“What puts you over the top? It is the mind that actually creates the body, it is the mind that really makes you work out for four or five hours a day, it is the mind that visualizes what the body ought to look like as the finished product.”
– Arnold Schwarzenegger
The basic difference between a super hero and a villain is the way they ‘THIINK’. Though they may have the same amount of strength and intelligence, it’s the execution of their thoughts, which transforms them into what they ultimately become.
Whether you are a body builder, a yoga practitioner, an athlete or a martial arts guru; the mind is a maze that must be negotiated to reach the ultimate goal. When it comes to any sort of physical performance; the body and mind work in tandem with each other. Sure, the body takes all the credit for the feat, but it’s the brain, which allows you to push the boundaries of your supposed physical limitations.
The reason why top body builders or athletes are better than others is because of the way they perform exercises or train themselves. This is where developing your Mind Muscle Connection (MMC) comes into play.
What’s Mind Muscle Connection(MMC)?
Simply put, it’s the brain’s way of signaling your muscles to contract or relax for doing a particular activity. The brain releases a chemical messenger (neurotransmitter) called Acetylcholine at the neuromuscular junction (place where nerve ending and muscle fibers meet) to communicate with the muscles in the body.
This Acetylcholine crosses the synapses (structures which allow nerve cells to pass chemical/electrical signals from source cell to target) at the neuromuscular junction, binds to the receptors on the surface of the muscle fibers and causes the respective muscle to contract. The better the communication, the more the number of muscle fibers you recruit for performing the task at hand. Whether it’s lifting a spoon or 1000 pounds, MMC plays a crucial role in controlling the quality of your muscle contraction ergo the quality of your workout.
The most important part of your training is ‘Mind Training’. A 200 kg bench is done in the mind much before you even touch the bar.So condition your mind well, and it will in turn train your body to achieve the feats which you never thought were possible.
