Train with your Brain

04 April 2009 ~ 0 Comments

Sipping my electrolyte infused water between exercises, I glanced around the gym. Couldn’t help but notice the woman on the adductor machine – staring into space as she rapidly worked her inner thighs – or at least intended to. However, her mind was definitely elsewhere, likely anywhere but in the gym. Then there was the guy doing lat pulldowns as he surveyed the scene. His mind was in the gym – well at least on the other patrons in the gym – but definitely not on his exercise.

This got me thinking. I realize it is tough sometimes to head to the gym and exercise, and we do it because we know we need to. For many people there is one objective – get through the exercise routines we have scheduled for the day and get the heck out of there. Now don’t get me wrong, I am all for getting in and getting out. Unless you work in a gym I see no reason to hang around for hours – that is the topic of another day (the diminishing returns of longer hours in the gym). By all means keep your workout to a manageable period of time; however, make that time really count. While you are in the gym make every set, very repetition count.

The way to do this is to really focus on each repetition. No one is perfect, if I see a cute guy I may get momentarily distracted, but it is not very often. (I wonder if that is a sign of the times –fewer cute guys in the gym, or I am just not noticing them……….. but I digress……!) The point is that my time in the gym is limited and I choose to use it efficiently.

So don’t waste the time you have in the gym; use it well. Focus on what you are doing. Not only is it good practice, it can also help avoid accidents from inattention.

Remember, your results are directly affected by how you work out, not just by what exercises you do and how much weight you use. “Train with your Brain” implies engaging your mind when you engage your muscles, and you can improve your results exponentially.

But let’s take this one step further. A significant secret of effective training – more on secrets in future writings – is that thinking about the muscles as you exercise them enhances the outcome of the workout. So don’t just think about the exercise you are doing – really focus your mind on the muscles you are working.

This may sound straightforward, but few people understand what this really means and how to do it. See the muscle in your mind’s eye; picture the muscle as it contracts, and feel this to the exclusion of all else. If you have a training partner, have her place her fingertips on the muscles as you perform the contraction; that really brings your mind right to the muscles. If you use this technique, you will start to feel how different a mindful set feels versus a mindless set. And you will notice the difference in results.