Whenever I start training with a new client (and especially men!) I take a lot of time to explain to them a principle that has proven to be quite literally THE most important aspect of creating an amazing physical change in the shortest possible time.
Usually, they listen to me, nod in all the right places, tell me that they understand and are 100% onboard with the concept… right before they complain about their training not being hard enough, creating enough of a sweat or burning enough calories!
It’s funny now, but I used to get really frustrated by this and wonder to myself “why don’t these people understand this?!”
After all, the principle is, without a doubt, the most powerful ’secret’ in creating physical transformation that, to me at least, it seems amazing that people would want to ignore it and opt instead for the old fashioned ‘beasting’ sessions where they would rate the effectiveness of a workout by how sore, stiff or tired they were by the end of it.
I guess by now you’re wondering what this principle is, right?
Well, there are many, many names for it but in my own personal training studios in London I call it ‘movement mastery’.
Movement mastery describes a style of training that is governed not by how many reps you complete, how much weight you lift or how many calories you burn, but rather, the manner in which you completed the tasks (exercises) and how that movement translates itself into your goal.
Movement mastery asks that you slow down, connect and experience the movement in full for every single rep and every part of that rep rather than rushing through, shortening your range and making the completion of the set your aim.
It’s what many people often refer to as ‘mind/body connection’ yet goes further by making the experience of the set as important, if not more so, as getting the reps done.
This is about as far removed from most training as you can possibly get.
Most people’s workout sessions are about getting in, getting done and getting out. They’re about blasting through, ‘going for the high’, feeling the burn and all of the other exercise cliche’s we’ve all become so familiar with.
Sounds good on the surface but when you reflect on it, well, it just doesn’t hold water does it?
I mean, how many of those exercisers ‘going for the burn’ have the kind of physique that most people claim to be looking for? You know, lean, toned, firm and muscular? not many, that’s for sure!
The whole ‘go for it’ attitude to training and body transformation just doesn’t stand up to scrutiny when all’s said and done, yet movement mastery, mind/body connection or whatever else you want to call it has a much better success rate.
In fact, you’ll rarely meet a person who’s focused on great technique, focused on squeezing, feeling and concentrating on the action and the muscles involved who hasn’t got a great physique, or at least, on their way to one.
So here’s a thought…
Slow down.
Reduce the weight you’re lifting and instead focus on increasing the range, the level of control you have, the technique and feeling
of connection to the muscles involved.
Squeeze.
Feel.
Connect.
This isn’t the easy option or the ’soft’ method. What I’m talking about here is hard. Often brutally hard in fact, yet the return on investment for your time and effort will be immense,
You don’t have to believe me, just suspend disbelief and try it for yourself for just one workout. If you can feel this for yourself for just one workout then commit to it for just one week. If you see the results i think you will in one week then follow this approach
for just one month and I guarantee you’ll see and feel a noticeable difference in the way your body looks, feels and performs.
You’ve nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Apply the number one skill of physical transformation to your very next workout and see for yourself how effective it is and I guarantee, you’ll never go back to your old training style again.
Tags: dax moy personal training studios london islington trainer fat loss weight loss
Dax, so spot on. I have been personal training for 32 years. If I can get the client to make that “mind-muscle”link the results will be 3 times as quick and so more permanent than your normal “pumper” in the gym. When they get it–they really do get it–and it stays with them for the rest of their lifting life. Good post Sir.
Randy Woody
http://randywoody.com
From my Tai Chi training I know this to be true and this is why I follow your programs.
Spot on! Your training has really drilled that in to me and I can honestly say that it makes a huge difference! Having that Mind/Body connection is so important! It’s a shame to see how many people don’t really get and understand such a concept. Thanks Dax!
Thank you, Dax. I am just learning this in my yoga practice, but your post helped me make the connection to use it in my kettlebell workouts. I’ve done three workouts this way, and I love it. I do some yoga stretching at the end, and before, at the end of these workouts my legs were usually tight, but now, at the end of a workout, I feel like I’ve worked, and my arms are fatigued, but I’m not tight. I can do down dog with my heels on the floor, or nearly. I ache the next day, but I’m not sore and tight.
Thank you for all you do. I used your Elimination Diet and recommend it to others and I enjoy the blogs and emails I read. You have helped me on my journey. Thank you.