Lifters concede individual variability on everything : volume, frequency, exercise selection, recovery, rest times. "Depends on the individual" is the default answer. Except for feel. Mind-muscle connection, the burn, the pump get treated as universal: if you don't feel the target muscle, YOU are doing something wrong (form, ego lifting, wrong exercise for you). The one hypothesis never on the table: that feel itself varies between individuals like everything else.My case: started at 23, no athletic background, 4 years consistent since, progressive overload, track calories and protein daily. Strength decent for my bodyweight, physique way behind the effort put in (which I admit leaves the door open to feel mattering, not claiming otherwise).I feel almost nothing when I train. Burn only on lateral raises and leg extensions, nowhere else, not with short rests, not on drop sets, not on 100-rep sets, not even on isolation machines. Pump does show up in the right muscles after an exercise, and I get soreness in the right places when I come back from a break. Weirdest part: on warm-up sets I feel the muscle contract, then it fades almost linearly as the load goes up, gone by my working weight.After a year of this, everyone kept telling me "not normal, fix it, it's getting alarming", so in 2023 I did 4 months with a mind-muscle fan coach: stretch, contraction, burn, pump as "growth factors", slow tempos, every movement broken into phases to force the sensations out. They never came. I dreaded every session and nearly quit lifting for good.So: do I have a problem? If feel never comes no matter what I do, while my lifts keep progressing pain-free, is it worth chasing for its own sake? Most lifters and coaches treat it as THE central variable, what do you do when for you it's nearly absent?
>>77479826Nice blog post, how about "feel" to shut the fuck up simp faggot.
>>77479826It's not important it's just jargon they hold onto so they can pretend to be gurus and not retards that just regurgitate youtube videos.I've never felt shit except when I'm lifting irresponsibly heavy or doing HIT on consecutive days like an idiot.
>>77479826This is a neurological issue, there are people who actually can't feel getting hurt. 99.999% of people can so feel is universal to healthy people.
>>77479828I had to shorten the initial version of this post so it looks very condensed, sorry
>>77479843What is a neurological issue?
>>77479826>Mind-muscle connectionYou should be able to feel this, yes. It signifies that you are using the right muscles for the lift instead of compensating with other muscles. It's like how you can feel your fingers move when you type.>the burnLactic acid buildup from fermentation due to lack of oxygen. If you aren't getting this then you aren't pushing your muscles to their metabolic limit and so are handicapping your gains. Of course you'll still grow without it, just not at full speed.>the pumpIncreased blood flow due to increased oxygen consumption by muscles, and also temporary inflammation/swelling. Again if you don't feel this you aren't lifting at your full potential, but you will still grow.>tl;drYou're a weak little pussy faggot and you should try harder.
>>77479926So what if I reach failure but don't feel the burn? You're assuming I don't feel the burn because I don't reach failure, but you're wrong.
>>77479933You didn't reach failure, you just failed to put in full effort.>b-but I did!!!No you didn't, faggot.
Mind muscle connection is one of the most overrated things in lifting. You are probably to weak (your muscles are to small) to ever feel them. Just focus on lifting in the 3-12 rep range and getting stronger every week. After about a year of progressively overloading your muscles and making them bigger and stronger your mind muscle connection will be better. Overly focusing on mind muscle connection and the pump or time under tension is how you stay forever dyel. The only people who train like that are blasting gear and and try to sell retards like you some secret. If you are natural only focus on getting stronger. It doesn’t matter if you don’t feel your back in chin ups or your chest in incline dumbbell press. You will once that muscle gets bigger.
>>77479957I've been lifting for 4 years and I have intermediate/advanced lifts on all my lifts, so it shouldn't be a matter of "you're a beginner, your muscles are small and you're not strong enough yet to feel them"
>>77479957Post body
>>77479967I had the same problem and it is that you are small. Post body i bet you are like I was with little baby novice muscles but you think you are intermediate when you ain't. We all know you wont post body so what is your weight and height and lifts? Im telling you i solved this by bulk and cut cycles and getting bigger. If you have a big chest you will have mind muscle its just part and parcel, home boy. Get bigger. Also I still only get blown out from leg extensions just like you. They hurt like nothing else and thats normal. You dont have to have lactic acid burning your chest or back or really anything for it to be a good set. Just need to push to 1RIR which shows itself through involuntary slow down of the concentric.
>>77480142I'm currently 72kg 1m75cm, which is not that skinny. Many people are much lighter than me and feel their muscles correctly. I have indeed a problem with muscle hypertrophy, there's a discrepancy between my strength on exercises I do and my size. I've never understood why.
>>77480147Nta but most likely what's happening is that since you aren't going to metabolic failure, you're growing type I fibers rather than type II fibers, which are more densely packed. This would also explain why you don't feel the burn because type I fibers are designed for endurance
>>77479933>So what if I reach failure but don't feel the burn?The burn is from extended duration with lighter weights. You can fail with heavy weights and not feel the burn.
>>77480160So what should I do?
>>77480166False, it's just that you can't reach your true metabolic limit without an extreme amount of effort on heavy weights which most people won't do. Once you "fail" with heavy weights try doing another set on lighter weights and you'll burn.>>77480168Try harder. Or do more duration with lighter weights like anon above, it's comparatively less effort.
>>77480177I mean, I can't go beyond failure, so if I don't feel the burn on the rep I fail, what can I do more?
Nah bro its fine. I literally have zero mind muscle connection with my lats. Its like they arent even part of my body. I cant flex my lats right now no matter hard I try. They still grow just fine. Progressive overload actually does not require any subjective feeling shit. Just lift as hard as you can and eat and you get stronger.
>>77479936brb feeling the burn on a 5rm
>>77479826>started at 23, no athletic backgroundI didn't have to read beyond this. You have no instinctual connection to your own body. Your body will feel things (it experiences sensory feedback like anyone else), but *you* don't feel it if that makes sense. It's like trying to learn to play music when you just don't have the ear for it. It's just the way it is.>b-but that is...LE UNSCIENTIFICExactly, which is how I know I'm right.
>>77480994It is something I can develop then? And if not, it is a serious concern?
>>77481259>It is something I can develop then?I'd argue yes actually, but you might have to do something out of the box from just lifting. Like taking up a sport or other activity that requires more coordination, or even just stuff like yoga and meditation to get more in tune with your own body.>And if not, it is a serious concern?Probably not honestly. I'm a personal trainer and I see this in clients pretty often, especially when they have no pre-existing background or natural proclivity for this stuff. They can still lift, still make gains, etc.I would argue it's not nearly as fun or fulfilling for these people however. Best analogy I can give is, imagine you're riding in the passenger seat of your own car instead of driving it. You still move around, you still get from point A to point B...but the experience is not the same.
>>77481326Yeah most people tell me lifting without having sensations is at most less funny but it shouldn't change much in your gains if you truly go to failure. My only concern is that ignoring mind-muscle connection development hinders gains.
>>77481371i am 100% confident that you train like a pussy.
>>77482857How?
