How Thinking About Your Muscles Produces a Better Workout
By Dan Boyle
This is not some mystical "believe in yourself" stuff, even though that does work... this is about working your muscles harder. And concentrating on what you are doing.
This is a really cool tactic, but you have to remember to do it... you need to fight the tendency to bust through the exercise. Learn to slow down and think about what you are working.
So the next time you are in the gym, feel the muscle that is contracting and concentrate on working it in your mind. Feel the movements that make that muscle work and feel the squeeze. Or to use the old cliche...
Feel The Burn!
Why Does This Work?
When you concentrate on the muscle or muscle groups you are working, you are more aware of the actual work it is doing. This actually has a bunch of great benefits...
1. Helps you concentrate on form: maintaining good form is such a vital skill. If you get into the good habit of using good form, you will be rewarded with great results.
Not just great results though. You will avoid all of the major injuries and pains that come from people neglecting form. Thinking about the form of the exercise while you are doing the exercise will also be a good way to rid yourself of dysfunctions.
Being able to strengthen muscles that cause dysfunctions will make you more effective in your daily life overall.
2. Helps you eliminate momentum: momentum is one of the biggest killers of fast results. Think about how easy it is to use momentum... when you are struggling to finish a rep, you will use momentum to polish it off.
Ego gets in the way a little and you will try to lift too much weight. When that happens... momentum really comes into play. But why is momentum so bad for your body?
When you use momentum, you are taking away all of the work that the primary muscle is supposed to be performing. That completely sacrifices the calories you are trying to burn and the muscle you are trying to build.
3. Helps you keep you on tempo: tempo is a small piece of the fitness puzzle that never gets talked about in typical fitness programs. However, tempo has everything to do with the type of results you are trying to get.
If you are trying to concentrate on your muscles, then slowing down the movements will force you to do just that. Because the intensity of the movement is so great, you are going to feel your muscle going crazy.
This is my favorite way to concentrate on your muscles and also concentrate on a great exercise.
These 3 benefits will supercharge your workout and the way you look.
Another big issue during a typical workout is a wondering mind. When I am at the gym, things that bring my game down are friends who are working out at the same time, tv's, to many people at once (rare but does happen), and a few other things.
Rest times tend to last to long, you go faster on a particular exercise because somebody else is waiting to use the area after you, or anything else...
This is where a conscience effort to really think about your exercise and the muscles that are working... works so well.
Quickly you will find your form becomes stronger, the momentum that use to be there no longer is, and your tempo improves. All of this will filter into one thing... Maximum Results!
About the author
Dan Boyle is a National Academy of Sports Medicine certified personal trainer. To learn a lot more about how to maximize your results with simple techniques, visit http://www.fitness-analyzer.com from http://www.FreeArticlesAndContent.com
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