4 Tips for Improving the Mind-Muscle Connection

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In strength training, it’s important to practice mind-muscle connection. Any PT will tell you that you should be aware of what your body is doing or otherwise “listen to your body”. This is the mind-muscle connection, and it’s a great motivator for getting you through your workout and making you push yourself harder every time. Take a look at our tips for improving the mind-muscle connection so you have a successful workout every time.

Focus on the muscle, not the weight

The first step is to realign your thinking. When it comes to strength training, don’t think about lifting a certain amount of kgs, but that your arms are going to prove themselves when you do. Focus on what you have to do to complete the rep in minute detail to be able to finish whenever you find yourself struggling.

Use the mirrors

We are visual learners. The sky is blue because we (or most of us) see blue when we look into the sky. It took centuries before scientists could “see” that the sky is in fact transparent.

But back down on earth, we need to see progress in our work. And progress is slow, so it’s hard to see. This is one reason why gyms are full of mirrors. Sure, you can check your form, but you can also see that your targeted areas are starting to look how you want them to. You will also see an improvement if you consider using supplements and steroids. Reseach online using the search term “online steroids Canada” to find trusted suppliers and online stores.

You can watch your muscles working and see for yourself that the work you are doing is having an effect.

Try several sets of singles

Strength trainers talk in “reps” and “sets”. You want to do “X amount of reps in a set” and “however many sets”. That’s the standard and it’s useful because it allows your body some rest time in between. You will assure that you don’t over exercise any particular targeted area and thereby assure that you still have use of them the next day without pain. Ever gone too hard on arm day and can’t reach into the cabinet the next day?

Well, another way to circumvent that is to do continuous singles. If you maybe want to make sure you can feel the muscles working, rather than getting through a set, you can do a rep, stop, do a rep, stop and keep going in that direction until the rep is done, or you are.

Try meditation

Basic meditation is about strengthening the bond between your body and mind. You are supposed to focus on what your body is doing, mainly your breathing and heart rate in order to quieten your mind. It will lower stress and help you identify pain.

However, no one said you can’t mix in identifying good pain into the mix by focussing on what your muscles are doing in between reps. No one is asking you to sit cross-legged with your hands out in the gym, though no one should judge you if you choose to, but if you’d rather just take your rests on the machine as a quiet moment to close your eyes and really focus on your breathing, your heart rate, and your targeted muscles to calm yourself and get ready for the next set of reps.

You can find a more detailed idea of what meditation can do and its benefits here, and you might find a lot of benefits beyond the physical in your everyday life.