Improve your mind-muscle connection

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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.

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3 LIFT LESS

To maintain the best possible form and really concentrate on the targeted muscle, it's best to start out using less weight than you normally do. With the reduced weight, you'll be much more likely to perform all your reps using perfect form. If you find yourself struggling at any point, don't hesitate to further reduce the weight. For the sake of progress, it's essential to put your ego aside and focus on the muscle you're targeting. Once you become familiar with "feeling" the particular muscle working, you can gradually up the weight. Just be sure the increase is gradual to ensure good form at all times.

4 MINIMIZE YOUR TRAINING TIME

Believe it or not, many experienced bodybuilders only train for 30-minute clips per session, concentrating all their attention on just a single body part at a time. These condensed routines deliver tremendous results to the pros, and they can work for you, too. Plus, training in this fashion, you'll not only cut your workout time in half, you'll also make greater strides toward mastering the MMC.

5 PLAY THE ISOLATION GAME

This principle incorporates all the techniques previously mentioned and is perhaps the most crucial to mastering the mind-muscle connection. To really feel the muscle being worked, it's imperative to isolate it. "It's about squeezing the muscle and exerting complete control over every inch of the movement," explains Sarcev. "For the isolation technique to be effective, your form must be perfect from the first rep to the last."

Let's go to the example: If you're doing biceps curls, be sure to use a weight that compels you to use only your biceps during the entire movement. Sarcev recommends performing these concentrated biceps curls without using any weight at first.

"By slowly contracting the biceps as hard as you can in both concentric and eccentric portions of the exercise for 20 reps, you'll be shocked by the feeling of an incredible biceps pump," he says. "And, most amazing of all, no weight is needed. By taking away the object [in this instance, a dumbbell], there is nothing there to occupy your mind, so you're forced to focus on the targeted muscle [the biceps] and nothing else. This isolation technique can be applied to almost every muscle in the body. The key is to use no resistance [free weights, cables, etc.] in the beginning, and to squeeze your muscles as hard as you can for 20 repetitions."

by Dwight Sidney Men's Fitness

[T-rav]

Aint dat the Truth^^ tbh my workouts last hour n half or so..










-LeRoy

------Until then, you'll live in shadow, in the darkness, in a place few will ever see.... Where ugliness becomes beautiful