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How Mindful Strength Training Improves Strength, Control, and Performance

Day 63 of 100 Days Muscle Resistance Workout Challenge

Focus Topic: Awareness in Motion: How Mindful Strength Training Improves Strength, Control, and Performance

Learning Material 

This week centered on one powerful theme: awareness.
 Not just doing the movement, but feeling it.
Not just training the muscle, but training the mind inside the movement.

You explored how small mental shifts, slowing tempo, focusing on the target muscle, checking your form, refining breathing, and entering a flow state can transform physical training from automatic action into intentional growth.

This week wasn’t about adding more intensity. It was about adding more presence, and presence makes every rep smarter, safer, and more effective.

Key Insight

1. Awareness Sharpens Technique and Reduces Injury

You learned that when attention is directed toward posture and alignment, your body naturally adopts safer, more efficient positions.

This week showed you:

  • Controlled tempo exposes weak points and prevents momentum from cheating the rep.
  • Mirror and slow-video review reveal hidden compensations: shoulder shrugging, knee drifting, and back rounding.
  • Focusing on the target muscle increases activation and reduces the risk of overworking other muscles.
  • By being mentally present, you train smarter, not harder and that is the foundation of long-term progress.


 Awareness makes your form the teacher and your body the student.

2. The Mind–Muscle Connection Makes You Stronger From the Inside Out

You practiced directing attention toward specific muscles and discovered that focusing on them changes how they activate.

This awareness improved:

  • Control: smoother reps, less rushing
  • Engagement: the right muscle doing the right job
  • Symmetry: weaker muscles are finally getting their turn
  • Stability: joints supported by proper muscular activation

When you feel the muscle, you educate your nervous system.
That’s why slower reps felt harder; your brain had to work just as much as your body.

Strength is not only built in the muscles but also in the nervous system.

3. Flow State: When Awareness Turns Into Rhythm

By linking breath, tempo, and mental focus, you experienced the beginnings of flow training, exercise as a moving meditation.

This week, you began to notice:

  • When distractions break your form
  • How concentration smooths movement
  • How breath anchors your pace
  • How rhythm replaces struggle

Flow makes training feel lighter, calmer, and more natural.
It turns exercise from a task into an experience.

When awareness turns into rhythm, training becomes effortless.

Real-World Example: The Potter’s Hands

Imagine a potter shaping clay on a spinning wheel.
If their attention slips even slightly, the entire form collapses.
But when their hands, breath, and mind move together, the clay rises smoothly under their control.

This week, you became that potter.
Your awareness shaped each rep:

  • Tempo guided the lift
  • Breath shaped the rhythm
  • Visualization refined engagement
  • Feedback corrected alignment

Your workouts didn’t just feel different; they became different.

My Reflection

This week, I focused on refining my breathing, adjusting my tempo, and concentrating on the exact muscles I’m working. We still don’t have a large mirror for posture checks, but my husband helped by watching my form, which made a big difference.

Monday was supposed to be my rest day, yet I still went for a brisk walk to help improve my blood pressure. I’ve realized that without some form of morning exercise, I struggle to function well during the day. Strangely, I woke up very tired this morning, even though I slept well last night. I’m still trying to understand why.

Right now, I can do 30 push-ups in a row. The last one was questionable, but I made it. I’m aiming for 31 next time, and I know I can work on going a little deeper with my form, too.

I can’t believe I’m approaching day 67 already. By the end of next week, I’ll be at day 70. Seeing the progress makes me feel confident that I will complete this challenge.

Biometric data

Change in Weight from Day 1: -5.8 lb.
Skeletal Muscle: 39.7%
Muscle Mass: 93.6 lb.

Adjustment Ideas (Strategic Adjustment)

  1. Awareness Cue of the Week: Choose one cue, slow tempo, breath timing, or visualization, and apply it deliberately for all workouts this week.
  2. Mid-Set Check-In: During every set, pause halfway and mentally scan posture:
    “Are my shoulders down? Is my core engaged? Is the target muscle working?”
  3. Distraction-Free First Set: Start each workout with one set performed in complete silence and focus. No music, no screens, just awareness.
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Running Late on Purpose: When Life Delays Your 10K

Brian’s fitness journal after a brain stroke

Life has a funny way of rearranging your carefully laid plans, and sometimes, just sometimes, it gets it exactly right.

This week, my running schedule needed a little surgery of its own. Not literally, thankfully. That honor went to my wife, who had a post-op check-up to attend: sutures to be removed, surgical site to be inspected, the whole routine. She’s not exactly a fan of doctors (unless you count her dentist and GP, who’ve apparently earned some sort of special exemption). So, naturally, I went with her. That’s just how we roll.

The upshot? My morning run got pushed to the afternoon. And here’s the thing: as it turned out, running at that later hour was actually the right call. The earlier window would have been downright unpleasant. Sometimes the universe knows what it’s doing, even when we’re grumbling about it.

My speed, however, had not gotten the memo. I missed my target pace, which, I won’t lie, stings a little. But here’s the silver lining wrapped in a sweatband: I still clocked my 3rd fastest time ever. Third. Fastest. Ever. In the grand scheme of my running history, that’s genuinely impressive. The gaps between my top 10 fastest runs are fairly wide, so even when I’m not breaking personal records, I’m filling in those gaps, and that quiet, steady progress is the kind that compounds.

Tomorrow’s run is also getting the axe. My family is throwing a birthday party for me,  yes, me, over at my sister’s place. Could I theoretically squeeze in a 10k before the cake? Possibly. Would the timing feel rushed and vaguely ridiculous? Absolutely. So I’m giving myself full permission to skip it. A birthday is a perfectly acceptable reason for an unscheduled rest day.

What happens next week is anyone’s guess. Maybe the rest will recharge my legs, and I’ll fly down the road like a birthday-fueled rocket. Or maybe I’ll feel a little rusty and need to ease back in. Either way, I’ll be out there, slightly older, hopefully faster, and definitely better-rested.

Happy running (or strategic non-running, as the occasion demands).

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How Flow State in Strength Training Improves Focus, Performance, and Mindful Training

Day 62 of 100 Days Muscle Resistance Workout Challenge

Focus Topic: Rhythm in Motion: How Flow state in strength training Improves Focus, Performance, and Mindful Training

Learning Material 

Training isn’t just physical effort; it’s also mental rhythm. Some workouts feel scattered and disconnected, while others feel effortless, smooth, and deeply focused. That second experience is what psychologists call flow state, a mental zone where attention, breath, and movement fall into perfect alignment.

Flow turns your workout from a checklist into an experience.
It slows down mental noise, sharpens awareness, and makes each movement feel purposeful. In flow, reps don’t feel rushed; they feel connected.

Achieving flow is not about intensity, but it’s about presence.
It’s when you stop thinking about everything else and start moving with clarity and calm.

Key Insights

1. What Is Flow and Why It Matters in Training?

Flow is described as a state of “energized focus,” where you are fully absorbed in the task and your sense of time shifts. In strength training, this state helps you:

  • Maintain better form (because you’re focused on each rep)
  • Control breathing naturally
  • Reduce stress and internal chatter
  • Feel more enjoyment and satisfaction

Another 2022 article in Frontiers in Psychology, “Preparatory Routines for Emotional Regulation in Performance Enhancement”, discusses how routines that help enter flow states are associated with better emotional regulation and performance in motor tasks.1

Flow is not magic. I feel it’s a trainable skill.
And exercise is one of the best environments for developing it.

2. The Elements of Flow in Muscle Training

To enter flow, your mind needs the right conditions:

1. Clear Intent

Know what you’re doing and why.
(example: “Today I’ll focus on slow, controlled glute bridges.”)

2. Manageable Challenge

Flow appears when the task is challenging but not overwhelming.
Too easy → boredom
Too hard → anxiety

3. Immediate Feedback

Breath, tempo, and muscle sensation tell you how you’re doing in real time.
This feedback loop keeps you anchored in the moment.

Combined, these elements transform routine movements into a rhythmic, meditative experience.

Real-World Example: The Runner’s High, Reimagined

Most people have heard of the “runner’s high,” but flow happens in strength training too.
Think of a runner who falls into a smooth breathing pattern:

  • Feet land softly
  • Breath settles into 2–2 rhythm
  • Thoughts quiet
  • Movement feels effortless

In resistance training, this looks like:

  • A steady, intentional tempo
  • Controlled breathing
  • Feeling the target muscle activate
  • A sense of calm focus

It’s not about speed, it’s about being absorbed in the moment.

Your workout becomes a moving meditation: you move, breathe, focus, repeat.

My Reflection

A few years ago, I read about a K-pop idol who kept a daily self-reflection journal to focus on what to improve the next day. Today’s lesson reminded me of her mindset. Preparing mentally before a workout is essential; even small distractions can throw off my form, which can be dangerous by increasing the risk of injury.

I’ve been paying closer attention to my form lately, visualizing how the muscles move inside my body. Staying mentally present during each movement forces me to maintain proper technique, and in the long run, that will lead to better results.

This morning, I felt unusually tired and ended up sleeping in for 30 minutes. It’s the weekend, so it wasn’t a big issue, but I still want to be more consistent with my routine. I’m also wondering why I felt so tired despite getting enough sleep. One possibility is that I was reading on my Kindle before bed; using electronic devices at night may not be the best habit for good rest.

Biometric data

Change in Weight from Day 1: -4.8 lb.
Skeletal Muscle: 39.6 %
Muscle Mass: 94.2 lb

Adjustment Ideas (Strategic Adjustment)

  1. One Flow Exercise Per Workout: Choose one exercise each day to perform with total presence, slow, calm, and mindful.
  2. Breath–Movement Linking: Spend 30 seconds before starting your workout breathing intentionally, then carry that pattern into your first set.
  3. Distraction-Free Set: Do one set per session with no music, no phone, and full concentration. This builds your flow muscle just like your physical ones.
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Note

  1. Orbach and Blumenstein, “Preparatory Routines for Emotional Regulation in Performance Enhancement.” ↩︎
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How Mirrors and Video Feedback Improve Strength Training Technique

Day 61 of 100 Days Muscle Resistance Workout Challenge

Focus Topic: Use Mirrors and Video Feedback to  Improve Strength Training Technique

Learning Material 

Most people think of mirrors in the gym as decoration or a source of vanity. In reality, they’re among the most powerful tools for achieving technical precision. When you watch your form while exercising, or review it on slow-motion video, you gain immediate feedback that your body alone can’t always provide. To be honest, I have been having problems with my form. My problem was mostly due to a lack of muscle to support proper form. For example, push up. If you do not have sufficient muscle, your form can suffer significantly.

Even if you are careful with your form, your mind may believe you’re moving correctly, but the body sometimes slips into old habits: leaning, twisting, collapsing the knees, or letting momentum cheat the rep. Visual feedback helps bridge the gap between what you think you’re doing and what you’re actually doing.

This type of feedback turns your workout into deliberate practice, the same learning strategy used by musicians, dancers, athletes, and anyone mastering complex skills.

Key Insight

1. Why Visual Feedback Strengthens Technique

Your brain uses multiple senses to guide movement, and vision is one of the strongest.
When you see your posture or movement pattern, your brain can correct it instantly. This process is called closed-loop feedback, and it accelerates motor learning.

Research in motor control shows:

  • Visual cues correct errors faster than internal cues alone.
  • Mirror training increases proprioception, your sense of where your body is in space.
  • Slow-motion playback exposes small compensations you might never feel during the workout.

In practice, video feedback helps you:

  • Keep knees aligned during squats
  • Maintain a neutral spine during deadlifts
  • Prevent shoulder shrugging during upper-body work
  • Identify when momentum replaces controlled effort

Visual learning turns good form into consistent form. Since I do not have a large enough mirror to watch my form, I often ask my husband to watch it.

2. The Psychology of Seeing Yourself Move

Watching your own technique, especially in slow motion, creates something psychologists call external attention, which helps you refine skills with greater accuracy.

Internal attention (thinking “squeeze my glutes”) is useful…
…but external attention (seeing your knees drift inward on video) gives you proof and direction:

  • You catch mistakes faster
  • You build confidence in good reps
  • You reinforce the mind–muscle connection by matching what you feel with what you see

This builds a strong learning loop:
See → Correct → Feel → Improve

And once you know what proper form looks like, you eventually learn what it feels like, allowing you to move correctly even without visual tools.

Real-World Example: The Dancer and the Mirror

Ballet dancers spend much of their training in front of a mirror, not out of vanity, but because precise movements require constant visual correction.

Every lift of the leg, every rotation, every shift of weight is checked visually until the dancer can perform it flawlessly without looking.

Your training works the same way.
Whether it’s a squat, a push-up, or a plank, the mirror helps you:

  • Stand taller
  • Align joints
  • Maintain stability
  • Perform more efficient reps
  • Strength is not just built but refined.

My Reflection

I’ve asked my husband to check my form last night while I was doing push-ups. When I am exercising, it can be difficult to check my form. We don’t have a big mirror to check how we are doing. This is something I may be considering getting, as the form is essential for exercise. 

My body was demanding more vegetables this morning, so I made a pot of vegetable soup with Tofu. Of course, a bowl of this soup will not make up enough protein; I will need to eat eggs later.

Speaking of protein, I was careful not to skip any protein intake, except for Monday. Monday is difficult for me as I am at the office. Since I gained back the muscle mass this morning. I did not make the loss of my muscle mass. 

Biometric data

Change in Weight from Day 1: -5.2 lb.
Skeletal Muscle: 39.6%
Muscle Mass: 94 lb.

Adjustment Ideas (Strategic Adjustment)

  1. Mirror Cue Routine: Every workout, perform one key exercise in front of a mirror and check posture, alignment, and symmetry.
  2. Weekly Technique Recording: Film one exercise per week and review it slowly to identify improvements or compensations.
  3. One Correction Per Session: Pick one small correction (e.g., “keep shoulders down”) and focus on that cue for the entire workout. Tiny corrections add up.
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A Free Day, a Mowed Yard & a Wife’s Post-Op Checkup

Brian’s fitness journal after a brain stroke

There is something deeply satisfying about waking up and realizing: no doctor’s appointments today. Today, my wife had her post-op checkup. For the past few months, my calendar has been cluttered with visits to a hematologist across town, a 20- to 30-minute Uber ride that, thanks to Nashville’s legendary downtown traffic, somehow manages to swallow an entire afternoon. So, when do I get a free day like today? I guard it like a precious gem.

And what did I do with this gleaming gem of a day? I mowed the yard. Very glamorous, I know. But honestly? There’s something therapeutic about knocking a chore off the list. After breakfast and a brief, guilt-free sit-down, I fired up the mower and got it done. The rest of the to-do list is still waiting patiently, but I’m on schedule, and at this rate, I’ll be ticking everything off well before bedtime. Small victories!

Tomorrow is a different story. My wife had surgery exactly a week ago, and we’ll be heading to her post-op checkup. She’s been a champ in recovery, though not without some pharmaceutical drama. Tylenol 3, it turns out, came with an unexpected side effect for her: an absolutely baffling hunger that made her feel like she’d gone 30 hours without food. Which, for most of us, would be alarming, but for her, it was a recognizable sensation. She’s a seasoned fast learner who regularly practices 16-, 20-, 24-, and even 30-hour fasts, convinced (and she’s probably right) that it sharpens her mind considerably.

But here’s the maddening part: she had to eat something with her medication, because Tylenol 3 on an empty stomach is a recipe for trouble. So there she was, feeling ravenous for no medically valid reason, while rationing painkillers like a hero. Post-surgery, she took ibuprofen once for the initial pain and reached for Tylenol 3 only twice, both times when her incision started feeling warm. I call that impressive restraint. She calls it Tuesday.

She’s also asked me to come along to tomorrow’s appointment because, like many perfectly rational human beings, she finds doctors unsettling. I’m happy to be her support human.

My Plan

breakfast, accompany her to the appointment (which shouldn’t run too long), and then get my run in after we’re back. It’ll be a bit chilly if I try to go early, so the post-appointment window works perfectly.

Here’s to the quiet days between the hard ones, and to a good checkup report tomorrow.

Now if only the yard could mow itself.

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Precision Training: How Isolation Exercises Improve Muscle Activation and Symmetry

Day 60 of 100 Days Muscle Resistance Workout Challenge

Focus Topic: Isolation exercises for muscle activation. Learn how isolation exercises improve muscle activation, symmetry, and neuromuscular control.

Learning Material 

Isolation exercises are like zooming in with a magnifying glass; you focus on just one muscle and make it do the work without letting stronger neighbors take over. While compound exercises train multiple muscles at once, isolation movements are about control, awareness, and precision.

For example:

  • Bicep curls isolate the biceps.
  • Leg extensions isolate the quadriceps.
  • Lateral raises isolate the deltoid.

The challenge is that your body loves shortcuts. If a muscle is weak, the body quietly recruits helpers, swinging the torso, shrugging the shoulders, or shifting weight, to make the movement easier. This compensating pattern feels efficient, but it steals growth from the muscle you’re actually trying to strengthen.

Isolation training teaches you to recognize these cheats and bring your awareness back to the muscle that’s supposed to be doing the job.

Key Insight

1. Why Isolation Awareness Matters

Isolation work builds not only strength but neuromuscular control, the ability of your brain to activate a specific muscle on command.

A study in Eur J Appl Physiol  (2016) found that consciously directing attention toward a target muscle during isolation exercises increased muscle activation measured through EMG (electromyography).1

Why this is important:

  • Better muscle recruitment: More fibers fire where you actually want growth.
  • Improved symmetry: Weak spots catch up instead of letting dominant muscles take over.
  • Reduced compensation: You stop overusing joints and surrounding muscles (like using your shoulders in a bicep curl).

Isolation teaches you precision, the kind that protects you from injury and unlocks better performance in compound lifts.

2. The Psychology of “Feeling the Muscle”

When you slow down and focus on a single muscle, you begin to notice details you normally overlook:

  • Where the movement starts
  • When the muscle fatigues
  • How other muscles try to help

This awareness is part of the mind–muscle connection, but isolation training sharpens it even further. The goal isn’t to lift the heaviest weight; it’s to lift with purpose.

Psychologically, isolation exercises cultivate mindfulness. You can’t rely on momentum or brute strength; you have to pay attention. This brings the mind into the body and turns your workout into intentional practice rather than habit.

Real-World Example: The Violinist’s Finger

A violinist doesn’t train by wildly moving their whole arm. They refine individual finger control, one note at a time. It’s slow, subtle, precise work, but it shapes the mastery that makes larger movements possible later.

Isolation exercises are the same.

If your glutes aren’t firing during squats, a glute bridge can “teach” the muscle how to activate.
If your shoulders dominate your chest press, isolation movements like chest flyes retrain the pattern.

Small, focused work pays off in the big lifts.

My Reflection

Today I did my leg workout slowly and deliberately, focusing on the exact muscles I wanted to activate. I started visualizing my quads and glutes during each rep, using a 4–4–4 tempo: four seconds down, four seconds holding, and four seconds up. The burn was much stronger than usual, and interestingly, lowering myself felt harder than lifting back up, a sign that the slow eccentric phase was doing its job.

My weight went up by 0.2 pounds today, but none of it was muscle, so I technically lost muscle mass again. I’ve been prioritizing my legs and glutes since they’re large muscle groups and essential for overall strength and movement. I’ll continue experimenting with slower tempos, but I know I’ll eventually need to add more variation to support muscle growth.

With the holiday coming up, I’m planning to create a vision board to help me picture the kind of strength and physique I want to build. A clear image might help keep me motivated and intentional about my progress.

Biometric data

Change in Weight from Day 1: -5.2 lb.
Skeletal Muscle: 39.6%
Muscle Mass: 94.0 lb.

Adjustment Ideas (Strategic Adjustment)

  1. One Isolation Exercise Per Workout: Add a single targeted movement each session (e.g., glute bridge, bicep curl, delt raise) and practice activating only the intended muscle.
  2. Mirror or Touch Feedback: Use a mirror or lightly touch the muscle during the movement. This increases awareness and helps prevent cheating.
  3. “No Momentum” Rule: Once per week, perform all isolation exercises with strict form and slow tempo, no swinging, shrugging, or leaning.
Back

  1. Calatayud et al., “Importance of Mind-Muscle Connection during Progressive Resistance Training.” ↩︎

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How Proper Breathing Improves Focus, Stability, and Endurance

Day 58 of 100 Days Muscle Resistance Workout Challenge

Focus Topic: Breathing technique for strength training

Learning Material 

Breathing seems simple after all, you do it all day without thinking. But in strength training, how you breathe can dramatically affect the quality of your movement, stability, and endurance. Coordinated breathing acts like an internal support system, helping you stay balanced, focused, and strong through every rep.

When your breath and movement work together, your body becomes more efficient. Your core stabilizes, your nervous system calms, and your muscles receive more oxygen. This transforms each exercise from a series of mechanical motions into a fluid, controlled performance.

Breathing is not just a physical act; it’s a mental anchor. When your mind starts to wander, your breath brings you back.

Key Insight

1. The Science: Breathing technique for strength training

Your breath is the gateway to your core stability. When you inhale deeply, your diaphragm expands downward, increasing pressure in your abdomen. This pressure becomes a natural brace, like wearing a built-in weightlifting belt.

Research indicates that breathing mechanics, especially the use of intra-abdominal pressure and a coordinated inhale-brace-exhale sequence, can enhance spinal stability and lifting performance.1

Why it works:

  • Better oxygen delivery: Muscles get the fuel they need to keep working.
  • Core stability: Your breath creates internal pressure that protects your spine.
  • Nervous-system control: Slow, steady breathing keeps the mind focused and reduces tension.

Without coordinated breathing, strength becomes inconsistent, especially during heavy lifts or longer sessions.

2. The Psychology: Breath as Your Internal Metronome

Breathing sets your rhythm. When you feel nervous, stressed, tired, or unfocused, your breath becomes shallow and quick. But when you take slow, intentional breaths, your brain receives a signal to dial down stress and increase concentration.

This is why endurance athletes use controlled breathing to pace themselves. It turns chaos into rhythm and rhythm into results.

Breathing during strength training mirrors meditation:

  • You focus on the present
  • You stay grounded
  • You reduce noise from your thoughts

Your breath is the “metronome” that keeps your body and mind in sync.

Real-World Example: The Archer’s Breath

Think of an archer preparing to release an arrow.
They don’t gasp or hold their breath randomly.
They inhale, exhale halfway, steady their body, then release.

Their breath stabilizes their hands, sharpens their focus, and ensures accuracy.

Your strength training works the same way, especially during slower reps or heavy lifts:

  • Inhale to prepare
  • Brace your core
  • Exhale as you push, lift, or stand

Just like an archer hits the target by controlling their breathing, you “hit your reps” with stability and precision when your breath is aligned with your movement.

My Reflection

After learning about tempo yesterday, I tried slowing down my abdominal exercises, and it was much more challenging. I realized I had been relying on momentum during leg raises. Moving slowly forced my core to do the actual work, and I felt a deeper, sharper muscle engagement. I’m curious to see whether this leads to soreness tomorrow.

My push-ups, on the other hand, didn’t leave me sore. That tells me I need to increase the number of sets or reps. At least now I know I can comfortably do more than 20 push-ups in a set, so I’ll start increasing the reps gradually.

On a positive note, I regained the 0.2 pounds of muscle mass I lost yesterday. My weight is still slightly below where it was a few weeks ago, but at least it’s moving back in the right direction.

Biometric data

Change in Weight from Day 1: -5.4 lb.

Skeletal Muscle: 39.6%

Muscle Mass: 94 lb.

Adjustment Ideas (Strategic Adjustment)

  1. Breath–Movement Pairing: Choose one exercise per day to perform with deliberate breathing, inhale on reset, exhale on effort.
  2. Pre-Workout Breathing Reset: Spend 30 seconds doing slow diaphragmatic breaths before your workout to calm the mind and engage the core.
  3. End-of-Day Belly Breathing: Add 2 minutes of relaxed belly breathing before bed to reduce stress hormones and support muscle recovery.
Back

Note

  1. Hagins et al., “The Effects of Breath Control on Maximum Force and IAP during a Maximum Isometric Lifting Task.” ↩︎
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Running Faster After Anemia Treatment

Brian’s fitness journal after a brain stroke

Spring has technically arrived, though someone forgot to send the temperature memo. My personal policy is firm: shorts come out when it hits 65°F. This morning it was just a hair below that threshold, and I pulled them on anyway. Sometimes principles are more of a guideline.

And I’m glad I did, because today’s run was something special. For the second time this week, I beat my target pace. Twice. In one week. That’s not nothing. That’s something worth writing home about.

Here’s the secret ingredient: anemia treatment. I’ve been receiving treatment recently, and I can genuinely feel the difference. More hemoglobin means more oxygen, and more oxygen means my legs don’t feel like they’re churning through wet cement. I finally understand why some competitive runners go to such extreme lengths to gain an edge in their blood. I’m not endorsing anything sketchy, just saying: the oxygen, it matters enormously.

The funniest part? My wife pointed out that I had been running in “hard mode” this whole time, and I had absolutely no idea. How would I? The last time I was treated for anemia, I was still learning how to walk. My entire running life has been lived at low hemoglobin levels. That was just my normal. Turns out, my normal was secretly heroic.

One more 5k run this week, and if I match today’s pace, I’ll earn another success that puts me within striking distance of my end-of-year goal. Yes, summer is coming, and yes, the heat will slow me down, the laws of physics apparently still apply. But fall will come around, and I’ll claw back more successes then. Right now, I’m just going to savor this rare and golden alignment of being close to my goal and making rapid progress at the same time.

It’s a good day to be a runner with working red blood cells.

Until next time, may your oxygen levels be plentiful and your pace be swift.

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How Slow Reps Build Strength, Control, and Muscle Growth

Day 58 of 100 Days Muscle Resistance Workout Challenge

Focus Topics: Slow reps build strength

Learning Material 

In strength training, speed often steals the spotlight, but slowing down can be your secret weapon. Controlled, deliberate repetitions (known as tempo training) develop not just strength but also awareness, coordination, and stability. When you slow your movement, every second counts, literally.

Most people rush through reps without realizing that momentum, not muscle, is doing much of the work. By reducing speed, you force your muscles to stay under tension longer, improving growth, endurance, and control. This principle is known as Time Under Tension (TUT), one of the most effective yet overlooked aspects of resistance training.

Key Insight

1. The Science of Slow Strength

A 2021 study in the Biol Sport found that lifters who performed eccentric movements (the lowering phase) slowly, about 2–4 seconds per rep, showed greater muscle hypertrophy compared to those using faster tempos.1

Why slowing down works:

  • Increases Time Under Tension: Muscles spend more time resisting gravity, stimulating more fibers.
  • Enhances Motor Control: You become more aware of your movement patterns, improving technique.
  • Reduces Injury Risk: Controlled speed minimizes jerking, poor form, or overreliance on momentum.

Your nervous system also benefits. By moving deliberately, your brain strengthens its connection with each muscle group, reinforcing the mind–muscle connection discussed in yesterday’s lesson. This turns training into both a physical and neurological practice.

2. The Psychology of Control: Turning Reps into Meditation

Slower reps demand patience, and patience builds focus. When you perform a movement slowly, you can’t distract yourself or rush to the end. You must be there for each contraction, each breath, each micro-adjustment.

This mindfulness transforms lifting into a kind of moving meditation. You learn to feel the subtleties of strength, where your body wobbles, where it stabilizes, and where you can improve. That awareness helps prevent injury, builds confidence, and strengthens your internal discipline.

In psychology, this is related to the flow state, a mental state in which attention, control, and satisfaction align. You’re not just “working out,” you’re refining a skill.

Real-World Example: The Slow Sculptor

Imagine an artist sculpting a statue. Every slow, intentional stroke of the chisel defines the final shape. If they worked too fast, the sculpture would lose its form and balance. Training works the same way, slowing down reveals the fine details that fast movement hides.

For example, in a push-up:

  • Lowering slowly activates stabilizers in your shoulders and core.
  • Pausing just before your chest touches the floor builds explosive control.
  • Pushing up with focus trains your nervous system to generate strength efficiently.

A single slow push-up can be more effective than five rushed ones.

My Reflection

My muscle mass dropped by another 0.2 pounds, and it’s becoming clear that I’m no longer maintaining it consistently. I think it’s time to change the tempo of my resistance exercises. Les Mills often varies tempo in their routines, and that approach might help stimulate my muscles differently. I’m considering following one of their programs this weekend to reset my rhythm.

On the nutrition side, I’m going to start measuring the actual weight of my food. I suspect I’ve been eating fewer calories and less protein than I assumed. My overall exercise volume hasn’t changed much over the last three or four weeks, but I have increased the weight in my resistance training. My body used to resist changes in weight and muscle mass; now, if I’m not careful, I’m starting to lose both.

Biometric data

Change in Weight from Day 1:
Skeletal Muscle:
Muscle Mass:

Adjustment Ideas (Strategic Adjustment)

  1. Tempo Focus Day: Once a week, dedicate a workout to slow-tempo training, choose one muscle group, and move at a deliberate pace.
  2. Breath-Count Reps: Match your movement tempo to your breathing. For example, inhale for 3 seconds as you lower, exhale for 2 as you lift. This keeps you present and controlled.
  3. Mindful Recovery: End each slow session with light stretching or mobility work to ease tension buildup and promote recovery.
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Note

  1.  Azevedo et al., “Effect of Different Eccentric Tempos on Hypertrophy and Strength of the Lower Limbs.” ↩︎
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How the Mind–Muscle Connection Boosts Strength and Growth

Day 57 of 100 Days Muscle Resistance Workout Challenge

Focus Topic: Lean How the Mind–Muscle Connection Boosts Strength and Growth

Learning Material 

You’ve probably heard the phrase “focus on the muscle.” But what does that really mean? The mind–muscle connection (MMC) is the practice of directing your attention toward the specific muscle you’re working, consciously contracting it during each movement. This mental focus might seem subtle, but research shows it can significantly increase muscle activation and long-term growth.

When you lift a weight, your brain sends signals through motor neurons to tell muscles to contract. The stronger and more focused that signal, the more fibers get recruited. The difference between “just moving the weight” and “truly engaging the muscle” is like the difference between hitting piano keys randomly versus playing a deliberate melody, one makes noise, the other makes music.

Key Insight

1. The Science Behind the Connection: Mind–Muscle Connection Boosts

A 2018 study in the European Journal of Sport Science found that lifters who intentionally focused on contracting their target muscle (internal focus) during resistance training experienced greater muscle activation in electromyography (EMG) tests than those focusing on external cues (like simply moving the bar).1

Why it works:

  • Enhanced neural drive: Concentrating on a muscle boosts the strength of neural signals.
  • Increased fiber recruitment: Focused intent activates more slow- and fast-twitch fibers.
  • Better form and control: Awareness reduces reliance on momentum and encourages full range of motion.

In short, the brain can amplify strength before the muscle even changes. Focus is your first form of resistance.

2. The Psychology of Presence in Training

Modern life encourages distraction; phones, playlists, or wandering thoughts can easily turn workouts into background noise. But the MMC is mindfulness in motion: it asks you to be present with every rep.

Psychologists describe this as “embodied awareness,” using attention to reconnect the mind with the physical experience of movement. When you’re aware of how a muscle feels as it contracts and releases, you turn an ordinary rep into deliberate practice.

Over time, this awareness sharpens coordination, improves body symmetry, and even deepens enjoyment of training. The process feels less like “fighting resistance” and more like mastering your body’s conversation with itself.

Real-World Example: The Sculptor’s Touch

Imagine a sculptor shaping clay. Each movement of their hands slightly changes the form, guided by vision and intent. A distracted sculptor might still make something, but the result will lack precision and detail.

Your body works the same way. The muscle is your clay, and attention is the sculptor’s hand. When you consciously contract your glutes in a squat or feel your lats pull during a row, you’re refining the “shape” of your strength, not just building bulk, but control and symmetry.

My Reflection

I thought I had eaten enough yesterday, but it seems I fell short on protein again and, as a result, lost a bit of muscle mass. I need to be extra careful on workdays; next time, I’ll bring something so I can stay consistent with my nutrition.

I felt some unusual muscle soreness today, likely from using heavier weights during my leg workout yesterday. To help my recovery, I made sure to stretch afterward, hoping it will ease the fatigue and support healing.

After 57 days of training and learning, I’ve absorbed so much information that I’m starting to forget some of it. I think it’s time to revisit my earlier reflections and remind myself of what I’ve already discovered along the way.

Tomorrow, I’m planning to do my burpee session as scheduled. I’ve even set an alarm to make sure I don’t forget. After that, I’ll spend some time on my philosophy writing; maybe that mental focus will help me push through to the next level. 

Biometric data

Change in Weight from Day 1: -5.8 lb.
Skeletal Muscle: 39.6 %
Muscle Mass: 93.6 lb.

Adjustment Ideas (Strategic Adjustment)

  1. Mindful Reps: Dedicate one exercise per workout to pure form and focus. Move slower, breathe intentionally, and visualize the muscle doing the work.
  2. Distraction Detox: For one session a week, train without music or screens. Listen only to your body, its rhythm, strain, and balance.
  3. Visualization Habit: Before starting your workout, spend 30 seconds imagining how each target muscle will contract and release. Mental rehearsal primes your nervous system for better performance.
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Note

  1. Brad Schoenfeld et al., “Differential Effects of Attentional Focus Strategies during Long-Term Resistance Training,” European Journal of Sport Science 18 (March 2018): 1–8, https://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2018.1447020. ↩︎