Can strengthening the mind-muscle connection between your brain and your muscles help you get better results from weight training? Resistance training and building strength is more than just how much weight you can lift and how many reps you can do. Ultimately, the drive to lift ANY weight comes from your brain. It’s your brain that gives the “lifting orders” and your muscles comply. Who’s going to deny the “big guy upstairs?”
Is there evidence to support the idea that “mind power” can help you build strength? You bet there is. In fact, some research shows you can develop strength without moving a muscle. Sound too good to be true?
In a study published in the journal Neuropsychologia, researchers asked individuals to visualize abduct their little finger without physically doing it. A second group mentally flexed their elbow using only the power of their mind. Both groups did this type of mental training for 15 minutes 5 days a week for 12 weeks. A third group served as a control.
At the end of the 12-week period, the first group experienced a 35% increase in strength in the little finger while the second group improved elbow flexion strength by 13% – all through mind power alone. The researchers also measured brain activity in the participants over the course of the study. They found that the participants showed higher activity in the cortex of the brain, suggesting the brain was working harder to activate the muscles the participants were working mentally. Mental visualization and conditioning actually boosted muscle activation. Oh, the power of the mind!
So compelling is the link between mind and muscle that some fitness trainers teach muscle activation techniques, the goal of which is to encourage greater muscle firing by strengthening mind-muscle pathways. The idea is to refine the mind-muscle signal to get the muscles firing properly. It makes sense, doesn’t it? Every muscle movement ultimately comes from your brain.
So, how can you reinforce the connection between mind and muscle, and, hopefully, get better results? Here are some simple steps you can take to get your mind more involved in your training.
Mind-Muscle Connection: Focus on the Muscles You’re Working
In one study, researchers compared three scenarios. Participants focused on either the weight they were lifting, the muscle they were working, or let their mind wander wherever it may. The results? Muscle activation was greater when the participants thought about the muscle they were training. Now, you know where to place your focus when you’re lifting – and it’s not on what you’re going to eat after your workout.
Mind-Muscle Connection: Slow Down the Rep Speed
You’ve heard about mindfulness with regard to eating – but what about mindfulness-based lifting? It works for strength building too. Train yourself to really FEEL the movement of the muscle as you advance the weight. Experience the sensation of your muscles contracting through every phase of the movement and embrace, rather than try to avoid, the burn as your muscles begin to tire. In turn, concentrate on using good form and completing the full range-of-motion for every exercise. Get out of the habit of just doing the exercise to get it done.
Mind-Muscle Connection: Use Lighter Weights on Some Reps
“Lift heavy to grow.” You’ve heard that before, right? It’s true that you need to lift heavy enough to recruit those powerful fast-twitch muscle fibers, but it’s hard to focus on the muscle-mind connection when you’re struggling to make it through a set. Devote some time to lighter weights, higher reps. Schedule at least one day a week for lifting lighter. This will give you a chance to really feel your muscles work and further reinforce the mind-muscle connection.
Mind-Muscle Connection: Mentally Lift Weights
When you’re not actively working out, mentally engage in weight training on occasion to strengthen the connection between mind and muscle. Don’t underestimate the power of this. A study showed weight trainers that rehearsed weight lifting in their mind experienced similar brain activation as when they actually lifted a weight. That’s pretty powerful, isn’t it? Even more surprising is a study showed mental weight training workouts can actually lead to strength gains. Yes, strength gains without moving a muscle. If you have to miss a workout, for one reason or another, you can always do one in your head!
Mind-Muscle Connection: Go for the Glute “Squeeze”
Want to activate your glutes more? Before performing squats and lunges, do focused glute exercises like bridges, donkey kicks, and leg lifts beforehand. Then do glute squeezes where you hold the squeeze for 5 seconds or more. By activating your glutes this way, you’ll, in turn, activate them more when you do squats.
To get the most glute activation out of a squat, shift your focus to, you guessed it, your glutes. In one study, participants who did so increased the activation of their glutes by 25%. Not bad! The same researchers also showed you can do the same with other exercises like deadlifts and extension – focus on the muscles you’re working, in this case, the glutes.
Mind-Muscle Connection: Minimize Distractions
There are those who believe listening to music, watching television or other distractions while working out reduces the sensation of effort and makes exercising more pleasant. Hence, you might work harder. At the other end of the spectrum, some fitness experts believe you should limit outside distractions and focus in on the movements your muscles are making when you’re training. Give the latter a try. Cut down the music on occasion and focus inward – on the sensations of working out. Listening to music has its place, especially if you’re doing aerobic exercise, but during weight training, you might find eliminating noise and zoning in on your muscles will deliver better results.
The Bottom Line
Your brain is a powerful ally in helping you get stronger. Strengthen the brain-muscle connection and you’ll get more out of every workout. Now you know how.
References:
Neuropsychologia. 2004;42(7):944-56.
Fitness RX. February 2015. “Optimizing Gluteal Development”
“Glutes to the Max” ACE Fitness Matters. January/February 2006.
Psychology Today. “Weight Training? Put Your Mind to It”
Psychology Today. “Seeing Is Believing: The Power of Visualization”
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Very interesting, especially about the mental weight lifting. I will have to tell my students who may be coming off of an injury that they can still “mentally lift” with that muscle group. No excuses!