Many of us have already seen that bodybuilders spend hours in the mirror posing. For us laymen, we would only think that it would be to admire his physical form, or to try to improve his pose. In reality it is all true but there is science behind it which I will explain.

The muscle in a simplified way is made up of muscle fibers and moto-neurons, which are linked together. When we perform a muscle contraction this happens because our brain has issued an order (electrical impulse). This passage from an electrical impulse to a “mechanical” mechanism is done through Moto-neurons that decode order, and activate the corresponding muscle fibers (It is called neuromuscular coordination)

So when we see some individuals contracting their muscles in front of a mirror (Some is just for vanity) they may be performing a mental visualization training.

What does it consist of?

It consists of a training where the individual tries to mentally isolate the contraction of a certain group or muscle or technical gesture, because when performing this action it will force the brain to recruit/create more moto-neurons, thus increasing the ability to recruit more muscle fibers in the gesture. specific.

For this reason, the athlete/individual is asked to think about the movement and “feel” the muscle working, that is, performing, for example, a Low Row where the movement of pulling the bar up to the abdominal wall must be performed by the contraction of the muscles of the legs. back (leading to the junction of the shoulder blades) and not by the contraction of the agonist muscles (Biceps).

This type of training should not only be linked to weight training, it should be applied to any modality, because when performing a technical gesture in a “thought-out” way, it will make it much more efficient when performed “unconsciously”

What results do you get from this training?

With this training alone, little or no results will be obtained, the body always needs a more frequent and intense mechanical and metabolic stimulus, but together with a specific training, whether it is a technique, strength, power or hypertrophic training these will have greater results.

For these reasons, as a Professional in the Area of ​​Sports Training and Physical Activity I recommend that you focus on performing the movements, as you will obtain greater benefits in addition to preventing injuries or future osteoarticular problems.

Michael