MIND
TRAINING
BODY
CONNECTION
MASTER IT TO GROW MORE MUSCLE!
By Steve Marteski
By: Steve Marteski
T
requires constant adjustments. The highest level of the mind-body
however they illustrate the possibilities of mind-muscle mastery. As
he connection between the mind and body is a skill that
connection though belongs to master Buddhist Yogis in Tibet
it relates to the gym, honing an advanced mind-muscle connection
most of us barely scratch the surface of developing.
and the Himalayas. Scientists studying them over the years have
will result in increased and more complete muscle-growth and
We can think about moving our arm and easily lift it
documented mind-blowing acts that most of us can’t even begin to
greatly decrease the chances and frequency of injuries. Further, by
any speed or direction we want, we can get up and walk or run
comprehend. The case of a man voluntarily making his forehead
learning to fully and completely activate the muscle, more strength
mindlessly, chew our food and swallow it without thinking and other
perspire while in a freezing room, a man who could regurgitate on
can also be developed. There are several methods that can be
basic functions without much thought at all. This is the basic level
command, cases of Yogis altering their heart rate to levels so low
used to build the mind-muscle connection and take training and
of the mind-muscle connection that we all develop subconsciously.
that it was undetectable by a stethoscope.
muscular development to a level not possible otherwise. However,
Most remarkable, though, was the case of Swami
Rama, who, while sitting perfectly still produced
an atrial heart flutter of 306 beats per minute that
lasted 16 seconds. During a fibrillation of this
speed, a section of the heart oscillates so rapidly
that it can’t even fill with blood and the valves
don’t work. However Swami Rama gave no indication of pain
much like playing baseball, basketball, or stopping your heart on
or heart damage after the fact. These Yogis developed such thor-
monitoring total muscle activity. They were instructed to produce
mastery of his hands, arms and legs to sink free throws over and
ough control over their muscles that they could even modify sub-
as much force as possible under three separate conditions. (1)
over without fail took years of developing ridiculous control over
conscious body functions. These are extreme cases of mind-mus-
Thinking about their muscles and how they were contracting, (2)
his muscle movements via his nervous system. It takes not only
cle control that took decades to master with multiple hours spent
thinking about the dumbbell they were lifting and (3) thinking about
control, but continued control through various levels of fatigue that
every day and takes a level of concentration beyond belief,
When we begin playing sports, the mind-muscle connection gets a
bit more intricate; to sink a jump shot in basketball or hit a fastball
in baseball you reach another level of the mind-muscle connection,
often described as eye-hand coordination. This involves extremely
precise movements, often under stress and involves a multitude of
muscles at once working in harmony.
A man named Ted Martin (not a pro-basketball player) made
an astounding 5,221 free throws in a row in 1996. He didn’t just
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Natural Muscle Magazine
Holiday 2016
command, it is going to take practice.
Researchers at Hull University Department of Psychology in
collaboration with the College of Sport, Heath and Exercise
Science carried out a study in which they examined the impact of
harnessing the mind muscle connection in a gym setting. A group
of 29 people performed bicep curls while connected to a machine