Mindfulness & Muscle: How Thinking About Training Can Be Training
“As you think, so shall you become.” —Bruce Lee
The mindfulness movement is gaining popularity, and it’s finding application in just about every sector. Google is bringing in Zen masters to help their employees cultivate mindfulness practices that spark insight and create happier work places. Educators in the USA, England, Canada, New Zealand and Thailand are achieving remarkable results by incorporating science-driven mindfulness lessons into their curriculum. But when it comes to the world of fitness, these practices have mostly only found homes in yoga studios. Those who take strength & conditioning seriously should be taking the science of mindfulness seriously, too.
I speak as a former MMA fighter and current NSCA-Certified Personal Trainer when I say that there are only so many physical ways to get faster, stronger and more conditioned. I speak as one who has studied with Zen Master Thích Nhất Hạnh when I say that we trainers and athletes have yet to explore the profound depth that practices such as a deep visualization can have on physical performance. Sure, we speak of performance being “90 percent mental,” but we seem only to explore this in the realm of inner toughness and poise. In the past decade, science has proven that it’s time to leverage the untapped dimensions behind our words. Here are insights culled from four of those studies:
2004
The results of an NIH-funded study titled “From mental power to muscle power—gaining strength by using the mind” were published in Neuropsychologia, an international, interdisciplinary and peer-reviewed journal based in Oxford and Boston that focuses on cognitive neuroscience. The purpose of the study was to determine if and to what extent mental training alone could induce physical strength gains. Thirty adults were taken through a 12-week mental training regimen (15 minutes per day, 5 days per week) that included mental contractions of little finger abduction. The result: a 35 percent increase in finger abduction strength.
Study insights in the author’s words
“The improvement in muscle strength for trained groups was accompanied by significant increases in electroencephalogram-derived cortical potential, a measure previously shown to be directly related to control of voluntary muscle contractions. We conclude that the mental training employed by this study enhances the cortical output signal, which drives the muscles to a higher activation level and increases strength.”
2007
The results of a study titled “Mind Over Matter: Mental Training Increases Physical Training” were published in the North American Journal of Psychology, a peer-reviewed academic journal. The study again tested whether mental training alone could produce gains in muscular strength. The study asked 30 male athletes (football, basketball and rugby) to perform mental contractions of their hip flexor muscles. Another group physically exercised their hip flexor muscles through a weight machine. The result: physical strength increased 24 percent by mental practice. Physical strength increased by 28 percent in the group that used the hip flexor machine.
Study insights in the author’s words:
“The strength gain was greatest among the football players given mental training. Mental and physical training produced similar decreases in heart rate, and both yielded a marginal reduction in systolic blood pressure.”
2013
The results of a study titled “Kinesthetic imagery training of forceful muscle contractions increases brain signal and muscle strength” were published in the Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, a first-tier electronic journal edited by Dr. John Foxe of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University in New York City. The study was similar to the 2007 study; 18 participants engaged in mental training (referred to as IMI, or internal motor imagery) of right-elbow flexion for 15 minutes a day, five days a week. Rather than the 12-week routine of the 2003 study, this group trained for six weeks. The result: the IMI group achieved 10.8 percent gains in right-elbow flexion strength.
Study insights in the author’s words:
“We suggest that the IMI training likely strengthened brain-to-muscle (BTM) command that may have improved motor unit recruitment and activation, and led to greater muscle output. Training by IMI of forceful muscle contractions may change the activity level of cortical motor control network, which may translate into greater descending command to the target muscle and increase its strength.”
2014
The results of a study titled “The Power of the Mind: The Cortex as a Critical Determinant of Muscle Strength/Weakness” was published in the Journal of Neurophysiology, a monthly, peer-reviewed scientific journal established in 1938 and currently edited by Dr. Bill J Yates, Professor of Otolaryngology, Neuroscience, and Clinical and Translational Science at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The purpose of the study was twofold: to test the hypothesis that the nervous system is a critical determinant of muscle strength/weakness and that “...a high level of corticospinal inhibition is an important neurophysiologic factor regulating force generation.” The four-week study involved one group that underwent wrist/hand immobilization to induce weakness. The other group also underwent immobilization, but they performed mental imagery of strong muscle contractions for five days a week. The result: mental imagery training reduced the loss of strength by 50 percent.
Study insights in the author’s words
“Mental imagery training, however, attenuated the loss of strength... These findings suggest neurological mechanisms, most likely at the cortical level, contribute significantly to disuse-induced weakness, and that regular activation of the cortical regions via imagery attenuates weakness.”
May we take seriously the time we spend thinking about our training. If we pair our thoughts of scheduling rep count, set number and percentage of max with mindful visualization techniques, we have the potential to unlock new worlds of performance in the field of strength & conditioning.
References
2004 Source:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14998709
2007 Source:
http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/24646195/mind-over-matter-mental-training-increases-physical-strength
2013 Source:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3783980/
2014 Source:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25274345
The mindfulness movement is gaining popularity, and it’s finding application in just about every sector. Google is bringing in Zen masters to help their employees cultivate mindfulness practices that spark insight and create happier work places. Educators in the USA, England, Canada, New Zealand and Thailand are achieving remarkable results by incorporating science-driven mindfulness lessons into their curriculum. But when it comes to the world of fitness, these practices have mostly only found homes in yoga studios. Those who take strength & conditioning seriously should be taking the science of mindfulness seriously, too.
I speak as a former MMA fighter and current NSCA-Certified Personal Trainer when I say that there are only so many physical ways to get faster, stronger and more conditioned. I speak as one who has studied with Zen Master Thích Nhất Hạnh when I say that we trainers and athletes have yet to explore the profound depth that practices such as a deep visualization can have on physical performance. Sure, we speak of performance being “90 percent mental,” but we seem only to explore this in the realm of inner toughness and poise. In the past decade, science has proven that it’s time to leverage the untapped dimensions behind our words. Here are insights culled from four of those studies:
2004
The results of an NIH-funded study titled “From mental power to muscle power—gaining strength by using the mind” were published in Neuropsychologia, an international, interdisciplinary and peer-reviewed journal based in Oxford and Boston that focuses on cognitive neuroscience. The purpose of the study was to determine if and to what extent mental training alone could induce physical strength gains. Thirty adults were taken through a 12-week mental training regimen (15 minutes per day, 5 days per week) that included mental contractions of little finger abduction. The result: a 35 percent increase in finger abduction strength.
Study insights in the author’s words
“The improvement in muscle strength for trained groups was accompanied by significant increases in electroencephalogram-derived cortical potential, a measure previously shown to be directly related to control of voluntary muscle contractions. We conclude that the mental training employed by this study enhances the cortical output signal, which drives the muscles to a higher activation level and increases strength.”
2007
The results of a study titled “Mind Over Matter: Mental Training Increases Physical Training” were published in the North American Journal of Psychology, a peer-reviewed academic journal. The study again tested whether mental training alone could produce gains in muscular strength. The study asked 30 male athletes (football, basketball and rugby) to perform mental contractions of their hip flexor muscles. Another group physically exercised their hip flexor muscles through a weight machine. The result: physical strength increased 24 percent by mental practice. Physical strength increased by 28 percent in the group that used the hip flexor machine.
Study insights in the author’s words:
“The strength gain was greatest among the football players given mental training. Mental and physical training produced similar decreases in heart rate, and both yielded a marginal reduction in systolic blood pressure.”
2013
The results of a study titled “Kinesthetic imagery training of forceful muscle contractions increases brain signal and muscle strength” were published in the Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, a first-tier electronic journal edited by Dr. John Foxe of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University in New York City. The study was similar to the 2007 study; 18 participants engaged in mental training (referred to as IMI, or internal motor imagery) of right-elbow flexion for 15 minutes a day, five days a week. Rather than the 12-week routine of the 2003 study, this group trained for six weeks. The result: the IMI group achieved 10.8 percent gains in right-elbow flexion strength.
Study insights in the author’s words:
“We suggest that the IMI training likely strengthened brain-to-muscle (BTM) command that may have improved motor unit recruitment and activation, and led to greater muscle output. Training by IMI of forceful muscle contractions may change the activity level of cortical motor control network, which may translate into greater descending command to the target muscle and increase its strength.”
2014
The results of a study titled “The Power of the Mind: The Cortex as a Critical Determinant of Muscle Strength/Weakness” was published in the Journal of Neurophysiology, a monthly, peer-reviewed scientific journal established in 1938 and currently edited by Dr. Bill J Yates, Professor of Otolaryngology, Neuroscience, and Clinical and Translational Science at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The purpose of the study was twofold: to test the hypothesis that the nervous system is a critical determinant of muscle strength/weakness and that “...a high level of corticospinal inhibition is an important neurophysiologic factor regulating force generation.” The four-week study involved one group that underwent wrist/hand immobilization to induce weakness. The other group also underwent immobilization, but they performed mental imagery of strong muscle contractions for five days a week. The result: mental imagery training reduced the loss of strength by 50 percent.
Study insights in the author’s words
“Mental imagery training, however, attenuated the loss of strength... These findings suggest neurological mechanisms, most likely at the cortical level, contribute significantly to disuse-induced weakness, and that regular activation of the cortical regions via imagery attenuates weakness.”
May we take seriously the time we spend thinking about our training. If we pair our thoughts of scheduling rep count, set number and percentage of max with mindful visualization techniques, we have the potential to unlock new worlds of performance in the field of strength & conditioning.
References
2004 Source:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14998709
2007 Source:
http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/24646195/mind-over-matter-mental-training-increases-physical-strength
2013 Source:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3783980/
2014 Source:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25274345
| Cameron Conaway is an award-winning journalist and poet. He's an NSCA-Certified Personal Trainer, an MMA Conditioning Coach and a NESTA Sports Nutrition Specialist. Conaway is an editor at The Modern Team. Connect with him on Twitter @CameronConaway. |
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