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+ 5 Mind muscle connection: A brief synopsis...

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Good day eroiders...

I have put together a brief summary of how important a mind muscle connection is, and have touched on the following topics in chronological order:

1) Introduction
2) Currect 'bro-split' analysis and effectiveness
3) Examples of optimising the mind-muscle connection
4) Defined example - brought out of context
5) Defined example - put back into context
6) A scientific approach
7) A scientific approach - taken out of context
8) The importance of myelin
9) Myelin and skill
10) Conclusion

In order to build muscle for example, one must gain an efficient mind muscle connection - therefore more experienced bodybuilders have adapted a stronger neurological connection between their mind and the muscle group they have chosen to work out.

Thus, by doing a chest/tri split your mind muscle connection is 'active' during the chest phase of the workout, since you're getting the muscle pumped before breaking it down. However, regarding the tris part, the muscle is already pumped subliminally through it being a secondary muscle group when working out chest.

Therefore IMO, a more effective split, for example, would be chest/bis since you are initiating mental focus twice as opposed to once. if that makes any sence?

In order to substantiate my aforementioned point regarding a mind-muscle connection I put forward the idea of the disabled:

Taken out of context in order to further develop a holistic view, we analyse a blind man. Since this person has lost one of his senses he is much more dependant on other senses such as touch for example. Therefore the mind muscle connection has created strong links between the brain/nervous system and nerves in his fingers (braille) to ensure the human flys (recalling upon both the fight or flight theory and Darwin's natural selection - and also a point that Tread-m touched upon in his most recent post, the Causality Paradigm - Cause and Effect ).

Now, if we put this back into context, a bodybuilder would aim to develop/enhance their mind-muscle connection to further the efficiency of their muscle growth, as it has proven to be beneficial through the simple analytical awareness of the target muscle group and the overall objective, thus creating a synergistic harmonious benefit.

Also, neurological changes – ultimately the nervous system is responsible for ‘recruiting’ muscle fibers. In simple terms the nervous system stimulates a muscle to contract by sending down electrical impulses towards the muscle. Scientists can measure the ability of the nervous system to stimulate muscle by measuring its electrical activity.

In order to optimise the mind-muscle connection, more myelin must be created (Myelin is the insulation for nerve fibres - think of this as the rubber which insulates your household electrical appliances) - thus, the more myelin, the stronger and more accurate the electrical activity will be.

Every human skill, regardless of which activity it is (for example, playing soccer, playing a musical instrument, running in a 100 metre sprint) is created by thousands chains of nerve fibres carrying an electrical pulse - resulting in a signal being transmitted from a source (CNS - Central Nervous System)to the muscles required to perform a specific task. The role of myelin is to embrace and wrap around the nerves carrying the signal in order to ensure that the signal level is efficient - thus reducing the amount of electrical impulse being leaked outside of the intended destination.

Thus, upon practising (through bodybuilding repetitions, for example) our neurological circuits are continuously firing and through repetitions, our brain signals send messages to ensure each correctly fired signal's nerve is insulated more and more - (think of this as if the more myelin there is insulating your nerve fibres, the more efficient you are at performing that specific movement).

Myelin is very important for many reasons. Everyone can produce it - and it is produced more efficiently during our childhood years (which is why it is considered easier to pick up a skill/talent in our youth than in our senior years). Additionally, its indiscriminate - and growth can be a result of both mental and physical actions.

Myelin is therefore an inhibitor of skill - whereby skill is defined as "a cellular insulation that wraps neural circuits and that grows in response to certain signals" (Coyle, D., 2009) - thus, through the analysis of the aforementioned quote, the more time and energy you administer with achieving a certain skill-set - the more efficient and effective you become at it (substantiated by the common phrase practise makes perfect).

Thanks for reading,
P

BigLuke's picture

Good stuff! I found this info very helpful.

Razorb101's picture

Makawao can I get that Traininh bis everyday routine? I saw but can't find it again.thank you.

Makwa's picture

hypertrophy training or TUT is much less taxing on the joints. You are using lighter weight which is much more forgiving on the joints.

wallabokkie's picture

Good post. The compund Myelin that you are talking about is just a as you say it a coating. The mind muscle conection is made stronger through repetion as the CNS cotinually trys to find more efficient paths to the area being utilized (muscle being trained). The same process can be seen in new born babies. You can see them struggling to control their bodies as they are trying to move. The more they prctise the more the CNS fires and develops these faster and more efficiet pathways and enables them to control their limbs. It's the same with training. The more you prctice a movement the better you can perform it due to repetion (prctice) by determining the best pathway for the signal to be sent from the CNS to the required muscle being utilized. I am not 100% sure but I think it's the synapsis that develops as the pathway. I am no doctor or specialist by any means this is the way I see it happening. By all means if I am wrong correct me as I like to gain more knowledge.

P's picture

Nice example bro.
The myelin coats the nerves, and the synapse (synaptic cleft) is the gap between the nerve and the individual cell. So if the signal strength is high at the beginning (CNS), and the insulation (myelin) is working along the route, then the stronger signal the individual cell receives.

fast48's picture

Holy hit the nail on the head! This is exactly the high caliber reads that were common back in my day. Concentration thoroughly on your lifts to where you're in the "zone". And the truth is how effective these concepts are in pure growth. Brilliant!

bawler's picture

practice makes perfect! its all about the P today!! throw in preparation to Smile
great post bro

Carlos Danger's picture

These kind of great posts are becoming a ritual for u brother P! Great stuff and keep it coming. Not many dudes get the big guy down from Mt. Olympus to make a comment.

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manlytt's picture

This is something that I rant about when I train others at my gym. People have a tendency to get too wrapped up with the weight they are lifting, and getting it from point a to point b. People have told me they get their best workouts when I'm there channeling their energy with proper thinking. Its like an epiphany for for most. And as tread pointed out in his cause and effect post, diet solidifies the gains. Good post brother, something I have subscribed to for years and preach to those in my circles

P's picture

I've had the same problems with previous training partners too bro - "come on, you can do more weight than that" - i suppose their ego controls their emotions - and its very true, once they see the consistent changes in your physique, they start to question themselves..

manlytt's picture

Its unfortunate that they continue on the road to there own demise. Its a fast track to ruining joints and tendons. There's a place for heavy sets, in body building. The problem is most people think every set must be heavy. There arguement is that they don't feel the lighter weight, and that's when I say well if you can stimulate muscle without any weight at all. Simply posing can stimulate muscle. Yea you want to make tears and repairs, but there are too many that tear to the point that they are irrepairable tears. Many smaller tears are more advantagious.

BFG's picture

Like you said, exercise physically changes your brain, as more and more synaptic connections that control that particular muscle movement are created with exercise.
I've recently stumbled upon a video on consciousness by Susan Greenfield, explaining that merely thinking about doing something also stimulates those synapses. Here is the relevant part.

P's picture

I totally agree - not to mention the physiological changes, and hormonal responses - but that's for another post.

I'll look at those links.

Additionally, i came across a phrase relative to the subject of practising a musical instrument (which i think can be applied across many skill sets) - 'if you can tell what he/she's playing then they're doing it wrong'. Reason being, is that the musician has broken down the musical script into segments which they repeatedly play, thus creating a 'blueprint' through working in segments and complete thoughts, which will later be used to complete the whole action. Though learning this way, the errors one picks up are being fixed - so the incorrectly fired circuit is being corrected, fired and fired again to enhance that positive neurological connection.