[POWERJIM]

Improve your mind-muscle connection: get out of the gym in half the time with these five steps that put some brain behind your brawn - Smart Training

by Dwight Sidney

Be honest. Your mind does wander during the day--maybe toward images of sharing a hot tub with the Hilton sisters, or throwing down a nasty one-hand tomahawk on Yao Ming's dome. Hey, you're a guy, and it's only normal to let your thoughts drift in and out of fantasyland every once in a while (or, more accurately, every 5.3 seconds). However, it should also be noted that not all times are appropriate for allowing your mind to roam freely through the world of millionaire blonde sisters. Your wedding, for one example. Or your workout, for another--not if you want tangible results from time spent pushing and pulling iron.

"The single most important aspect of training is the ability to master the mind-muscle connection," says professional bodybuilding champion Milos Sarcev, creator of the popular training video True Bodybuilding. "Too often, the sole objective of trainees is to move the weight from point A to point B in an effort to complete a certain number of reps. Seldom is the targeted muscle really felt when all the emphasis is placed on the weight being used rather than on the muscle itself."

You don't need to be a professional bodybuilder to master the MMC and all the benefits that accrue from it; you just need to understand the main function of each muscle during any given exercise. Once you're able to focus on the body part you're training and make it feel what you want it to feel, each rep suddenly becomes more productive. Your body will respond by getting more muscular and stronger before you know it. And you'll eventually spend less time working out and more time hanging out with women who look like Nicky and Paris Hilton.

1 SLOW IT DOWN

The last thing you want to do when you're trying to learn the MMC is rush through each exercise. Take your time. The goal for each rep should be to slowly lower the weight and feel yourself working the muscle, instead of just trying to finish your set. Sarcev advises using slower reps, especially when starting out or getting back into a program.

"Basically, all you need to do is lower the weight in five seconds and take another five seconds to bring it back up," he says. "By not using any momentum and not relaxing during the lowering phase, all your concentration will be focused on the muscle you're working and not the object you're moving."

2 FLEX SOME MUSCLE

Challenge yourself by trying to flex a variety of different muscles throughout your body. While this seems easy enough, the trick is to contract only one muscle at a time. Left pectoralis, right pectoralis, right rear delt, lateralis portion of the quadriceps, upper abs, lower lats, and so on. Once you're able to accomplish the task of flexing one particular muscle without contracting surrounding muscle groups, you've mastered the mind-muscle connection. From this point forward, you will always be able to feel every muscle you're working.