Mind Over Body: How To Think a Way Into Larger Muscles?

By Rob Molloy

What do you think about when you are lifting weights and body building? This may be the difference between moderate growth and massive growth of muscles.

There was a study that Hull University in the United Kingdom did on 30 weight lifters. What they found was that muscles responded better and grew more when the lifters focused more on what their muscles were doing, rather than thinking about the weight they were trying to lift.

After having their muscles wired with monitors in order to study the electrical activity, these 30 weightlifters did some bicep curls. While they were lifting, they were to focus on the muscle and the lifting activity. Next, they were asked to focus on the weight and the up and down movement of lifting. Studies show that there was more muscle fiber activity taking place while the participants were focused on the muscle. Muscle growth is increased when there is more muscle fiber activity.

Traditional thinking dictates that you focus on the goal, rather than on the activity. For instance a golfer who concentrates more on his muscle movements rather than the hole, which is his aim, will need to take more swings. Asking a baseball pitcher to concentrate on the activity of his muscles rather than the strike zone or catchers mitt, will cause him to perform more poorly than if he concentrated on throwing a strike. When you ask a sprinter to concentrate on his leg movements he will more than likely perform worse than if he concentrated on the finish line.

In all these situations, you must pay attention to your form, as this will aid you in reaching your goals more quickly. However, in general you must focus more on your actual goal. Studies prior to this conclude that by focusing on your goal, you can better achieve that goal.

After all this, it is essential that you ask yourself a vital question. What is your weightlifting goal? Is your goal muscle development or amount of weight lifted? If you attend a gym on a daily basis, you have more than likely noticed that most individuals focus primarily on the machine and the weight. You may have done this yourself. Do you pay attention to trying to get those weights moving or the number of repetitions you do? These studies show us that this should not be the focus you should keep.

Muscle growth is your goal and your finish line. It is essential that you learn the proper techniques as well as using any machine correctly and the number of reps you do. After learning the proper technique, you will become used to it and will no longer think about how to do it. Eventually, it becomes second nature to do them properly. After doing so, and in weightlifting it will not take very long, then it is essential that you focus on what your muscles are doing.

Over the next couple months in your workout, stop paying attention to how hard it is to move that weight or how difficult it is to do all those reps. Quit looking at those people walking by and stop trying to impress them. Start concentrating on that muscle group you are working. Focus on the actual muscle building. Start watching what it is doing. Fix your mind on how that muscle feels, the movement and how it reacts to the different movements.

When you can do this, you will notice more progress of rapid muscle growth. Know that it is your mind that aids all those other muscles to work more efficiently and providing you with the body, you desire. - 17274

About the Author:

If you are reasonably new to muscle building or just want to be healthy, check out Rob Molloy's lose weight and gain muscle blog to find lots of helpful information and observe his progress to fitness.

What to do when you're sick of drinking protein shakes all day

By Jon Cardozo

I woke up this morning excited about my day and went straight into the kitchen to fix myself some breakfast. As I looked into the cupboard (do people say "cupboard" anymore?), I was disappointed to see the same boring protein shakes staring back at me. I know that I have to get enough protein everyday to complement my weight lifting. If I don't get enough protein, then my muscles won't be able to grow, right? But does it have to be so bland?

Well, the first thing you can do to improve the taste and not traumatize your taste buds is to add flavoring to your protein shakes. Fruit, peanut butter, flax seeds, even chocolate (but watch that sugar!) can add some much needed zest to your daily routine. Even so, you'll still probably get tired of drinking liquid meals all the time - so what's the solution? Simple: Don't drink them all the time.

You should understand that protein shakes should not to be the basis of your muscle building diet. You need plenty of nutrients which are not always available in these powders, so you should focus on eating plenty of whole foods. These protein supplements should be treated as their name suggests - as supplements and not the core of your diet. Think about the original purpose of these supplements.

It is true that protein shakes make it easier to get what we need. If you're serious about muscle building, you have to eat a lot of food, and this can be a real challenge if you don't spend all day in the kitchen. That's why protein drinks are so helpful, because it isn't always convenient to prepare a nice steak dinner or even a tuna sandwich.

Nevertheless, these whole foods should make up the bulk of your diet, at least the protein part of it. This will make life a little more exciting, and when you do need to add some liquid meals they won't be such a drudge. When you consider that many experts recommend 1.5 g protein per pound of body weight each day, you will likely need some protein shakes as part of your overall weight gain plan. Just mix it up a bit, and you'll be fine.

It might go without saying, but I'm going to say it anyway. If you're increasing your calorie significantly, you will gain weight. However, you have to incorporate the proper strength training workouts if you don't want your calories to simply become fat. More people than you think fail to execute this properly.

That's right, simply adding protein and overall calories to your diet, even if it's a lot of protein and calories, will not build muscle if you don't combine this with weight training. Your body doesn't particularly like to grow muscle because it's difficult to maintain so you have to give your body a reason to build muscle.

These are the basic principles of bodybuilding and muscle building which you must master. Weightlifting supplements, including protein shakes, are no substitute for a solid weight training program and muscle building diet plan. - 17274

About the Author:

If you would like to learn more about strength training programs , visit Jon Cardozo's Web site at http://maximum-muscle-gain.com . Learn the secrets to building a muscular physique and avoid the myths of the bodybuilding industry. Brought to you by Jcardozium.