By Joseph Fradelakis
Greetings fellow mutants!
A topic I would like to discuss is the mind-muscle connection. It is often an overlooked subject and it shouldn't be. So drop down and give me 20! Now get up and pay attention.
Many times, especially at commercial gyms, trainees go through the motions of the exercise while their mind is in la-la land. They simply go through a workout like a zombie, doing their curls (weaklings! start dead-lifting!) while thinking about who is going to get kicked off American idol tonight. They are also the same people who break in half like a kit-kat bar when confronted with a heavy weight. So if you didn't laugh at all during the last paragraph, then you are one of these people, read on!
Never underestimate the power of the mind. It is capable of extraordinary things. It can take your body to unheard of levels, in terms of building muscle or performing amazing feats. If you think Arnold Schwarzenegger was thinking about tonight's episode of Tila Tequila while lifting, I want what you're smoking. You have to engage the muscle while lifting, focusing on what you are working on very hard. In this way you will see the best results.
You sometimes hear athletes talk about the zone. What is this mythical place they're talking about? Let me tell you, its not mythical, it's very real. It comes with extreme focus. It is like a meditative state while actively participating in your chosen sport. It's Wilt Chamberlain scoring over 100 points a game, it's Joe Lewis in a karate tournament. It's Bruce Lee against Bob Wall in Enter the Dragon. It's that feeling like you are one with your activity, just doing without thinking but at the same time completely unattached from it. OK enough Zen, it is extreme focus! Period.
When you apply this to lifting weights, you start to do certain things correctly automatically. You match your breathing pattern to the rhythm of your lifts. You activate the proper muscles for the lift keeping perfect form. You are able to tense significantly harder resulting in heavier lifts. Watch a power lifter go for a world record lift and you'll see what I mean. In order to do this, deliberately contract the muscles you are working on while you lift. This will teach you muscle control, the ability to contract muscles at will in isolation. As an example, let's take your barbell curl that you all love so much. Most people will do whatever it takes to lift the barbell from the bottom extended position to the top contracted position. Instead, contract your biceps, don't use your back, concentrate on the muscles that are intended to be doing the exercise and make those muscles do the work. If you can't do that, maybe the weight is too heavy, or maybe your mind is still wandering. Lower the weight if need be, concentrate on the muscles being worked, and control the weight through the whole range of the movement.
One way to help train this is to lift the weights in a very slow manner. Because you are not jerking the weight around, you will be forced to pay attention to the tension of your muscles. Take 6 seconds to raise the barbell, and another 6 to lower it. That will make you pay attention because you won't be worrying about slinging the weight around to make another rep. Of course don't do this for all the reps for every workout, but use it to learn how to focus on the muscle at hand. Sure you will have to lower the weight to do this, but ego's are a great hindrance to all progress. So like the waffle commercial "Leggo your eggo!" I mean ego. Hehe. Learn what it feels like to feel the muscle doing the work. Learn what it feels like to activate your lats during a pull-up. Learn to control your muscles.
Follow this advice, as it is not just words on a page. Focus is the difference between victory and defeat in every sport, and bodybuilding is no different.
Joseph Fradelakis
[mailto:joeyfrad@gmail.com]joeyfrad@gmail.com [http://www.joefradelakis.com]
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