Did you know that Neuromuscular Facilitation can
really make your workouts a lot more effective? Neuromuscular what?
Neuromuscular facilitation is just a fancy term for Muscle Smart or
teaching your muscles to contract more effectively.
You see, your muscles are under direct control
from your nervous system. In order for you muscles to contract, a nerve
stimulus must arrive at the muscle which will excite it. So the
coordination between your muscles and your neurological system is
critical to maximize any movement or exercise. Studies demonstrate that
any strength gains that occur in the first month of someone starting a
new weight lifting program are a result of this phenomena. It has been
coined the "Learning Effect" and occurs as the nervous and muscular
system learn to work together as a team.
This muscle-nerve relationship can be used to your
advantage to maximize the effectiveness of your workouts. A number of
studies have been done to measure this effect. One study had it subjects
perform a number of standard weight lifting exercises. The subjects were
hooked up to EMG's to measure muscle activity as the exercises were
performed.
Stage two of the study had the subjects perform
the exact same exercises with the same speed and same resistance so that
they mimicked the first stage exactly. The only difference was that the
second time around they had the subjects really focus on what they were
doing. They had them concentrate on contracting the muscles that were
supposed to be working in each exercise. Basically, they had them put
their mind into it. In this second stage, the amount of measured muscle
activity significantly increased. So the message is clear - the
mind-body connection is critical to maximize the work a muscle will do.
On a practical level, what does this mean for your
workouts? There are definitely some exercises you can dissociate from.
For example, you can get up on a treadmill, plug in a 7 minute mile and
then allow yourself to think about your day or read a magazine or watch
TV. You will burn the same amount of calories whether you focus or not.
But, with weight lifting, focus is critical. I sometimes see clients
sitting on a leg press machine reading a magazine and just going through
the motions. I feel obliged to tell them that if they put down the
magazine and focused, every rep and set would be so much more effective
and they'd see results much more quickly.
A lot of exercisers would find that if they just
concentrated while they were performing the movements, they wouldn't
have to do 2-3 sets of each exercise. If it's a really good set, one set
is often enough. Wouldn't you rather get the same results in a shorter
period of time? Would you rather spend 40 minutes or 2 hours in the
weight room? Think of all the extra time you'd have if your workouts
were more efficient!
An understanding of this entire mind-body scope
has taken on a whole new level of interest. A lot of coaches are
realizing that on any given day, there are a number of athletes who
could possibly win an event. The one who stands on top of the podium,
generally is not the one who is the most fit or talented but the one who
tapped into the enormous amount of strength stored inside of our bodies.
This untapped strength is only accessible if the
mind can overcome any limitations or barriers. For example, did you know
that it was once thought that a 4-minute mile was humanly impossible? It
wasn't until that barrier was broken that others were able to tap into
the strength that was always there. Within one year, another 5-6 people
broke the 4 minute barrier and within another year, another 50!
We would literally astound ourselves if we
actually learned to really effectively coordinate the brain and the
body. Our physical capabilities would be phenomenal. So although, you
may not be gearing up for a 4-minute mile, learning to use your brain
during your workouts will definitely take them to the next level. |
