Many lifters will get so focused on adding more weight and doing more reps that they forget that actively focusing on the muscle can increase muscle growth.
WHAT EXPERTS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE MIND MUSCLE CONNECTION FOR MUSCLE GROWTH ARTICLE SUMMARY
- The mind-muscle connection works better with light weights and is not effective with heavier weights
- Giving verbal cues to your clients if you are a personal trainer increases muscle activation and a better muscle mind connection.
- Mental focusing on the muscle can increase muscle growth.
- The placebo effect has a powerful effect on performance.
MIND MUSCLE CONNECTION LATS TRAINING WORKS BETTER WITH LIGHTER WEIGHT: 4/12
Researchers investigated the effects of verbal instruction on seated machine rows in untrained subjects. They performed the exercise at 70% of a 1RM until maximal failure. On one occasion, they did the exercise without instruction, but on the second test, they were told with verbal instructions, “concentrate on extending the shoulder, pull with the back.”
They found that verbal instruction does not have the same effect throughout a set. The lats increased by 15.2% during the initial reps, but verbal instruction had no effect during the set’s middle or end. The researchers suggested that the mind-muscle connection has less effect with greater fatigue. Thus, with weights at 70% of a 1RM, the mind-muscle connection will have very little effect. [8]
WHAT IS MIND TO MUSCLE CONNECTION?
Not all reps are created equal. There is a popular phenomenon called the mind-muscle connection, in which you actively focus on the muscle each repetition. It is not uncommon to see personal trainers touching a person’s muscle while doing a set and telling them to squeeze it. Is this all more bodybuilding voodoo science? Is mind muscle connection real?
Many lifters will get so focused on adding more weight and doing more reps that they forget that actively focusing on the muscle can increase muscle growth. If you are a powerlifter, your primary goal is the total weight lifted. Building muscle, not weight, is your primary goal if you are a bodybuilder.
MIND MUSCLE CONNECTION CHEST TRAINING
Actively focusing on the muscle, each repetition results in more muscle fibers activated during a set. If you are a personal trainer, verbally telling your client to squeeze the muscle can be beneficial. Researchers had subjects train and were given verbal commands on the bench press, such as “squeeze the muscle” for the pecs and triceps, or they were not told anything and allowed to just train.
At low-intensity exercise (~30% of a 1RM), there was an increase in the lats’ muscle activity by 17.6%.[1] At lower intensities (50% of a 1RM), there was 22% greater pec muscle activation for those given verbal instructions to focus on the muscle. However, at a heavier weight (80% of a 1RM), there was less muscle activation (13%), despite being told to focus on the muscle.[2] At lower intensities (50% of a 1RM), triceps activity was 26% greater, whereas there was no difference at 80%.
This suggests that the mind-muscle connection may work well when training with lighter weights but not as effective with heavier weights. It also emphasizes the importance of giving verbal cues to your clients to contract the muscle with each repetition.
HOW TO IMPROVE MIND MUSCLE CONNECTION
The mind-muscle connection works better for increasing muscle growth with single-joint exercises, such as the bicep curl or triceps extensions. The mind-muscle connection of actively squeezing the muscle may be incorporated during lightweight training periods if you want to build muscle. Still, it will not be effective with heavy-weight training.
Another study investigated whether focusing on squeezing the muscle, “thinking about it or internal cues,” or having someone give you instructions “external cues” or “c’mon two more reps!!” Muscle activation was greater with internal cues of actively focusing on squeezing the muscle than those verbally told to squeeze the muscle.[3]
This again points to actively squeezing the muscle for greater muscle activation and growth. A follow-up study compared movement speed and mind-muscle connection. At slow movement speeds (50% of a 1-RM), subjects who were mentally focused on the muscle could increase muscle activation; however, at fast and explosive speeds, they could not increase muscle activation despite being told to mentally focus on the muscle.[4]
This goes back to earlier concepts that the mind-muscle connection may work best with lighter weight; in contrast, it becomes less effective at heavier weights or if you lift the weight fast or explosively.
MIND AND MUSCLE CONNECTION BICEPS TRAINING
For bodybuilding, mentally focusing on squeezing the muscle may be better for muscle growth since you are recruiting more muscle fibers. A study by muscle guru Brad Schoenfeld found that mentally focusing on the contracting muscle led to greater muscle growth of the biceps, but for some reason, not the quads.[5]
Subjects were instructed to mentally focus on squeezing the muscle or told verbally to “do another rep!” This may be because it is much easier to mentally focus on a single-joint exercise with smaller muscle groups like the bicep and triceps instead of training with large muscle groups like the quadriceps.
MIND MUSCLE CONNECTION LATS TRAINING
Similar results were found with the lats. When a trainer instructed subjects to focus on a muscle group resulted in greater lat activation than just lifting the weight without focusing on the muscle.[6] Focusing on the muscle and squeezing the muscle each rep will decrease the number of repetitions, but do not let this bruise your ego. As the research above has described, there was greater muscle activation and growth when lifters actively focused on squeezing the muscle.
The mind-muscle connection’s advantage is that it allows for lighter weight while enhancing muscle growth. This can be an excellent tool for someone who needs to take a break from heavy lifting without sacrificing losing muscle. Using mind-muscle techniques can be especially beneficial during a deload when your purpose is recovery.
TELLING SOMEONE THEY HAVE BAD GENES RESULTS IN WORSE PERFORMANCE
The mind is a powerful way to gain muscle. Many people classify themselves as ‘hard-gainers,’ but could this all be a mindset? This could be a self-fulfilling prophecy if you believe you can’t gain muscle.
Researchers had participants receive genetic testing and perform an exercise. One group of subjects was told they had “bad genes” for exercise performance.
Even though some subjects had “good genes” that predisposed them to perform better, when they were told they had “bad genes” deceptively before their exercise bout, they performed worse. Simply thinking you have “bad genes” seemed to influence the outcome of the study results. This suggests that if you think you have “bad genes,” it is a self-fulfilling outcome.
Conversely, some subjects were told they had good genes despite having bad genes and performed better.[7] It could be the same reason people who call themselves “Hardgainers” or “non-responders” never gain muscle because they believe they can’t.
KEY POINTS
- Giving verbal cues to your clients if you are a personal trainer increases muscle activation.
- The mind-muscle connection works better with light weights and is not effective with heavier weights.
- Mental focusing on the muscle can increase muscle growth.
- The placebo effect has a powerful effect on performance.
REFERENCES
REFERENCES
About The Author
