You’ve trained hard and optimized your diet. Still, you just aren’t seeing the results. Maybe it’s time you turn your attention to your mind instead of your muscles.It’s hardly a surprise to anyone that having a razor sharp focus can help you achieve astounding things, but did you know that scientific studies now show that focusing your mind correctly while working out helps you develop your muscles?What’s interesting is that even if you have the skillset to maintain perfect focus while at work, you might be failing at it at the gym since the two require entirely different kinds of attention and focus.

Where Should I Focus? Let the Sport you are Practicing Decide.

Dr. Vance and his colleagues (2004) noticed that when people performing biceps curls focused their attention on the biceps muscles themselves (internal attentional focus), they exhibited more muscle activity than those who focused on the movement of the bar (external attentional focus). These scientist recommend that you should focus on the muscles your training while doing the actual lifting. Interestingly, the results seems to be almost opposite for endurance sports like running. Dr. Schücker and her colleagues (2013) showed that an external focus of attention leads to improved running economy when compared to an internal focus. What this means is that if a runners concentrates on internal factors, like breathing, their muscles will consume more oxygen than if they were focusing on some external thing, like the music they’re listening to. The results were even more pronounced during high intensity training.In another study, the same authors concluded that concentrating on automatic internal functions,likebreathing, is even worse than concentrating on how your muscles feel (2014). These studies show us that the type of sports you’re practicing should determine the things you center your mind around.

Training and Competing Requires Different Kind of Focus

Above, we discussed internal versus external attentional focus during exercise. This is not the only way that we can concentrate. For example, we can also focus on the act of exercising or trying to use dissociation strategies, such as music, to try to ignore the pain and weariness we’re experiencing while we exercise. Scientists studying this kind of focus often say that it would be too simplistic to say that we should dedicate our brains to every little act we perform. On some occasions, it’s actually better for us to get our attentions away from the things we’re doing. For example, Drs. Neumann and Heng from the Griffith University in Australia (2011) study the effect of focus strategies on muscle activities and heart rate during weight training. Based on their findings, they conclude that if the focus of your weight training is to build strength and muscle mass, you should use some form of distraction. Ignoring our pain and muscle fatigue leads to greater muscle growth. On the other hand, if your goal is to lift weights competitively, you should focus on the movements you’re performing as this refines the process. We can take this a step further and say that while you’re learning a new exercise, your focus should be on the muscles since you haven’t yet mastered the movements of the exercise. In the same vein, just like Dr. Vance and his colleagues (2004) demonstrated, focusing on your muscles while you’re beginning the exercise can be beneficial. However, when you begin to feel the burn, let your mind drift and fall into autopilot. You might be able to add a few more reps this way and it’s those last ones that truly count.

But how do I Focus?

So now you have learned where to focus your mind, but you still find your attention slipping while you’re exercising. One of the best ways to learn to focus is by practicing meditation. In addition to giving you greater focus, meditation also helps yourelax, and de-stress. The best news is that you don’t need any expensive tools or classes to practice meditation. All you need is a quiet, peaceful environment and at least ten minutes. You should find one special place in your home that you designate for meditation. Over time, simply seeing this place will make you more relaxed. Some people chose to look at a candle or some other point of interest while they mediate. Others prefer to keep their eyes closed. You don’t need to sit in some special yoga position. Just make sure that you feel relaxed. Do not lay down since this could make you feel sleepy. There are many ways to meditate but one easy way to begin is by focusing on your breathing. Whenever you mind wonders somewhere else, gently bring it back to your breathing. This process doesn’t happen over-night, but meditation will teach you how to focus despite your surroundings with some practice. Once you’ve mastered centering yourself on your breathing, transitioning to you muscles will come naturally to you. Below, I’ve listed some sources that you can use to learn the basics of mediation.

You don’t Always Have to Hit the Gym to Train!

Many athletes use imagery to rehearse the physical skillsthat they need in their sports. Studies have shown that imagining the ideal performance in your head before attempting it can make it easier for you to learn motor skills, reduce your anxiety during competitions, and improve your motivation. I’ve used this method to go over my posing routine.So how do you use this tool effectively? Research tells us that it does not make much of a difference if you prefer to watch yourself from the outside performing an activity or if you see yourself from first-person point of view. The important thing is to make the image as vivid as possible. Use all your senses. Imagine what you hear and see. Feel your heart beating faster. Taste your sweat. Make the whole affair as realistic as possible. This isn’t easy, but keep on practicing and you’ll start to improve upon it. Remember that your task is to imagine an ideal performance for your skill level. Don’t picture a professional completing the routine unless you’re actually at that skill level. The idea is to replicate what you envision for yourself. Just like any other skill in real life, using your mental skills takes practice. Improvements should come gradually to you.

What if you make mistakes during your mental imagery sessions? This is typically a sign of poor self-esteem. You have not gathered confidence yet. If you see yourself making a mistake, stop the image and start again. This time, focus oncarrying out movements correctly. Remember, that you can always slow down and speed up your mental images and see yourself from different angles. Think of yourself as the director of the movie playing within your head.

 

References

Crescentini C, &Capurso V. (2015). Mindfulness meditation and explicit and implicit indicators of personality and self-concept changes. Front Psychol. 29;6:44. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00044.

McAvinue, L. P., & Robertson, I. H. (2008). Measuring motor imagery ability: a review. EuropeanJournal of Cognitive Psychology, 20, 232–251.

Schücker, L., Anheier, W., Hagemann, N., Strauss, B., &Völker, K. (2013). On the optimal focus of attention for efficient running at high intensity. Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology, 2(3):207. DOI: 10.1037/a0031959

Schücker, L., Knopf, C., Strauss, B., &Hagemann, N. (2014). An Internal Focus of Attention Is Not Always as Bad as Its Reputation: How Specific Aspects of Internally Focused Attention Do Not Hinder Running Efficiency. Journal of sport & exercise psychology. 06/2014; 36(3):233-243. DOI: 10.1123/jsep.2013-0200

Vance, J., Wulf, G., Tollner, T., McNevin, N., & Mercer, J. (2004). EMG activity as a function of the performer’s focus of attention. Journal of Motor Behavior, 36, 450–459.