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2004/01/27, 12:23 PM
I firmly believe in the mind - body connection. During weight training I visualize the muscle group that I am working on (i.e. the quads pulling the weight up). I was wondering if anyone else uses visualization in their workout routine and what that technique might be.
Cheers
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2004/01/27, 12:36 PM
All the time. "What the mind can conceive, the body can acheive!" Arnold has said that when he worked his arms, he would imagine his biceps filling the entire room. When you focus on the muscles' growth and/or function (such as in a squat), especially prior to your workout, you can greatly improve that connection.
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Michael
Trample the weak; hurdle the dead!
Chaos, Panic, Disorder.... Yes, my work here is done!
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2004/01/27, 12:50 PM
Yo JSVEZ,
For me, developing a mind-to-muscle connection was harder than actually lifting the weight. But now I consider it to be an integral part of my training routine.
I plan my workouts days in advance, so I know what I'll be doing every day at the gym. I'm now able to review my next day's workout in my mind at night before bed. It's simply part of my nightly routine. I actually visualize myself going through the whole workout as I close my eyes. I see each exercise and actually feel my muscles contracting and holding as I doze off. I think about my breathing, my pace between exercise, how cold the steel feels against my hands, and even how light the weights feel. By morning, my mind and body are on auto-pilot. This allows me to focus on each specific muscle or muscle group.
During the actual exercises, I "see" through my skin and actually visualize the working muscles, their connections and insertion points. It may sound strange, but I visualize locks or bolts holding down body parts that shouldn't move. For example, during BB curls, there's a bolt that goes right through each elbow into my body, holding it in place against my body. For skull crushers, I have steel "L" brackets bolted on each side of my body to maintain my shoulder position. I try to do this for every exercise to maintain proper form. Of course, after each rep, I "see" each target muscle getting larger.
I know, call the white coats, there's a loony Saxman on the loose! But it really does help me to focus and achieve Lifting Zen. Ohhhmmmmmmm... Oohhhhmmmmmmm.
TSMD
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2004/01/27, 01:05 PM
Saxman, you definitly got the word thing down. Keep teachin' brother.
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Living well is the best revenge.
Charlie
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2004/01/27, 01:46 PM
here is a old post of mine:
A lot is said about focusing while at the gym. Keeping your mind on the task at hand is key to get a truly out of this world workout. Have any of you ever been to that place. I have, When I am lifting I am not looking at the TV scattered around the gym. I am not looking at the other gym rats doing their own thing. I do not have a cell phone there. Most times I do not even wear my headphones. I am into that one rep. One rep. It speaks volumes to me. It means that my workout is all about that one rep. Not the set or sets. No those come along naturally. The one rep is the rep I am doing at that moment. Why is it so important? It is the only thing you should be thinking about is that one rep. I want to be so focused on one rep at a time that aliens could land and I would not even know it. This one rep thing takes you to that muscle/mind conection you may have read about. That is why I can completely fry my body part with just one set at times. Do I have this each time I go. No, I wished I did. One rep is all it takes. When that one rep is done the next one becomes the focus. Try it some time and see the results
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LIFT HEAVY! BECOME STRONG, LIKE BULL!
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2004/01/27, 01:50 PM
great post mutt!!
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Living well is the best revenge.
Charlie
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2004/01/27, 02:05 PM
Thanks guys this is exactly what I was looking for, I have been trying to focus on the muscle while working it but I have not visualized prior to the workout.
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2004/01/27, 02:57 PM
Not sure if this is true or not, but I heard a study was done on this very subject... two groups were used, one who focused on their muscle as they were working it, and the other group just went about their routine, not being told to focus on the muscle.
The group that focused had 70% more muscle growth than the group that wasn't told to... if it's true, interesting...
Now if only one could just focus on said muscle and have it grow instead of focus and exercise! The ultimate lean body routine!
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Tim
"I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies, for the hardest victory is over self."
Aristotle
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2004/01/27, 03:12 PM
That seems to make a lot of sense to me anyways. If you're thinking about the muscles being used, odds are they will be used harder.
However, I sometimes have a harder time focusing on the targeted muscle once the weight becomes fairly heavy because I start feeling kinda numb, or pumped all over the place and find it's hard to zoom in on a specific muscle. To help fix this problem, I've found that during the warmup set if I focus very hard on the muscles contracting and doing them fairly slowly so I get a good feel for the total range of motion the rest of the sets are much more productive and that soreness nearly always follows the next day.
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