Dominic Stone
Mindful muscle control is a technique that can help athletes improve their performance. It involves the ability to contract certain muscles while relaxing others. This can be achieved through specific strength training, where the athlete focuses on the contraction and relaxation of individual muscles or muscle groups. By improving their mind-muscle connection, athletes can increase their force production and improve their motor learning. Additionally, muscle control can be applied to rehabilitation exercises for individuals with conditions such as stroke or Parkinson's disease. The key to successful muscle control is overcoming the brain's common drive to activate and relax all muscles simultaneously.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Muscle control is | The ability to contract certain muscles while relaxing others. |
| The mind-muscle connection | The mind-muscle connection is a big factor in achieving personal fitness success. |
| Motor units | A muscle is made up of hundreds of thousands of muscle fibres, grouped together as "motor units". |
| Common drive | The mind's willingness to send synchronised signals across muscles, which can hinder individual muscle control. |
| Overcoming common drive | Training muscles to flex and contract simultaneously but at different levels can help overcome common drive. |
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What You'll Learn
Mind-muscle connection
The mind-muscle connection is a concept that has been used by some of the top competitive bodybuilders, including Arnold Schwarzenegger. It involves focusing on a specific muscle during exercise to increase strength and muscle gains. The idea is that by concentrating on muscle contraction and stretching, you can boost activation through intentional focus.
The mind-muscle connection is about internal focus, or what's happening inside the body, rather than external focus on the surrounding environment. It is underpinned by science, with research showing that tapping into the brain's power to direct attention to specific body areas during exercise helps increase muscle activity. For example, a 2017 study recorded a 9% jump in pectoralis activity when focusing on the pectoralis major during push-ups.
The mind-muscle connection is particularly relevant for those looking to build muscle through hypertrophy, or muscle cell growth. A 2018 study found that internally focused participants registered a 12.4% increase in elbow flexors and quadriceps thickness compared to the 6.9% improvement observed among externally focused participants. By putting your thoughts on the muscle groups you want to build, you can stimulate them to grow more quickly.
However, the mind-muscle connection is not a one-size-fits-all concept. While it is beneficial for all, individuals respond at varying rates, and what works for one athlete may not work for another. It is also more effective for experienced lifters than beginners. For compound exercises that engage multiple body parts, such as squats or deadlifts, it is important to balance internal and external cues and prioritize completing the movement with good form.
Additionally, the mind-muscle connection may not be advantageous for all sports and tasks. Some studies have found that an external focus is better for sport performance and learning new skills, particularly for sports like basketball.
Overall, the mind-muscle connection is a powerful tool for those looking to increase muscle strength and growth, but it should be personalized and tailored to the individual's needs and preferences.
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Motor unit activation
Motor units are generally recruited in order of smallest to largest as contraction increases. This is known as Henneman's size principle. When a muscle is initially activated, the first motor units to fire are small and generate low tension. As the strength of the contraction increases, larger units are recruited, resulting in a smooth increase in muscle strength. The force produced by a single motor unit is determined by the number of muscle fibres in the unit and the frequency with which they are stimulated.
The size principle also applies to different types of movements. For example, muscles used for fine control or delicate movements, such as the fingers or hands, will have small innervation ratios, meaning each motor neuron will innervate a small number of muscle fibres. This enables many nuances of movement. Conversely, muscles used for coarse movements, such as thigh muscles, will have a high innervation ratio, with each motor neuron innervating a large number of muscle fibres.
There are exceptions to the size-ordered activation of motor units. Motor unit recruitment patterns vary depending on factors such as the mechanical function of the muscle, sensory feedback, and central control. For example, after nerve injury, the relationship between motor neuron size and the number and size of muscle fibres it reinnervates is initially lost. Over time, however, this relationship is restored through the size-dependent branching of axons.
Research has shown that increasing the number of motor units active at any one time increases the force produced by a muscle. Trained athletes can recruit up to 50% of their motor units, compared to around 30% for most people. This increased muscle recruitment can be achieved through specific strength training and mindful muscle control techniques.
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Muscle relaxation
The concept of mindful muscle control was popularised by strongmen Maxick (Max Sick) and Monte Saldo, who claimed their methods of muscle control were superior for health and strength. Their system focused on taking total conscious control of the major muscle groups of the body, rather than using weights. Maxick demonstrated his strength with weights, but his practice mainly involved focusing on the contraction and relaxation of muscles. He believed that the old-time strongman developed his strength solely through muscle contraction, and that by relaxing the muscles that opposed the contracted ones, he could become even stronger.
Progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) is a technique that was originally developed by Dr. Edmund Jacobson in the early 1920s. It involves alternately tensing and relaxing 14 different muscle groups, in a rhythmic pattern with breathing. This can help to calm the mind and relax the body, and is often used to treat symptoms of anxiety, insomnia, and high blood pressure. PMR can be practised by creating tension in certain muscle groups, such as the hands and arms, and then releasing that tension while saying a phrase like "relax".
Specific strength training is another way to focus on muscle relaxation. This involves creating a burn in the muscles, which can lead to an increase in heart rate and breathing rate. However, this should be controlled with rest and recovery, so that every repeat is performed correctly. By being mindful of muscle actions, individuals can improve their performance and become more resilient.
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Maxalding
The ability to fully relax a muscle is just as important as the ability to fully contract it, and true muscle control goes beyond this. It is about the extent to which a person can contract those muscles. A muscle is made up of hundreds of thousands of muscle fibres, or motor units, controlled by a single nerve. Motor units vary in size, with smaller motor units containing more slow-twitch muscle fibres that are more energy-efficient and don't tire out as quickly.
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Strength training
A strength exercise is any activity that makes your muscles work harder than usual. This increases your muscles' strength, size, power and endurance. The activities involve using your body weight or working against a resistance. Strength training usually requires some form of resistance for your muscles to work against, from free weights, resistance machines, or resistance bands. If you’re just starting and don’t have access to gym equipment, your body can offer enough resistance to get you going with simple exercises like squats.
The NHS recommends that you do muscle-strengthening activities that work all the major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms) on two or more days a week. Each training session could take less than 20 minutes. Exercises should be performed to the point where it would be difficult to do another repetition without help. Try to do 8 to 12 repetitions for each activity, which counts as one set. Do at least two sets of muscle-strengthening activities, but to gain even more benefits, do three sets. Remember to start gradually and build up over a period of weeks.
It is important to have a good mind-muscle connection to achieve success in your training. This means that you are mentally connected to your body and how it is working while you are performing activities. You can watch the muscles working when you are training in front of a mirror. Arnold Schwarzenegger was a big believer in visualisation and felt it helped him maximise his physique. When he trained biceps, he visualised them as mountains and would see them grow with each rep. Take yourself inside the muscle and watch the fibres break down. Think about the blood that is going to flood the area to create the pump. Seeing it in your mind before it happens will help you make it a reality once you start lifting.
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Frequently asked questions
Muscle control is the ability to contract certain muscles while relaxing others. It involves focusing on individual muscles and is considered a lost art, with strongmen like Maxick (originally Max Sick) and Monte Saldo being known for their expertise in this field.
Muscle control goes beyond simply engaging and relaxing muscles. It involves understanding the extent to which you contract those muscles. This is because a muscle is made up of muscle fibers grouped as "motor units," and the more muscle fibers that receive a signal to fire, the more force can be produced.
To improve muscle control, it is essential to focus on the mind-muscle connection. Visualisation techniques, such as those used by Arnold Schwarzenegger, can help you feel more connected to your muscles and improve your training. Additionally, performing exercises in front of a mirror can help you observe and adjust your movements.
Muscle control can lead to increased force production and improved motor learning. It can also enhance your overall training quality and help you make adjustments to your workouts. Additionally, it can lead to better rehabilitation exercises for individuals with certain conditions, such as stroke survivors or people with Parkinson's disease.
Traditional strength training often focuses on lifting heavy weights and may not emphasise the isolation of individual muscles. In contrast, muscle control is about understanding and controlling the contraction and relaxation of specific muscles, which can then be applied to strength training to improve performance and efficiency.
