The Good And The Bad
So where have I been? Nowhere really. I was out all last week – again – unfortunately. This time it was due to a back injury I sustained whilst on a night out, and I absolutely refute any idea that it had anything to do with me being full of alcohol. The fact I was in a pub at the time was purely coincidental – I’m serious.
(In a nutshell, I was out, and you know you sometimes get them doorways with stupid [Grade 1 Expletive] tiny couple of inch steps you don’t see until you’ve already jarred your spine by stepping off them? Well, that’s what happened to me. And it hurt like a bastard all week.)
And then lady luck smiled upon me and gave me a severe cold and a sore throat so bad that when I wasn’t coughing up thick yellow and green phlegm, I was swallowing shards of glass every time I swallowed even the softest foods. Yeah, it was a good week…
Sorry to be graphic, but if you can’t be real, what’s the point in bloggin’?
But anyway, this week I’ve been cracking back on and God it feels good. And I’ve also noticed something good happening… something which I’ve never really experienced before…
When lifting, particularly for a beginner, it can be consuming enough to lift the weight from point A to B with good form; let alone focusing intensely on the muscles you are trying to hit.
They say that over time, the more you focus on how the specific muscle groups feel when you lift, the better the nerve pathways develop, in essence giving you fuller control of the muscle and a better feel in them whilst lifting.
I suppose you could look at it like this: the average healthy person can lift both eyebrows simultaneously without a problem, but many who are asked to do so separately will find they can only do one eyebrow while the other feels like they just can’t control it… it’s like the mind to muscle connection simply isn’t there. And it’s the same principle with muscular control when it comes to lifting weights.
Like many people, in various muscles I have a far lesser degree of control than in the ones on the other side of my body. For instance, flexing my left quad has proven to be much more of a task than my right quad. Feeling my right bicep contract has also been fairly difficult. Feeling my chest while lifting; difficult… and my lats? Almost impossible.
Recently, because I’ve been focussing intently on the muscles, giving the intended muscle groups a thorough squeeze at the top of each rep, I’ve noticed that I’m beginning to develop far better control and a far better feel for the muscles. Also, I feel regular flexing when not lifting is also playing a big part in helping me develop better feeling and control of my muscles.
It’s no secret that this is a very important aspect of bodybuilding, so I’m definitely pleased at this development.
