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Mind Muscle Connection
How to effectively gain a mind to muscle connection
This subject is one most dear to me. I believe this to be the number two thing in the sport of bodybuilding that separates the champions from the rest. It's literally what one could deem as "talent" in the sport. Hard work isn't talent, it's ethics. Genetics aren't talent, they are biology. Being able to connect your mind to your muscles and effectively contract every muscle fiber available is something that one must learn over time, and can become talented at. Focus can be obtained. Some may at first be better than others at this, but anyone with the right amount of focus and effort can improve this ability.
Keys for improvement
#1 - You must flex and pose in the mirror. You must practice squeezing and contracting your muscles. This must be something you do daily. Make it a habit to hit a double back bicep pose, a front quad, a most muscular pose focusing on pectoral contraction, a side triceps, a front lat spread, and calf contractions. Focus on getting the strongest contraction as possible, but be careful not to get a muscle spasm which can happen if you're completely dialed in. I've become so versed in this that I can contract most of my muscles hard enough to make them spasm.
#2 - Use light weight at first until you are sufficiently adept at developing the connection. As you reach the peak or top of the movement you should be squeezing and fully contracting or flexing in each repetition. It is impossible to do this if you're using too much weight. If all you're worried about is completing the rep, you're entirely missing the point of isolation training.
#3 - Look at your muscles while doing each rep. Use the mirrors at your disposal. No, you won't always be able to see every muscle, but for exercises like dumbbell curls you should be looking at each bicep as you reach the top of the repetition. A large part of mind-to-muscle is visual connection. Our eyes connect to our brain and your brain receives those images and sends out biological messages to your muscles. While you are staring at the muscle contract visualize it becoming larger and fuller of nutrient rich blood. You must visually connect.
#4 - Connect with touch. This is something that you may need a partner to help you with on some exercises. I do this very effectively with seated calf raises because it leaves my arms free to touch my calves while I contract them. I touch them in the precise areas I want them to grow in that way my mind connects with all the fibers. Yes, contraction is all or nothing.....but I find when I focus on a certain angle and connect my brain to that, I can get more fiber recruitment. One more example is going a one arm bicep curl on a preacher. While conducting the curl, touch your bicep with your free hand and pinpoint where you want and visualize the maximum peak to be.
#5 - You must have maximum concentration. This may be tough if you have a workout partner that likes to shoot the shit! I mean who doesn't like gossiping, talking about the hot chick doing Romanian dead lifts, or making fun of the guy bouncing the bench press barbell off his chest so hard you think he might pop a rib. That's all good and fun, but if you think you're going to get maximum contraction and mind to muscle connection doing that then your sorely misled. Every single repetition needs to be focused on to the maximum.
#6 - Have your partner count repetitions for you that way you can concentrate on the contraction and not the number. If you don't have a partner then I suggest that if your doing a set of 10, stop counting at 8 and do the next two repetitions very slowly while concentrating to the maximum without counting.
#7 - Your diet must be on point with the right nutrients, vitamins, and minerals to create maximum contraction. You can't expect to get a peak contraction if your body lacks the nutrients to contract properly.
Check Don’t Make These Mistakes in Your Workout for more advice.
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