ANSWER:

I have two neat little exercises for you, both stem from my experiences as a martial arts instructor.

The first is very easy to grasp and very practical, the second is a bit more esoteric, although just as effective if you take the time to understand it:

• SLOW DOWN!

Try the following exercise: throw a punch, as fast as you can.

Now, throw the same punch, but in "dream-like slow motion." Did you notice that on the fast punch, you were only aware of the beginning and the end of the movement, while with the slow punch, you were much more aware of every point along the movement path?

Learning any movement works the same way. I've said on many, many occasions that the most prevalent biomechanical error made in gyms is excessive movement speed.

• Karate master Hidy Ochai suggests that, in order to increase your awareness of breathing, to inhale as though you were trying to detect a scent in the air.

Try it. Now, the idea is to transfer this idea to lifting, as nebulous as that might sound. The idea is to lift a weight— I take that back— the idea is to perform the movement pattern with no attention to the weight itself, but rather on the effort that the muscle must exert as it overcomes the resistance.

Next workout, try this— take a light bench press, maybe forty to fifty percent of your 1RM. Allow the bar to lower to your chest and then reverse the motion slowly. Block all distractions from your mind and focus only on your effort.

A final thought for you to consider is that the prime mover in any given exercise changes as you progress through the range of motion.

So, although most people will tell you that the prime mover in the squat is the quads, at the very bottom the glutes are more active and have to be considered the prime movers. Only when you have ascended half-way up are the quads really the prime movers. With a bit of creativity and inquiry, you'll easily be able to apply this concept to all your favorite exercises.

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