I’m just over eight months into my Year of the Body experiment, the project where I try to put my body’s interests first and foremost for a year. A few months into my research and, in particular, my exercising, I began to understand something called the muscle mind connection. And now that I do understand it, I feel like I’ve discovered a secret of life.
You can talk to your body and with a little patience and coaxing and listening, your body will start talking back.
The best part is that the conversations that my body initiates are good and uplifting and positive! Of course your body talks to you when it’s in pain, but it can also talk to you when it’s happy. That’s the secret. It’s like having another friend. A close and supportive and cheerful friend.
I’m nice to her and she’s nice to me. Oh! That’s how it works!
I hiked Mount Si recently. This is a four-mile, uphill, steady, occasionally steep climb. My legs and butt were shouting with enthusiasm the entire time. They love doing what they’re supposed to do.
But that’s not the exciting part. To my astonishment, shortly into the four-mile hike downhill, I found myself running down the trail. Running! I was a fucking gazelle! Sprinting around the bends. Intuitively calculating my next footfall. Feeling my blood pump through my body. Alive! You’re alive! It was glorious and joyful and sublime. I was completely in the moment, completely in my body, and completely in the world.
Whoah! Where did that come from? It was one of the highlights of my life. I was excited to be me and excited to exist.
Something clicked. My body was so happy. And I could feel her happiness radiating through. Yes! The muscle mind connection. She can do these things because I talked to her and built up her confidence. I’ve been talking to her for the last eight months.
And now she talks to me! The day before the memorable downhill sprint, I planked for four minute and twenty seconds. My abs were eager to show me the extent of their power, eager to impress and please me. The muscle mind connection. I’m telling you, man, powerful stuff.
How to find the muscle mind connection. Or at least, how I did it.
To cultivate it, I obsessed over execution when I started working out eight months ago. I watched countless YouTube videos and read several books on form for different exercises. How is my body supposed to move? I directed my mind to pay attention to my muscles and do the action with intention. Embrace the process.
It’s the mindset that’s important. Do you dread the experience? Or are you excited about the effort? The quality of your life is determined by the quality of your thoughts. That’s a phrase I tell myself hourly. It’s mindfulness and enjoying what you’re mindfully doing.
You don’t have to work out. You get to hang out with your muscles for a bit. The more you guys hang out, the better friends you become, the more you want to hang out. It’s a lovely cycle. Now, when I’m feeling sad, my body nudges me, asking if I want to talk. My body is always up to party. We hang out and I feel better. It’s a secret to life. I feel more alive after I exercise.
Use your muscles. Flex them. Train them. Strengthen them. It’s what they’re there for and they love the attention.
But remember, neglect your body and stop paying attention and your body will withdraw. It’s only natural.
The muscle mind connection is about movement. Consistent movement.
Make fitness a part of your identity
Human beings need to move. This was the mindset that I needed to change when I started this project. I needed to shift from a sedentary lifestyle to one where I actually use my body every single day. It’s simply how one lives and not an end goal.
If you don’t actively choose to grow, you will decay because things tend towards entropy.
You want a life where you’re moving throughout the day. That’s the healthiest and best life for your body. You don’t want a life where you sit around all the time. That’s where the mushy sadness comes from.
When I started this project, I created another persona, Fitme. Fitme is always walking and strengthens the muscle mind connection regularly and thoughtfully. Fitme uses fuel her body appreciates. I wrote the story. If Fitme encountered this obstacle, what would she do? Then I did that thing.
I want to be Fitme because she has a life where her body is comfortable and happy. She feels good and strong and powerful and compelling. Fitme is fun. And super hot.
My mom bought me this crop top….perhaps I talk about my abs too much.
At some point during that trot down the mountain, I became Fitme. I updated my narrative, adjusting my view of myself. It’s a lovely, startling feeling. It’s confidence.
Appearance is a consequence of fitness. Is your body strong enough to do things? If it is, it will show. If it’s not, it will show.
….
And because I feel compelled to give you all sides, I must admit that I’ve tried running down a few trails since that glorious first time, but haven’t quite reached that state of ecstasy again. Maybe nothing beats the first time? I’m not sure. But just knowing that feeling exists is a beautiful thought.
The body is an amazing machine that’s meant to be used, that’s why your body was so happy running down that mountain! We didn’t evolve to sit on Herman Miller chairs and smash keys on a keyboard, but that’s what we’re turning into. I wrote a post a while back calling people to move, because an object in motion stays in motion. And once you get in the habit of staying in motion it’s much easier to stay there.
Mount Si looks awesome, great job!
There is a certain loveliness in smashing keys on a keyboard, too. 🙂 I want all the things.
This makes me happy
Me too!
Two of nature’s most beautiful creations, a fit, human body and a steep, serrated mountain.
Testify!
This post inspires me. Thx.
High-five, fist bump, and happy dance. ☺️
Happy happy, one more tool for you! Now I am going to see how long I can plank for…
My tool belt is looking quite decadent these days!
How long were you able to plank? The world record is several hours.
Love your journey, you are my hero, thanks for sharing it!
Oh, you can’t tell, because I’m brown and this is over the internet, but I’m blushing!
Looking great, keep up the good work. We should hang out whenever you get a chance to visit Flagstaff, AZ, vice versa. Lots of beautiful nice trails here. =)
I’ve actually been to Flagstaff. I expect to be back in Arizona eventually to hike the grand canyon.
You’ve inspired me!
Huzzah!
Running is a wonderful thing. At age 50, I decided to start running instead of walking, hoping no one would see me. My goal was 30 minutes continuous running.
Well, 10 years have passed, and I have run 26 marathons (6 Bostons).
You never know what can happen after you take that first step.
Wow! I get the hoping nobody would see you thing. It’s embarrassing when you’re just starting out. Im still a bit in that phase.
Well done. And you are in Seattle right now? !?!?!?!?
No, back in Colorado. But Seattle is certainly a special place!
Looks like you were ‘discovered’ in Seattle–would have loved to have hiked/ran Mt. Si with you; have done it many many times. Hope the weather was good, since it rains here 365 days of the year, ha.
Next time, a shout-out Anita!
I’ll be back! I was there for more than a week and it still felt too short. Seattle is lovely, even with the rain. I’ll do my best to shout next time! Pinky-swear promise. 🙂
Oh, and next time, Camp Muir on Mt. Rainier–summer. OK?
I haven’t googled that yet, but sure. 🙂
You could write a post to tell us about your diet and work out. Any advice would be great.
It’s ever-evolving, but I wrote this post that’s still mostly true. And if you click on the fitness category, you can check out the articles I’ve written so far on working out.
This post made me smile. I’ve been a runner for about 10 years (although admittedly middle to back of the pack in terms of pace). The muscle mind connection, which you articulate so well, is why I keep at it. Oh, and those magical days where I feel like a fucking gazelle. My first year of law school was one of the times I was most disciplined with morning workouts–my treadmill mantra in those days was “strong body, strong mind.” Those abs are amazing!
Oh happy day! I’m glad to hear that the magical gazelle days come more than once. 🙂
Strong body. Strong mind. The days I work out in the morning are the better days. I feel more able to face the world. Love it!!
What were some of the books you read on form for different exercises? Thanks!
Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training by Mark Rippetoe was probably the best. But also StrongLifts 5×5. How to Build Muscle & Lose Fat through Strength Training. Maybe the 4-hour body had some stuff on form.
Check out this post for my reviews of those books.
It was a lot of youtube videos too. I watched a video every day on push ups for weeks.