Many people fail to make the connection between what they do in the gym and what they do outside it.
It’s only for getting sexy. That’s it
There’s often a rush every New Year’s Day to gyms worldwide to make good on their New Year’s resolutions. A month later, the gyms are a ghost town. Their goals often center on external appearance, and when it doesn’t happen as fast as they would like, they quit and come back next New Year’s.
Regular exercisers who care about their health often get ridiculed because, why the heck are they going anyway? They’re already in shape. Those who question their motives fail to see the connection.
In a hyper-connected world, we’re less connected to each other and our bodies than ever. Exercise is deeply connected to our health and well-being, but not everyone sees it that way.
Let’s see if I can change some minds.
Your Mind – Muscle Connection
Good things happen if you slow down.
If you eat too fast, you’ll often blow past the point when the stomach tells the mind you’re full. Then you end up stuffed. When you’re in a hurry to get out the door, you’ll often forget something, stop, and go back to get it. Then you’ll end up saving no time at all.
How about those who weave in and out of traffic, trying to get where they’re going faster? I often pull up right beside them at the next red light—all that effort for naught.
To form a deeper connection with exercise, slow down and feel the muscles working. That’s your mind-muscle connection. It means focusing on the working muscle rather than just moving the weight from point A to point B.
Here’s what it means for you.
What It Means In The Gym
When you slow down, control the rep, and think about the target muscle, you often improve:
- exercise technique
- muscle recruitment
- muscle tension
- awareness
Without establishing a mind-muscle connection, your body will usually find the easiest way to move, which is often not the best way to train the target muscle.
Why It Matters For Health
When you feel the muscle you’re working, you are more likely to:
- use better form
- improve posture
- reduce injury risk
For instance, if you are doing a glute bridge, but your mind-muscle connection tells you your lower back is working too hard. This movement compensation leads to poor form and pain. Knowing and feeling the difference does wonders for your health.
Why It Matters For Vanity
If your goal is to build a better-looking body, you need to place tension on the muscle you want to grow. That means feeling:
- the chest during push-ups
- your lats during rows and pulldowns
- Your delts during raises
Doing so means the targeted muscles are earning their keep. That’s all fine and good, but how do you form a mind-muscle connection?
1. Slow the lowering phase: Do not rush the rep, but control it.
2. Use lighter weight: If the load is so heavy that you cannot feel the target muscle, it’s too heavy.
3. Pause where the muscle is working hardest: A short pause increases awareness and tension. For example, at the top of a row.
Feeling the muscle work and knowing what it’s doing are great ways to form a deeper connection with exercise.
Human Movement Connection
You’re hardwired to squat, push, pull, hinge, and carry—no overthinking required. These are what’s known as fundamental human movements, and many good exercise programs base their exercises around these.
So, it’s a short leap to suggest that if you strengthen these movements at the gym, your daily life outside the gym will be easier.
With a little sweat equity, not only will you look better, but your life will be easier. When you recognize the connection between exercise and your daily activities, your health and well-being will benefit.
But that connection is one you need to make, as my clients have.
My client’s coworkers advised against lifting the 35-pound water container. Someone mentioned that a man would come to handle it. She decided not to wait. Instead, she squatted down, gripped the container, lifted it from the floor, and placed it in the water dispenser. Only then did she realize the importance of squatting and performing weighted carries.
Think about something you do daily that you’re not a huge fan of. Now, imagine strengthening this movement so the next time you do it, it’s easier. Boom. You have just formed a deeper connection with exercise.
Find Your North Star
There are two reasons why I continue to train other than vanity.
1. When my kids challenge me, I can hold my own.
2. When the Grim Reaper comes for me, I’ll go down swinging.
That’s my north star.
When the last thing I want to do is drag my butt to the gym, I’ll remind myself of these.
Whatever it is for you, whether it is as silly as mine or not, will serve as your north star and help you form a deeper connection with exercise.
Wrapping Up
For exercise consistency, you need skin in the game. Something to keep you going when times get rough. Something larger than yourself. When you have it, there’s your deeper connection.
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