The Mind to Muscle Connection

Most likely, you’re aware of the mind to muscle connection. If you don’t know or aren’t sure, it’s the ability to mentally connect with the muscles you’re working. Is it important? You bet – it can take your workouts to a new level. In this article, we’ll take a closer look and I will provide you with tips to make the most of this technique in your own workouts!

What Is The Mind to Muscle Connection?

We can define the mind muscle connection as the act of focusing 100% on the muscle you’re working. Doing so will improve your exercise performance and improve your gains because you’re improving muscle contraction quality.

Why The Mind to Muscle Connection Is Important

Without any doubt, focus is one of the keys to success. Not to sound cliche, but let’s be clear, you have to have confidence in your ability to succeed. When the talk turns to your workouts, your mind muscle connection means you are dedicated to getting the most out of every rep. It means you can feel the target muscles working from your first rep to your last.

Not Just Your Reps

The mind to muscle connection also means you are dedicated to getting the most out of every workout. Compare this with the lifter that does quick reps and half-hearted sets. It’s like they’re in a race to see how fast they can knock out their reps. Typically, they stop at a predetermined number when they could easily do more. They are not working anywhere near hard enough. Not to mention, because they rush their reps, they are letting momentum do much of the work. Is that the kind of lifter you want to be? (1, 2, 3)

Tips To Improve Your Mind to Muscle Connection

Here are some tips that you can use to help you establish a mind to muscle connection:

Think about the muscle you will be working by visualizing how you want that muscle to look.
Using no weight, go through the range of motion of the exercise, and concentrate how that muscle responds. This will help you see and better understand the function of the muscle.
Once you begin your sets, perform your reps slowly, make sure your form is spot-on, and focus on feeling the target muscle working.
Hold & contract the target muscle at the top of every rep, just shy of lockout.
Flex the muscle you’re working between sets.

The Mind Muscle Connection: Lats – Putting The Tips Into Action

Probably the most common muscle lifters have a hard time feeling or mentally connecting with is the lats. Of course, they are part of your back muscles. But the problem is you can’t see your back muscles when you train. So that means you have to go completely by feel. Here’s the steps you need to take to solve this problem.

Step # 1 – Visualize

So the first step to feeling the lats working is to be able to visualize them. With that in mind, choose a bodybuilder who has back development you admire. Check out that bodybuilder’s best back poses, especially a rear lat spread. Note how the lats contribute to the poses. Set a goal to achieve their level of development.

Step # 2 – Set Up Your Exercise

Next, let’s go with the exercise many lifters just can’t feel: lat pulldowns. No doubt pulldowns are an important movement for lat width. So, in order to mentally connect with your lats, put one hand on your lat, and hold your arm in the pulldown start position, or straight above your head. Now, as if you were doing the exercise, slowly pull your arm down. Feel that? That’s your lat working.

Step # 3 – Perform Your First Set

The next step is to take the biceps out of it. Therefore, before you start your pulldowns, picture your arms as hooks. That’s all they are. To establish a mind muscle connection, use a thumbless grip to further remove the biceps from the picture. Get your form tight, and start with a light weight.

Now, flex your lats and begin the pull. Let your lats pull your arms. Focusing on your lats, flex the lats hard as you slowly pull the bar down. Hold and squeeze the lats at the bottom and slowly allow the bar to go back up. This is an important part of the rep, so take about 3-4 seconds to get back up to the starting position. Stop just shy of lockout and hold for a 4 count. Is your mind connected with your lats? If so, nice work. If not, practice, practice, practice, until you get it.

Step # 4 – Keep Going!

Perform all your sets the same way. You can use heavy weights, but don’t ego-lift. It’s not about how much you can lift. It’s about the quality of your reps and sets. Lifting for ego means you’re not lifting for gains. If your mind is not involved, most likely your back isn’t either. You are experiencing the mind to muscle connection when your mind is connected to the muscle and you can feel it work.

Let’s Recap

The tips I gave you regarding lat pulldowns apply to any exercise and muscle.
Before you start your workout, visualize your exercises and how they will affect the muscles you will be working.
Before you start your first working set, perform the exercise with no equipment. Make this part of your warm-up, and will help you understand the involvement and function of the working muscles.
Use a moderate weight and perform your reps slowly and under control. Using lat pulldowns as an example, start the rep by flexing and pulling with the lats. The arms are merely hooks. Amplify this by using a thumbless grip.
As you perform your reps, 100% of your mental attention is on the muscle you are working.
Make sure you stop and squeeze at the top just shy of lockout. This pause should be for a 4-count.
You should feel the target muscle through every rep. If not, check your form and your rep speed. Keep at it until you feel it. Be patient, it may take a few workouts.
Focus on the task at hand. Commit yourself to the rep 100%.

In Summary

If you are having any problems feeling the correct muscles working, follow the tips I presented in this article. It takes a little work, but if you are committed you can do it. In the words of Arnold, the mind is the ultimate tool, and it’s the key to your lifting success.

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