All of our muscle contractions are controlled by neurons from the brain and spinal cord. By focusing on a specific muscle while working out, we can increase the neuronal activity to the specific muscle, meaning more muscle fibers will be activated by the nervous system.
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This is called Mind-Muscle connection.
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Most people fail this because of lifting with too heavy weights or/and doing the exercise too fast.
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Another phenomenon known as mental training (mentally thinking of a muscle without performing physical exercise), enhances the signals to the muscles and thus leads to a higher activation level and when done correctly can increase strength. In this study, two groups were trained to perform “mental contractions” of two different muscles (finger abduction and elbow flexion).
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After their 12 week mental training program strength significantly increased (35% and 13.5%).
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In conclusion – think of the muscle you’re working out to get stronger!
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