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When thinking about muscle hypertrophy (muscle growth)<\/a>, we often think about the weight you lift, the exercise you do, and the volume of your workouts. But we often forget another critical component of muscle hypertrophy. And that\u2019s your ability to concentrate on the muscle you\u2019re targeting during an exercise, a <\/span>mind-muscle connection<\/span><\/a>. <\/span>Professional Natural Bodybuilding Association (PNBA)<\/span><\/a><\/span> athlete C\u00e9line\u00a0<\/b><\/span>Richard<\/b> explained its importance for muscle growth on social media.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Richard stated (translated to English):<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe mind-muscle connection is an internal focus, which involves directing our attention to the muscle that is working during strength training.<\/span><\/p>\n @psychofitness21 gives signals of concentration by touching a particular muscle, this has a positive impact on muscle stimulation and hypertrophy (muscle growth).<\/span><\/p>\n He uses mental cues during workouts to get his clients to focus on their muscles and movements. These cues can mean that by simply thinking about squeezing a particular muscle during an exercise, you are activating it much more effectively than just mindlessly crashing reps.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n You can see her entire social media post below.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n C\u00e9line\u00a0Richard competed in the Women\u2019s Bodybuilding category and was the <\/span>2021 Natural Olympia<\/span><\/a><\/span> gold medalist. Richard initially received second place. However, she was bumped to the winner after the former <\/span>2021 Natural Olympia Women\u2019s Bodybuilding champ Jill Kolivoski failed a drug test<\/span><\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The International Natural Bodybuilding Association (INBA)\/PNBA takes drug testing very seriously. Athletes are tested for drugs prohibited under the <\/span>World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)<\/span><\/span><\/a> guidelines in the off-season and in-season. Any athlete who fails a drug test will be stripped of their title, prize, and money and placed in the <\/span>Hall of Shame<\/span><\/a><\/span>. In addition, they\u2019re banned from competing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Other natural bodybuilding leagues, for example, may test for drugs. However, their methods aren\u2019t as reliable as the INBA PNBA league. For instance, Jill Kolivoski went under the radar in a separate natural bodybuilding league, where she passed a drug test.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The mind-muscle connection is your ability to focus on a specific muscle group you\u2019re targeting during a movement. For example, during a <\/span>bicep<\/a> curl<\/span>, instead of thinking about the number of reps you\u2019re performing or how much weight you\u2019re lifting, you\u2019ll put your attention on your biceps. And think about the contractions happening as you lift the barbell<\/a>. Visualize your biceps squeezing together each and every rep. Training your brain to pay attention to the muscle you\u2019re activating will increase muscle activation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Although this may sound woo-woo, research supports its effectiveness for <\/span>muscle hypertrophy\u00a0<\/span>(<\/span>1<\/span><\/a><\/span>).\u00a0<\/span>Another benefit of mind-muscle connections is that it forces you to pay attention to your form.<\/p>\n Follow us on <\/span>Instagram<\/span><\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Facebook<\/span><\/a><\/span>, and <\/span>Twitter<\/span><\/a><\/span> for more fitness tips from natural bodybuilding champs!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n
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Drug Testing in the INBA PNBA League\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n
Mind-Muscle Connection<\/b><\/h3>\n
Reference<\/b><\/h3>\n
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