What is the Mind Muscle Connection and Why is it so Important?

[@wesleyangel777]

A best friend of mine helped me with this in what was seemingly an over-simplistic statement, years ago. He said "focus on how your muscles FEEL as you are working them." At my possibly confused look, he followed that up with, "do they feel like the exercise is hitting them, as it should be, or not?" He also suggested overcoming isometrics to help me FEEL what I was working. Probably one of the best pieces of training advice I've ever recieved. Especially since you can really put in a great effort with isos and not risk harm.

[@RedDeltaProject]

Amen Wesley. The feeling of the muscle for an athlete is like the flavor of a dish to a chef.

[@timchuk4916]

Great topic, extremely underrated skill to possess. Comes with constant practice.

[@kallebuchholz2156]

I haven't had a lot of time lately. That's why I train at 5:30 in the morning. At this time I don't feel like counting anything, let alone counting repetitions. So just don't count and just focus on making each rep as hard as possible. I hope this helps my brain-muscle connection.

[@joshuabyrne2220]

Really loved the video, I’d honestly love a whole podcast dedicated to the mind muscle connection that dives deeper into the topic

[@JohnDoe-qq8et]

Practice exercise: use your mind to muscle connection to click the like button, guys.

[@tillbienek6320]

For me , since November 2020: 1. Micro workouts for every Mucsle 4-5 Times a Week. 2. I try not to count reps, more focusing on the contraction. 3. Scaling the Pump after each Set. If i think more Pump is achievable i do more, if not i stop. 4. I already have a good mind muscle connection by doing sports all my live and woking out over twenty years now. But this approach made all easier, creates less stress, my motivation is high and i am getting a better connection to my body. Most important: It is fun.

[@ddpwe5269]

Great video Matt! Getting back into the swing of things for myself after a long stint off, it took me 3-4 months to finally get my entire upper back to fire properly. My lats were never a problem at all, but being hunched over for many years and not doing much else definitely turned off a lot of muscles. Surprising compared to what I use to be like and how fast you could come around from taking 1-2 weeks off, but 3~ years was killer. Once you do start to get everything working properly, what a HUGE difference in how it feels, regardless how many reps you can do. So much more fulfilling now, but also very humbling as I've never been this, unfit before. It also gives you a better idea of how some people who have literally never done anything before actually come from with how long it may take a beginner to start certain movements.

[@RedDeltaProject]

Your experience certainly gives you a level of understanding few people ever achieve there DDPWE. but big time congrats for coming back and getting into the swing of things. Many people never come back, they just take a break and never start back up again. I know it's hard and frustrating at times when you're coming back, but you're getting Better every day. progression is always about moving forward from where you started, not about your current state. Onward and upward form here on out!

[@ddpwe5269]

@@RedDeltaProject Thank you my friend! Indeed it has been frustrating, but very rewarding. I can't wait to get back to at least where I was and then some. Yeah, had to sit down and focus on the day to day progress, rather than where I was as a marker of current progress. It took time, but like you said, onward and upward! It's truly amazing the things your body 'forgets' when you don't use it, but then equally amazing how it can bounce back.

[@joshuabush2569]

A great example is doing push ups just aimlessly going through the motion Vs focusing on feeling and squeezing the chest... Especially at the top position. I can personally do almost half my reps when focusing on MMC

[@woodlandbiker]

I began exercising with isometrics and self resistance years ago. I think that put me in good stead for the rest of my life as mmc has always come naturally to me since those earlier days. I can't imagine training any other way.

[@dropweightdaddy]

So True. My method is to imagining the a number of muscle strands are tense. Then I imagine sparking more to turn on individually. If i am struggling doing this, I have even closed my eyes to improve my mindset.

[@wesleyangel777]

This is a very cool concept! How did you come about it, if I may ask?

[@RedDeltaProject]

Sound perspective there Michael. Thank you for sharing your experience with us.

[@johnsmith-jg2xz]

You just made me realize why my mind muscle connection has been getting better lately. I've been doing a lot of iso training lately which is really fun( I like the burn).

[@boogerie]

Sounds like "Muscle Control" a la Maxick & Monte Saldo needs to be revisted

[@wesleyangel777]

Yes! It's so rare to find someone who knows Maxick and Saldo! I used Maxick's techniques to reduce the amount of atrophy in my right limbs after an accident. I spoke to my doctor and he said my limbs appeared as though I had only been injured for a month, not three! Rock on!🤘

[@IuliiAgricolae99]

Why don't we create a Telegram channel of people interested in these oldtime strongmen with their knowledge? I think Matt could help us in this.

[@RedDeltaProject]

That would be great. There's so much to dig into and learn form the old pioneers.

[@mx.lucyfur]

I've made a bit of progress in this of late. I find that my focus in many exercises is the movement I'm trying to achieve or the end goal of the movement. For example, in a chin up, my focus is normally on lifting my body up to the bar. In a squat, it's lowering myself down and rising back up again. In a curl, it's lifting the weight. So the focus is on executing the movement, not the **mechanics** of executing the movement. Lately, I've shifted my focus to where it's as if I am mentally focused on pulling with the muscles required to contract to achieve a specific movement. So, to use the previous examples, the focus of a chin up isn't merely "pull myself up" but more like focusing on contracting the lats, shoulders, biceps, and other pull chain muscles involved. The movement through the joints and body is simply the byproduct of telling those muscles to contract. This is very helpful in creating stable movement in single leg exercises where things like weak glutes can cause problems by shifting too much work to minor muscles like the glute medius and hip flexors. I was doing lateral squats earlier and to rise up out of a squat, rather than focus on simply pushing with my leg to raise my body, I thought of the motion as needing to contract the glutes, hams, and quads to operate the lever arms of the leg that produce the desired movement. An easy way to experiment with this idea is with a single-joint movement like a curl. Set your hand in your lap and imagine that your arm is dead or a prosthetic from the elbow down. The ONLY way you can lift it is to contract the bicep as the motor that moves the lever arm of your forearm. Focus on pulling with it to shorten the bicep. If you do it right, it's almost like your hand starts to rise by itself. You're still basically having your brain say "curl my arm" but you're delivering the command with a slightly different focus. You can play around with this in all sorts of ways. Like for a pushup, instead of simply thinking about pushing your body away from the floor, try to create the motion by pulling inwards with your pecs. Doing this with a playful, almost curious approach is a great way to enhance awareness of these connections and learn what it feels like to really squeeze the muscles involved in a movement. An added benefit of this is it can actually help you squeeze out those last few hard reps. It brings your focus into the muscles that need to be activated and away from thoughts like, "AAHHHH, this suuuuucks!" It's like mentally shifting from a person struggling to get that last rep to a machine that is simply working to execute a mechanical function. I bet if you can do this you can increase reps in a lot of things by at least one or two more than you thought you could do before. You can also practice this outside of your workouts. Instead of just flopping onto the couch to watch TV, lower yourself in a controlled fashion and really feel the muscles involved in helping you lower slowly. When you get up from your desk chair, focus on rising by squeezing the glutes and let the lift of your body be the byproduct of that action. Little "movement snacks" like that sprinkled throughout the day are a great way to play with that mind-muscle connection not to mention waking up body parts that kinda check out after we've been siting for a while.

[@jameswoods6385]

Hey Matt, thank you for the advice. I will do a set or 2 of light resistance rows and push ups for 30 reps or so as a warm up. Looking forward to getting the RDP hoodies soon. Thank you so much

[@robertjoycetraining3126]

Great video Matt. This makes perfect sense as I’ve I’ve noticed when people have tight upper traps from desk work they recruit the traps first for almost everything even leg training. This must be the case for body parts people want to improve too that in many cases it just has poor neurological efficiency and needs a few weeks/months of ‘turning on’

[@RedDeltaProject]

Good observation there Rob. Also one of the mistakes I used to make was that when someone had a dominant muscle group, like those traps, I tried to get them to turn down that activation. But now I realize it's much easier and more effective to increase the activation of the opposing muscle groups to balance them out.

[@robertjoycetraining3126]

Yes this just made me laugh as I remember telling them to ‘relax this’ and stabbing it with my finger-obviously it never worked 😂

[@randell07]

Hey! Can you make a video on how we can activate every muscle properly? I can activate my left chest but not my right

[@palashghosh7586]

Can you make a video on muscle building micro workouts and skill practice routine

[@littleflor2975]

Appreciated as always 👊🏻

[@jameswoods6385]

Hey Matt, Thank you for all you do in helping all of us in the RDP community. How can I buy one of those Hoodies? Do them come in different colors?

[@RedDeltaProject]

Thanks James, I'm working on getting them ready for the public, and they should be available in the next few days.

[@markorerecic9005]

Almost 100 000! 💪

[@byanymeansnecessary398]

Question is, do/can isometric lifts BUILD MUSCLE?

[@daveadams7989]

Great simple explanation as always! I’m deep down the super slow rep training rabbit hole courtesy of Doug McGuff and Steve Maxwell. Have you ever tried this approach consistently to see if it is indeed the most efficient workout protocol?

[@RedDeltaProject]

Over the years, I've found my reps are getting slower and slower. While I do believe there is benefit to doing slow, there's also a lot of benefit to moving fast. Like with rep ranges, it's good to have variety rather than to do things one particular way all the time. It's fine to have a favorite speed, but change is good.

[@daveclifford7895]

Great video Matt ! One question though in your opinion what’s more important TUT or the power of the contraction , or does it depend on what your training for ? Cheers Dave

[@RedDeltaProject]

Thanks Dave, yes it depends on what you're training for. power is application specific, like if you need to generate speed for a sport like in the martial arts.

[@ChroniclesofAJ]

very true

[@araboooeee]

👌🏼👍🏼

[@dahabiadahabia7694]

sensei you have quite dtrong neck and traps is there any calisthencis exercise or its kind of boxing bodyweight neck training

[@helios1336]

Unfortunately the shipping of the isometric equipment from worldfit is way to expensive (25$). I live in germany....do you can suggest similiar equipment?

[@RedDeltaProject]

See if you can get a hold of a Yoga strap as those work, or the straps from a set of gymnastics rings.

[@helios1336]

@@RedDeltaProject Thanks for the suggestion matt. I just got the ISO-FLO from Bullworker, as i had an amazon voucher left...should work like the ones from worldfit i guess :)

[@Afraaz]

you sound like a slightly lower pitch vsauce3

[@jameswoods6385]

Hey Matt, If I do a simple microworkout such as the 1 minutes iso-dymamic workout for my push and pull chain a couple of times a week for a few months until my elbows get stronger. Would that be an effective workout? I am trying to concentrate on the quality of my reps to compensate for the lack of variety and volume in my upper body workouts due to some tendonosis in my elbows. Also doing some overcoming isometrics to improve tension control. Does that seem to sound like a viable and sound strategy to you in your experience? I apologize for the long question.

[@RedDeltaProject]

Yep, I Like the addition of the isometrics to ensure the tension is going into your muscles rather than the tissues around your joints. Somthing to consider: Maybe also play with some high-volume but light resistance exercises to promote blood flow into those tissues. I'm talking really light, like shadow boxing or rows for 30 reps or so.

[@jameswoods6385]

Hey Matt, after I do overcoming isometrics my elbows feel better. Better than when I do dynamic exercise. Any reason for that?

[@5iv3head]

great vid boss - always useful. hey quick question - have you ever heard of the Monkey Feet from Animal House Fitness? I just came across it and it looks amazing for hamstrings and hip flexors, etc. would be awesome if you got your hands on it and review it maybe? :D

[@davepazz580]

That's not really a bodyweight training device...

[@5iv3head]

@@davepazz580 kensui ez vest isn't body weight either 😁

[@davepazz580]

True... but at least it took a bodyweight movement to be able to use it.

[@RedDeltaProject]

haven't heard of it before, but always keen to explore some new ideas and toys.

[@UncleDanBand64]

Well....used to, I thought you guys were full of crap with your mind muscle connection crap! I am 56 and started working out hard in August. For the first time since I played football. Back then I cut every corner. Finally after 8 months of working out....I got it. I was wanting to give a one second pause at the top of my movements. Now.....I am a Texican! I ain't doing no 1 Mississippi! So, I hit the Top and said 1 Ronnie Coleman....him being a fellow Texican and all. Now, that don't matter much but, I was always eager to count 1, 2, 3, etc as I started the movement.....once I waited until I hit the top for an isometric hold it clicked....plus I like to think that 1 Ronnie Coleman helped😀

[@RedDeltaProject]

LOL! Well, you can 1 Ronnie Coleman all you like, but everyone knows "1 Jay Cuttler" is the way to go. But yea, isometrics are a good way to "get it" in this sense. Plus MMC is one of those things that's hard to really understand until you actually improve it. Took me about 5 years to finally get it, so you're clearly a faster learner than I am.

[@UncleDanBand64]

No way.....1 Ronnie Coleman just sounds better than 1 Jay Cutler😀@@RedDeltaProject

[@UncleDanBand64]

Oh, it will work without the mind muscle connection.....but better with it. There is no free lunch from point A to point B.....just saying....

[@RedDeltaProject]

But there can be compensation. if you have poor activation of a muscle, but focus on doing an exercise, the brain will figure out how to use other muscles to make that happen.