Exercise in the early stages, is predominantly determined by motion. A likely reason for this being that the conceptual seed of working out is most commonly introduced to us through sight. Whether it’s seeing a laminated dumbbell free weight poster for the first time, watching the Flex Magazine Workout on ESPN while eating your morning cereal, or walking into a gym and mimicking someone who looks like they know what they’re doing, we’re essentially visually processing information and copying what we see. This sets a precedent that the main goal of exercise is moving. More specifically, moving from one point to another.
Worthwhile neuromuscular adaptations will be achieved simply by improving the ability to move objects from point A to point B. This can certainly be a challenging enough stimulus in the beginning. The body is being placed under a relatively new stress and orchestrating an optimized solution pattern. It’s normal at first to feel like you’re not achieving the desired outcome, e.g., muscles shaking, not being able to control the path of resistance. Adding another degree of challenge at this stage of progression could be inappropriate. Incremental improvements of each specific exercise will be attained over time. Motions will feel more mechanically sound (robotic), and eventually an element of fluidity will be noticed without the need to sacrifice form. A great deal can be gained from this common approach to exercise. However, if the only goal is to move from point to point, it remains externally motivated.
Is motion just a symptom?
If so, what is it a symptom of?
Looking through the lens of mechanics, the primary role of muscle is to support the structure of the skeleton, and control the distance between its two points of attachment. Muscles are a part of the bodies internal force production system. Muscles can only pull, therefore the force they generate is called tension. This developed tension can result in the muscle shortening (concentric contraction), lengthening (eccentric contraction), or maintaining its length (isometric contraction).
If we shift our focus, from the shiny moving object, to what is actually causing our bodies to move in a defined path, everything changes. This can be discovered even without being in a gym and/or adding an external resistance to the equation. Try this as an experiment: either while sitting down or standing up, let your arm hang down straight by the side of your body, keep your hand open and have your palm facing forward, bend your elbow and bring your palm up towards the front of your shoulder, return to the starting position by straightening at the elbow and bringing your arm back down to your side. Now before bringing your palm back up, think about the tension generating capabilities of the muscle(s) connecting the front of the elbow to the shoulder, feel that area begin to tighten before any motion starts to occur, increase the contraction just enough to start to flex the elbow and bring the palm towards the shoulder, once full shortening is reached, feel that tension mitigate just enough to start to extend the elbow and bring the arm back down to the starting position.
How did your experience change between those two repetitions?
A common insight can be that things slowed down on the latter repetition. I confess that if given the chance to cast one magic spell over the gym going collective with the wave of a wand (elm wood with phoenix feather core), it would result in all of us moving slower. It’s the closest thing to a panacea for optimizing the way most people workout; “take two doses of control and call me in the morning.” So why don’t more people do it ? The most honest answer is that’s its hard and it runs counter to externally motivated goals such as doing more reps and lifting heavier weights.
It’s not just about moving slow.
What happens if we turn attention in on itself?
Mindfulness, when applied to exercise, is a progression that can result in a greater overall sense of owning the body you live in, rather than simply being its passenger. It can change the exercise experience from being a series of memorized movement patterns, to a learned physical awareness. It’s knowing the way vs. following Waze. Moving slower can also just be viewed as a symptom of shifting from externally monitoring to internally monitoring. The body has its own innate cueing ability that seems to get zeroed in when things slow down. It starts playing by a different set of rules that are determined by what’s going on inside, rather than outside. A greater felt sense of what’s actually responsible and benefitting from each specific challenge is realized.
Is it possible to move slowly and still be object focused?
Moving fast and being mindful are certainly not always fundamentally in opposition. As progression is made, a blend of strategic performance goals can be mixed into an aware style of training, with applied intention and prioritizing quality over quantity. Whether the desire is to improve balance, get stronger, or to make it to the finish line faster; when intuitive perception is heightened we’re often able to break down any activity to the micro steps that need to be improved in order to better achieve the macro goal.
Directing your attention inward towards particular muscles and being able to live inside that developed tension is a trainable skill. Start by focusing on what the specific goal is of each exercise. What are you initiating that goal with? What are you finishing with? What’s responsible for everything in-between? The entire experience of working out changes when emphasis is placed on these nuances. Every rep presents the opportunity to drop in and for body, mind, and exercise to become one.