MIND OVER MATTER ISN’T ENOUGH! Use the Mind-Muscle Connection
Visualize the muscles you are using. Every time you move, whether using a stationary bike, taking a walk, or lifting weights in a gym, picture the muscles you’re using in your head. Imagine the muscle fibers stretching and contracting with each movement.
Many assume working out is the muscle’s job, pushing weights around as we enjoy a song or listen to a podcast. While this may be a fun way to pass the time, you’re not doing your fitness any favors with your mind elsewhere.
When you work out, you should use a “mind- muscle connection,” or purposely think about the movement and contractions of your muscles as you use them. This is better because when your brain consciously focuses on your muscles and their contractions, it employs more muscle fibers to complete the task. You build strength in a more complete, well-rounded way. If you’re not using a mind-muscle connection yet, don’t worry! Here’s how you can start next time you’re ready to sweat.
Use cues to remind you of your working muscles. Sometimes, our minds drift off during a workout, and that’s normal. But if you find your head in the clouds more often than you’re thinking about your exercise, it might be time to use a few cues. A cue simply reminds you of what you’re physically doing. One way to incorporate a cue is to talk to yourself with each repetition. For example, if you’re performing a bench press, you can say “up” when you push the bar away and “down” when you lower it toward you.
Turn off distractions. Remember the music or podcast we mentioned earlier? Turn it off! This also includes silencing your phone or turning off any nearby TVs. It may take some time to get used to working out in silence, but with nowhere else to wander, the brain has an easier time focusing on those muscle movements.
Utilize time under tension. The slower you perform your exercise, the more opportunity your brain has to talk to those muscles you’re using. Try holding each repetition for three seconds before moving on to the next, and as you hold, visualize those muscles for the entire three seconds.
If at First You Don’t Succeed …
THE VALUE IN ALWAYS GETTING BACK UP
We all fall down in life — whether you trip and fall while bringing in groceries, skin your knee while riding a bike, fall right on your butt on the ice and snow, or stumble and fall face first in your career, it’s
important to always pick yourself back up. As Michael Jordan once said, “It doesn’t matter if you fall down; it’s whether you get back up.” In high school, we had a Latin motto that translated to “broke down and built back stronger.” As I played on the football team, our coach would always motivate us by teaching how to answer to defeat. If the other team scored a touchdown, it wasn’t about accepting our fate. Instead, it was time to answer and come back stronger. On Feb. 1, we celebrate National Get Up Day, a day to shine a light on the importance of always getting back up after you get knocked down in life. I’m a firm believer in taking action and moving forward to avoid becoming stuck in defeat
and muck. Sure, it’s important to reflect on the lessons that lead us to stumble, but it’s more important to move past it. I believe that God only gives us what we need, when we need it. Recently, I’ve been bellyaching about delays in the building of our surgical center, but when I take a step back, I realize it’s happening exactly as it should happen, and I need to trust the process. In my football career, I faced a scary injury and was told I’d never play again. As tempting as it was to pack up my equipment and leave my passion for the game out on the field for the very last time, I underwent rehabilitation and was able to come back stronger, allowing me to have so many more great experiences. I wasn’t ready to accept a limitation — I needed to get back up!
2 • WWW.MUSICCITYPLASTICSURGERY.COM • YOUR UNPARALLELED PLASTIC SURGERY EXPERIENCE
Made with FlippingBook Ebook Creator