Completing the Circuit: The Mind to Muscle Connection

Kai Greene said it best: "I will never be a weightlifter." The number 2 bodybuilder in the world was refering to the idea of viewing the weights as tools rather than as opponents. The best bodybuilders in the world walk in the gym with one goal; taxing the muscle fibers as much as possible. Simply showing up and going through the motions will never lead to massive muscle growth. One of the most crucial concepts and one of the most talked about subjects in the bodybuilding world is the "mind to muscle connection". This concept refers to the ability to command individual muscles or muscle groups independently. In our day to day lives we constantly activate thousands of muscle fibers in sequence to complete tasks. However it is rare that we isolate a particular muscle or group of muscles. Even tasks as simple as brushing your teeth activate the deltoid, biceps brachii, triceps brachi, pectoralis major and many others. We don't naturally develop the ability to activate individual muscles because we are not conditioned to do so. In order to recruit the maximum number of muscle fibers in a working muscle we must develop the ability to isolate that muscle and connect the circuit of mind and body. At first it can be very difficult to build this connection, but with time and a few tricks anyone can command their muscle to work.

The first step is creating muscle awareness, that is your mind's recognition of an individual muscle group. In order to do so; check your ego! Lower the weight and perform exercises in a slow controlled fashion. Each rep visualize which muscles are contracting and squeeze the target muscles as hard as possible. This form will gradually make your mind more concouisly aware of individual muscles. As you start to operate muscles independently it becomes increasingly important to move a high volume of blood and nutrients to the working tissues. This involves a little bit of exercise science. One of the most important factors is increasing your total blood volume. By doing so you will increase the volume that is available to the target areas. I typically drink close to a gallon of water during the day before I lift in the evening. Another useful technique is using your body's thermoregulation system to channel blood to the muscles. When your body is warm it sends blood away from the vital organs. The blood vessels dilate and fluids are diverted to the tissues in the extremities. By layering up your clothes you can move more blood to the target muscles. An added bonus to the effects of layered clothes, is that the muscles become more pliable and therefore less prone to injury. Now that you have those guns filled to capacity its time to flex like arnold! Between sets hit a few poses. By doing so you will keep that pumped up feeling and build the phsycological connection with your body. Don't mind your fellow gym goers sizing you up in the mirror, you're here to improve not impress.

Next time you hit the gym try these simple techniques for building your mind to muscle connection. Pump the guns full of blood, heat them up, and pose like you're Mr. Olympia. Simply put; a muscle you control is a muscle you can grow!

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