Brain-muscle connection

Brain – Muscle , Is there a connection between mind and body and what significance it has for our training?

Doctors and healers have noticed the connection between our physical and mental health before millennia. Until the XIX century. most people were convinced that emotions are directly linked to the illness and people were advised to go to sanatoriums and coastal centers where to heal both body and mind. Gradually emotions began to give way as causes of diseases of bacteria and toxins, and antibiotics newly treated disease after disease. In recent decades, scientists have even gone so far as to try to ascribe biological foundations of behavior imbalances such as autism and others. In parallel, however, began to reinventing the relationship between stress, emotions and health.

We all have brain-body relationship and it is practiced in many ancient medical and philosophical systems. Our bodies react physically to our way of thinking, and this is not a relative doctrine of the Far East and a proven scientific fact.

We feedback: body – the brain. A typical example is premenstrual syndrome in women when changes in hormonal background lead to certain changes in behavior. On the same principle, one usually feels psychologically uncomfortable day before he hurt his throat, stuffy nose, etc.

There is another connection that covers the body and brain, and that is food. We’ve all heard the maxim “a man is what he eats.” This means that any crumb or drop passing barrier of our mouth, has an effect (positive or negative) on our health and how we feel.

For now we will focus on brain-body relationship, and in particular, how can we use it to optimize their physical activities through it.

Brain-Muscle

We’ve all heard the gym “think about the muscle while you train.” What does this mean and what is the effect of “thinking” or “unthinking” during the workout?

Who of you has come across in yoga class, you probably noticed that almost all the time repeating this to “connect” with mind and body to “realize” the practice. This is virtually the same as in training: directed thought, brain impulse is what makes us perform movements in a certain way.

There is of course another opinion on the matter, if you execute movements with proper form and technique is not necessary (and according to some, it is even impossible) to activate a conscious muscle work.

So – how important conscious control over the muscles in training? If we combine the ancient knowledge of yoga with the latest sports research, we find that the mind can do a lot for our training. Targeting thought and targeted activation of certain muscles increases the work of the muscle group on which to focus attention.

In a recent experiment were taken exercises in which we can transfer the focus on one or another muscle group, for example:

• squat with a focus on the quadriceps or focusing on seat musculature;
• Romanian traction with a focus on the seat or on the rear thigh;
• ups with a focus on arms or on the latissimus dorsi muscle;
• pushup with a focus on the triceps and chest muscles on the other.

The results show a significant difference in the effectiveness of muscle according to whether they are activated or not consciously. The greatest difference in the results differ movements covering the lower part of the body. Only shift the focus in recruiting does not report a significant difference in the work of the muscle groups, but this is reflected in the version with horizontal pull-ups.

The study clearly shows that yogis (and bodybuilders) have been doing for centuries and body and mind work together, and this proves the phenomenon of neuromuscular dynamics during resistance training.

Factors that hinder conscious activation of muscles

• In recent years №1 enemy of workouts themselves phones. You can see every third trainee to talk on the phone, write text messages or updated your status in a social network. If you want to achieve high efficiency of your workout, keep the phone away. It distracts you from your workout and lets you concentrate on the movements you make.
• Conversations. No matter how enjoyable and educational sometimes talks with “fellow exercisers” also distract from your main activity in the gym.

• Do not think about what you will eat for dinner or what you have to do during the day. Take your time in the gym or yoga mat and only for you. From all concentration requires the most effort and most practice. Apply daily efforts. To improve it, turn your attention on your breathing and try to sync it with movement. Thus satisfied and cells with oxygen and all the muscles begin to work more efficiently. Another practice that you can apply is when you walk, counting the steps – this is a proven method of improving the ability to concentrate.
• Study well the mechanics of the movements that will perform in the hall. When you do not know the exercises and do not know which muscle groups how involved you just imitate exercise without get real benefit from it.

Nowadays, increasingly makes the connection between mind, body and nutrition. Scientists and psychologists ever more insistently persuade us to treat attention to the health of your brain, since it depends on our overall well-being.

About which factors damage the brain and which sports are useful to it, expect the next article in the series.