Do you know that the difference between moderate and massive muscle growth depends upon what you are thinking while lifting weights and bodybuilding? What do you think about when you are lifting weights and bodybuilding?

Hull University in the United Kingdom conducted studies of 30 weight lifters. They found that when lifters focus on what their muscles are doing, rather than focusing on the weight they are trying to lift, that muscles respond much better and grow more in mass.

These 30 weightlifters were to do bicep curls while their muscles were wired to monitors to study the electrical activity. While they were lifting they were asked to concentrate on the muscle and the activity of lifting. Then they were asked to concentrate on the weight and the up and down movement. What they found was that there was more muscle fiber activity taking place when they were concentrating on the muscle. More muscle fiber activity means more muscle growth.

This may seem contrary to conventional thinking that says you must concentrate on the goal, rather than the activity itself. If you ask a baseball pitcher to focus on what his muscles are doing rather than the catchers mitt and the strike zone, he will not do as well as he would if he just focused on throwing the strike. If you asked a sprinter to focus on leg movements he most likely would do poorer than if he focused on the finish line. A golfer focusing more on his muscle movements rather than the hole he is aiming for will have to take more swings.

Now, in all of those cases, it has been found that you need to pay attention to form, which will help you achieve your goal better but overall, you need to be focusing more on your actual goal. There have been many studies that have taken place, prior to this one, that concluded that focusing on your goal helped you achieve it better.

After all this, it is essential that you ask yourself a vital question. What is your weightlifting goal? Is your goal muscle development or amount of weight lifted? If you attend a gym on a daily basis, you have more than likely noticed that most individuals focus primarily on the machine and the weight. You may have done this yourself. Do you pay attention to trying to get those weights moving or the number of repetitions you do? These studies show us that this should not be the focus you should keep.

Your goal is muscle growth. That is your finish line. The number of reps are important, as is making sure that you are using the machine properly or lifting the weight correctly and it is beneficial to learn proper technique. When learning technique, though, you should get to a point where you no longer have to think about it. You have to get to a point where it is in your nature to do it correctly. After you have done that, which in weightlifting shouldn’t take that long, then key in on what your muscles are doing.

Over the next couple months in your workout, stop paying attention to how hard it is to move that weight or how difficult it is to do all those reps. Quit looking at those people walking by and stop trying to impress them. Start concentrating on that muscle group you are working. Focus on the actual muscle building. Start watching what it is doing. Fix your mind on how that muscle feels, the movement and how it reacts to the different movements.

When you can do this, you will notice more progress of rapid muscle growth. Know that it is your mind that aids all those other muscles to work more efficiently and providing you with the body, you desire.

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