“There is so much wisdom in our bodies. We just have to learn how to listen and trust what we’re hearing”. -Brené Brown
Brené put it perfectly. Our bodies speak to us, letting us know what’s best for us, if something is wrong, etc. In the previous article, we discussed how our body will notify us when we are bottling up emotions that need to be worked through and released. Today we are going to talk about how communicating with the body can help us during workouts.
When you think about which muscles to engage during a movement, the brain sends stronger signals to actively engage that specific muscle more quickly or effectively, thus, one can improve technique and effectively target the muscles one wants to work on.
The Mind Body Connection is especially useful if you don’t feel a muscle turning on. If this is the case, find an activity that activates it. For example, before I deadlift or squat, I always hit 20 glute band steps to turn on my glutes. Then when I lift, I am thinking “use your glutes”. From practicing this, I can finally feel my glutes working after years of using my quads as the dominant muscle in all my lifts; that’s how I would compensate for old knee injuries. As a result, my lifts are stronger and my technique has improved.
This practice is also helpful when re-training your body to move properly after an injury or long recovery. Listening to and learning from your body can help you move more effectively and efficiently in a workout. Furthermore, we all know how important it is to stop if a movement is causing pain or symptoms. Your body will tell you if you’re moving incorrectly, may injure yourself if you keep pushing, or that you need to dial it back if it’s too much on your body for that day. For example, when I am doing too much, my body will tell me I need to stop and rest through headaches and nausea. Listen and respect what your body is communicating to you.
In your next workout, I encourage you to intentionally activate your muscles through an activation exercise and the simple act of thinking about those muscles as well as listen to your body’s messages.
Benson's Lifestyle 