the mind-muscle connection - how it works

​We’ve all heard of the mind-muscle connection.
 
The idea first came around back in the 70s and was popularized by prominent bodybuilding figures such as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Frank Zane.
 
At the time (and even today), this sounded like nonsense to many people.
 
While we disagree that the mind-muscle connection is all that matters, it seems to be necessary.
 
Today, we’ll go over what it is and why it could be more important than most people imagine.

What Is The Mind-Muscle Connection?
 
The mind-muscle connection refers to our ability to feel our muscles work during an exercise. It’s about our conscious effort to cause a muscle contraction and to place the most amount of tension on a given muscle. This is the primary difference between lifting with intent and merely moving a weight from point A to point B.
 
For example, if you’re doing a curl and feel your biceps work, burn, and become pumped, that is an excellent example of the mind-muscle connection in action. On the other hand, if you’re simply going through the motions and can’t feel the correct muscles activate, then you’re not training as best as you can.
 
How The Mind-Muscle Connection Leads to Better Results
 
Have you ever found yourself training half-heartedly? Ever feel like you’re not training the correct muscle groups?
 
If that’s the case, then you probably also felt like you weren’t training to your best ability.
 
This is because establishing a better mind-muscle connection allows you to train the correct muscles better. For one, better muscle recruitment means that we can cause a higher stimulus and growth response.
 
Second, to form a good mind-muscle connection, you need to be more mindful. You need to engage your muscles on every repetition and be present. This itself is a huge plus and benefits our training.
 
Most people multitask during workouts, and that’s a huge mistake. They fill out their log, browse social media, look for music, time their rest periods, and talk to gym buddies – all at the same time. As you can imagine, this haphazard approach to training can’t possibly deliver the best results.
 
But, when you’re mindful, and you’re focused on the task at hand (lifting the weight correctly), you’re more aware of your performance and how well (or poorly) you engage your muscles. More importantly, you’re more mindful of your effort, and you tend to push yourself harder.
 
As a whole, to form a better mind-muscle connection, you need to be more mindful, which itself is hugely beneficial for the quality of your workouts.