This post is all about improving your mind-muscle connection.
When you’re in the middle of a set, what’s going through your mind? Are you thinking about an important issue at work, or an argument you had with the Mrs the night before?
Or perhaps you’re simply trying to get through the required number of reps.
If this is you, I’ve got some strategies below to help you develop your Mind-Muscle Connection (MMC) and maximize all your workouts.
Staying focused when you’re training isn’t always easy, especially if you’ve had a stressful day.
Sometimes it feels like you’re just going through the motions. Right? We’ve all been there.
Your mind starts to wander and your thoughts drift to endless other things, except the muscles being worked.
Therefore, one of the greatest things we can help you with at GTW is helping you master the most important secrets to training success, the mind-muscle connection.
We don’t have time to waste. If we can only train for 15 minutes per session, 3 days per week, then we need to make sure those 45 minutes are mega-effective.
For that to happen, you need to be seriously committed to feeling every single rep, deep in your target muscles.
Too many people get obsessed with just completing the reps. Or pushing too much weight instead of thinking about the muscles being worked.
Your muscles don’t develop because your body or the weight is moving up and down. They grow because they’re forced to contract by acting on that weight. They grow when your muscles fight gravity.
If you maximize the force placed on your target muscles, you will maximize your workouts and maximize your gains.
What Is The Mind-Muscle Connection?
When you’re completing a rep, a signal is sent by the brain to your muscles telling them to contract. The more you can improve this communication, the more muscle fibres you will engage in performing your rep. Each muscle head is made up of many individual muscle fibres. By improving your MMC, you will increase the number of muscle fibres being used during each rep. This produces a better quality muscle contraction. Therefore, better gains.
Why Is the Mind-Muscle Connection So Important?
Let’s go back to the workout timing I previously mentioned. We can only train for 15 minutes per session 3 days per week.
Guy # 1 has a lot on his plate at work. And to make matters worse, his teenage son just got in trouble with the police for shoplifting. When he’s going through his workout, his mind isn’t on the job. As he completes his sets, he’s rushing to get through them. Barely focusing on his training. He’s working at 30% effectiveness.
So, out of his 45 minutes training for the week, only 15 minutes count, or one session. The other two are wasted. Not many gains achieved.
Guy # 2 also has a lot on his plate at work. His Mrs has been in a bad mood all week, and it feels like she’s taking it out on him. But guy #2 leaves his problems at the door. This is his gym time.
He focuses his mind on every single rep. He feels the contraction burn inside his muscles. He slows down every rep to help his concentration. He’s achieving a maximum pump from every set. Between sets, he “talks” to his muscle as he contracts the target muscle he’s working. His mind and muscles have an excellent relationship. A close bond.
From his 45 minutes that week, he achieved maximum gains. He’s ready to progress to the next step in his physique’s development.
Your training time is limited my friend. So it’s essential you get the maximum benefit from every session, even if you only have 15 minutes to train.
You must be Guy #2.
Developing your mind-muscle connection can be your ‘secret weapon’ of training success. The secret weapon which helps you achieve such terrific gains in your new physique in such a short time.
All because you worked hard to maximize every rep. Every workout. And you mastered the mind-muscle connection.
5 Ways to Improve Your Mind-Muscle Connection
Boost your muscle growth potential by focusing on every rep as you’re training with these 5 mind-muscle connection strategies…
1.Focus on Training Your Muscle
Don’t focus on lifting the weight or completing the required number of reps.
Make sure you know exactly which muscle/s you are targeting. Talk to them if you have to. This is the correct mindset you need for every training session.
If you have a set of diamond push-ups to perform, think about which area of the chest you need to engage to complete each rep.
This is vital in your quest for a mega-effective workout. Keeping your mind strong, and its connection to your muscles is how you get stronger. And get maximum benefit from every minute of training.
2.Visualize Growth in Your Muscles
There’s a reason pro bodybuilders look in the mirror when they’re training. And it’s not about being vain. The mirror helps them connect their mind with the target muscles being trained.
If you’re doing bodyweight training out in the garden, you probably don’t have a mirror. But you can still visualize your muscles. Feel them working. Feel the blood flooding into your muscles. Feel the pump. Think about how the muscles are working while you’re completing the rep.
3. Slow Down Your Reps
One of the most beneficial ways to maximize all your workouts, and your mind-muscle connection is to slow down all your reps.
This is a very effective method to increase time under tension (TUT). And very good for improving your mind-muscle connection.
When you perform your reps slower, you can get a much better feel for how your muscle is working and stretching from start to finish.
For example, when you’re doing push-ups, you don’t want to let gravity drop your chest to the floor. You want to engage your muscles to fight gravity every inch of the way down.
Likewise, when you’re doing pull-ups. It’s so easy to just let your body drop to the bottom of the movement. Unless you fight gravity, and engage the muscles, you’re losing most of the benefits of the exercise. And you will only see minimal gains.
All your workouts will be much more effective with slower reps and you’ll know for sure that your muscles are working. You will reach failure sooner with this style of training. And you might find you need more rest days. This is a great sign you’re starting to master the mind-muscle connection.
4. Use Warm-Up Sets and Air-Sets
Another way to help you communicate better with the target muscles is to do warm-up sets or ‘air sets. Depending on the exercise, let’s say you’re working dumbbell curls…
If you’re in a gym, grab a very light pair, and complete a slow set, really working the contraction. If you’re at home and only have one set of dumbbells, you can do the same procedure with no dumbbell in your hand. Just imagine you have a heavy weight. Go through the full procedure of a dumbbell curl. Extend. Contract. Squeeze your muscle hard at the top. Release. Really feel the muscle contracting and stretching on each rep.
5. Flex in Between Sets
Take a few seconds between sets to squeeze the muscles you’ve been working. Let’s say you’ve been doing some bodyweight squats or pistol squats. Once you finish the set, straighten one leg, and really flex your quads for a few seconds. Hold that contraction. Now switch legs.
Try to feel every muscle in your quads. It’s a simple way to improve your mind’s relationship with every muscle you’re working.
Final Thoughts on Mind-Muscle Connection
You can train 5 or 6 days per week, for an hour each time, but if your mind-muscle connection is not working properly, you’ll never reach your full potential.
You must get in the ‘zone’ when you’re training. The effectiveness of all your workouts will be enhanced when you can mentally block out any life distractions.
Try not to let your mind wander when you’re working out. You must train hard. You must focus on the contraction of every rep.
When you develop your mind-muscle connection skills, you’ll make serious gains.
At this stage of your life, you don’t have time to mess about. There’s no point in training, if you’re not working your muscles effectively.
Don’t waste another training session.
Master the mind-muscle connection and make the massive gains in your physique you know you want.
Keep training hard (mentally & physically),
Greg ‘Take No Prisoners’ Noland
CEO & Founder
Grey Top Warriors
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