🏋️‍♂️ Can your thoughts affect your gains?

PLUS: Busting a common myth about crunches

AuthorAuthor

Michael Pender & Ryan Engel
February 26, 2024

Welcome to your modern fitness daily news report! Every weekday, we break down the trending fitness news, tips, and insider scoops to keep you informed. Each read will be under 3 minutes so that you can stay shredded and thumb through no-nonse fit-quips. Thanks for reading!

TODAY’S LEVEL UP:

  • Coach’s Corner: The Mind-Muscle Connection

  • Worth It or Not: Navigating the BCAA Maze

  • Myth or Must: Crunches For a Six Pack?

The Mind Muscle Connection

Maximize your workouts by acknowledging the importance of the mind-muscle connection. While physical effort is vital, enhancing neural pathways through mental focus on the targeted muscle can significantly improve efficiency. Channel your inner yogi at the gym, visualize the muscles at work, and strengthen the connection between your mind and body for gains that extend beyond the physical. It's like transforming your muscles into a well-coordinated orchestra, generating a symphony of strength and definition.

  • Focus on Targeted Muscle: Direct attention to the muscle being worked, enhancing neural pathways.

  • Utilize Imagery and Visualization: Picture muscle movements to strengthen the mind-muscle connection.

  • Practice Conscious Breathing and Mindful Movement: Coordinate breath with controlled movements for a more profound connection during exercises.

FROM RYAN’S DESK

Our team is working hard on this newsletter. A little too hard, actually. I told them to take a damn break and remember to lift because we can’t have a bunch of pencil pushers in here.

Hope you enjoy the daily read. We’ll keep it fun and informative, and you’ll always know sexy people are behind the pen. 

Keep being a reader and a bad mf’r - catch ya tmrw! #ModernFitness

Navigating the BCAA Maze: Worth the Investment or a Wallet Drain?

BCAAs often leave us in a quandary, grappling with the dilemma of whether they're a savvy investment or an unnecessary expense. The potential savings of $40-50 each month hang in the balance, begging the question: do BCAAs truly work?

The reality is far from black and white. BCAAs aren't a one-size-fits-all solution; their effectiveness varies depending on individual circumstances. To help clear the fog, I've compiled a list of situations where BCAAs are not just beneficial but highly recommended:

1. Fasting or Early Morning Exercisers: For fasters or early birds in the gym, BCAAs can be a crucial energy source. Try them if you need support during workouts without breaking your fast.

2. Recovery Aid: Struggling with post-workout soreness? BCAAs can speed up muscle recovery, reducing soreness and getting you back to the gym sooner.

3. Endurance Support: For long, intense workout sessions, BCAAs help prevent muscle breakdown and sustain energy. Try it out if you are planning an extra-long hike, run, or training for a marathon.

Crunches For a Six Pack?

For decades, crunches have been the go-to exercise for sculpting those coveted six-pack abs. However, it's time to debunk this myth and reveal the truth behind effective ab workouts. While crunches target the rectus abdominis, they fall short in engaging the entire core. A comprehensive approach, including exercises that target the obliques, transverse abdominis, and back muscles, is crucial for achieving a truly defined midsection.

So, let go of the crunch obsession and embrace a well-rounded core routine beyond the myth, unlocking the path to real, all-encompassing ab definition.

MYTH BUSTED.

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Publisher: Ryan Engel

Editor: Michael Pender