Learning the form and technique of various exercises is essential to being able to perform the right exercise the right way. This helps prevent injuries and strains on muscles so that you can continue to make gains and progress on your fitness journey. It is not, however, the only factor when determining the effectiveness of your workout.
The mind-muscle connection, or also known as the mindfulness of the exercise, is almost as important. It can boost the productivity and response of a certain muscle up to ten per cent. This is a significant gain in terms of individual muscle exercises whereby they aren't reliant on secondary or tertiary muscles. This means that the simple act of mental imagery can cause activity in muscles that allows you to get a better, thorough and more effective workout.
When you are working out, the best way to incorporate this into your exercises is to actually visualize yourself working that particular muscle. Your brain will send a stronger signal, stronger than the impulses that are being sent there during the actually physical exertion, so that you end up with an even more powerful workout. That means that you cannot sit there performing your workout thinking about what you are going to cook for dinner, mentally preparing grocery lists or thinking about issues that you have at work. All the unnecessary thinking needs to be shut down and eliminated from your mind throughout the workout or you are not going to be mindfully exercising.
The best way to do this is to take a five minute breather at the beginning of your workout to center and focus yourself. Focusing on your breathing is a good way to release tensions and worries. Or, try visualizing yourself performing your workout or achieving a long-term goal. This serves the purpose of removing distractions from your head and filling it with intentions and future goals. This can help you concentrate more on the task at hand rather than competing with other daily problems.
If distracting thoughts keep coming into your head, try a few different techniques that require different patterns of thought and may help clear your head. Try counting the reps you are performing out loud while closing your eyes to block out visual distractions. Turning off your sense of sight by closing your eyes usually helps bring you into the moment and become more aware of your surroundings.
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Richard likes to write about various interesting topics and has been doing so for years. His latest website is http://zebrablanket.org which provides information on what to look for in a bedding blanket .
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