Focus on the muscle before the movement: a lesson from neuroscience
Why is prioritizing correct muscle/s recruitment more important than focusing on the movement itself? If we primarily focus on the movement we will likely be under-working the targeted muscle groups more often than we think. On the other hand, giving more priority to the muscles we are trying to target will result not only in more superior training effect - it will also re-wire your brain, literally.
Over the course of our lives we develop certain physical habits. We walk a certain way, we sit on a chair far too long, type on a keyboard, use a mouse and so on. Those habitual patterns will create brain maps (a term used in neuroscience describing certain topographically positioned neurological parts of the brain responsible for certain physical or mental activity) to support those activities. Our brain is pliable. It changes at every age. In neuroscience this is called brain plasticity. When we practice a certain motor movement in our body day-in-and-day-out, like sitting on a chair and typing on a keyboard, we develop what is called a competitive plasticity, where the brain reinforces the formation of the maps which you practice all the time (neurons that fire together, wire together). At the same time, other maps in our brain slowly shrink in size. Basically, use it or lose it.
Dr. Michael Merzenich, a pioneer of brain neuroplasticity research, conducted a study in which two fingers in a monkey were tied together for several months. Before that happened, each finger had its own separate map in the brain. After several months of moving those two fingers together the monkey lost the two separate maps; it had a single larger map.
This phenomenon explains why we find such hard time feeling our rhomboids of the upper back, latissimus of the mid back, or multifidus of the lower back. Due to a chronic dis-use, and overuse of other neighboring muscles, the brain finds it very hard to engage those areas in our body, because their neurological maps are small and weak.
This is a serious issue which needs to be understood and consciously dealt with. The good news is that we can do something about it. When we contract a muscle somewhat intensely, or pay close attention to a task, we produce a neurochemical called Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF).
BDNF is a myokine (a hormone-like chemical messenger) produced by exercise. The higher the intensity of muscular contraction and the larger the muscles, the more myokines we produce.
BDNF consolidates new connections between actively fired neurons, so in future they reliably fire together. It also promotes growth of the thin fatty coat around every neuron that speeds up the transmission of electrical signals.
In addition, BDNF turns on the Nucleus Basalis, the part in our brain that puts it into an extremely plastic state. Once turned on, the Nucleus Basalis not only helps us pay attention but also helps us remember what we are experiencing. It allows for new memories to be created effortlessly.
How is this relevant to the type of exercise we do at NET? Well, it is very relevant to all of us. We spend way too much time 'mastering' the existing connections and not enough time forming the new ones. We start experiencing cognitive decline as we age. With regards to the exercise, the key is to GENTLY pay attention to the muscle/s we are working, perhaps using lighter loads at the start, so we achieve both: we release BDNF and activate Nucleus Basalis and start effectively forming the new maps in our brain for those weakened muscles, at the same time breaking down the old patterns (neurons that fire apart, wire apart). When we focus on the movement more so than sensing the muscles we are working on, more likely than not we are simply enlisting the existing maps, possibly old bad habits, over and over and giving them the competitive advantage, while doing very little for the muscles we are trying to target.
In summary, mindfully prioritizing muscle perception over simple movement from point A to point B, will insure:
Well-balanced musculoskeletal system,
Better body awareness in space,
Better posture,
Better workout experience,
Less joint pain,
Healthier brain and cognitive function.