In this post, we’ll unpack all you need to know about the Mind-Muscle Connection, defining exactly what it is, the science behind how it works, how to leverage it and more.
What Is The Mind Muscle Connection?
The Mind-Muscle Connection (MMC) is the ability to consciously and deliberately focus your attention on a specific muscle or region of muscles in the body during an exercise and is the difference between passively and actively moving the weight.
The Science Behind The Mind-Muscle Connection
Studies show that focusing on the target muscle leads to greater muscle growth.
The reason behind this is that the act of connecting your mind to a muscle activates more muscle fibres and the more muscle fibres we activate, the more the muscles will grow. In short, the greater your Mind-Muscle Connection, the greater your muscle growth.
Focused attention doesn’t just apply to bodybuilding ― it is an essential component to optimising success in any skill in life. The more the mind and body are aligned and working in sync, the more effective we are at achieving desired outcomes.
How To Leverage The Mind-Muscle Connection
The key to leveraging the Mind-Muscle Connection is ultimately to consciously and deliberately focus your attention on the target muscle when training. There are three ways you can do this:
- Concentric Contraction ― Focus on squeezing the muscle when shortening.
- Eccentric Contraction ― Focus on slowing the movement when lengthening.
- Isometric Contraction ― Focus on holding the position to feel the burn.
Two strategies we can use to optimise one’s MMC include reducing weight and utilising isolation exercises.
Summary (TL;DR)
The Mind-Muscle Connection involves directing one’s focus on a specific target muscle during an exercise with the goal of optimising muscle growth.
The MMC allows us to activate a greater percentage of muscle fibres. The more muscle fibres we activate, the stronger they’ll get and the bigger they’ll grow.
The key to leveraging the MMC is to consciously and deliberately focus attention on the target muscle during an exercise.
When we optimise the MMC, we maximise muscle growth.
