able to focus on the muscles you are lifting with and making sure that all of your lifting energy is directed into those muscles only. Concentrating on strict form, and often visualizing (or watching) the actual muscle working is a great way to isolate these muscles and allow them all of the stress they need. For example, squeezing the back muscles while doing a barbell row and making sure you are directing all your energy towards lifting with those muscles rather than your arms or shoulders.

Muscle mind connection will also help to keep you focused

Great thread !! I'm a firm believer that visualization is very important in mind / muscle cooperation. Mostly by thinking about how your muscles are doing an exercise while executing it. For example, BO rows I think of my arms as only helpers (hooks if you will) that are holding the weigh while I concentrate on using my back to do it all. Of course no one can totally isolate your back doing bo rows but it does help to visualize. Another way to visualize is to just look in the mirror and pose, think of what you want a muscle to look like and work on it. Obviously looking in the mirror isn't gonna make you grow but knowing what your goals are will.

TJohn

You guys really think that the mind-muscle connection can be "taught"?

Originally posted by The_Chicken_Daddy
You guys really think that the mind-muscle connection can be "taught"?

Yes, but only by a Jedi! FEEL THE FORCE!

Absolutely I think it can be taught. The mind can adapt to any situation given the proper stimulation. It simply takes a certain level of focus. It is very DIFFICULT to teach, in my experience however, TCD.

it can't be taught, it comes from experience in the gym...

Not to rain on any parades, but mind-muscle connection is not something that can be taught as much as it is something that can be learned, if you get my meaning.

Also, in its truest sense, it is not a mediation/visualization sort of thing. Actually it is quite simple. It is the ability to FEEL the individual muscle that is being worked. Remember when you fist started lifting and you didn't know what a pump was? But now you can FEEL your chest contract? I'll bet you can feel your chest contract and increase its pump better on some exercises than others right? Or better yet, how long did it take before you ever FELT your lats when doing pulldowns? Many people probably still don't feel them work.

Anyway, that is mind muscle connection and yes you develop it over time utilizing proper weights and strict form. It can be taught, however, in the sense that visualization, etc may aid in achieving the connection.

I have a better question!

Is there truely such a thing as a "mind-muscle connection"? If so, how do you know?

Isn't that the same question? Just phrased in a different way?

Originally posted by ponyboy
Isn't that the same question? Just phrased in a different way?

No. The original question inferred that it does exist and he asked how to learn/build it.

i think that there is such a thing....best example for me is lats. when i started training i did the pull downs b/c that's what i was shown to do. but i didn't "get it" (the mind muscle connection)

it was going through the motions. i didn't know how to contract them more at the bottom of the movement etc.

then one day - i got it. like a light bulb going on. i never felt my lats before. you know it when you get it.

i think posing can help with this.

IMHO, posing can definitely help. It forces you to think about the muscle you are flexing to get it to stand out. You can also watch it and get the feel for when it is contracting. While this isn't the same as when you are actually lifting, at least you can get a feel for it.

I do hope I can learn how to do this mind-muscle connection, ie, as ponyboy says, "being able to focus on the muscles you are lifting with and making sure that all of your lifting energy is directed into those muscles only". I think this is very important in order to make the exercises effective, instead of just doing the motions without effectively targeting the main muscles.

In my experience, I have no problem feeling my biceps and quads working, but very difficult to feel my chest and back. I think I can feel them contracting when I use no weight at all (simulating the movements empty handed), but as soon as I use some weight, I can lift the weight but can't seem to feel the muscles doing the lifting. I think I may have used too much of the synergist muscles or something, but can't find a way to shift the energy from those synergists to the main muscles. I've also tried to use my imagination (visualization), but does not seem to work as well, that's why I thought maybe there is some tricks or twist of form or something that I must learn or get used to in order to physically put more stress on the appropriate muscles.

- Josh