Welcome to the Art Of Body Sculpting 33 Day Challenge. The purpose of this challenge is to improve the quality of your workout by enhancing your mind-muscle connection.
Body sculpting is so much more than simply lifting things up and putting them down. It’s an art form where every repetition is performed with great intention.
It’s about creating tension exactly where it’s meant to be “felt”. Taking supporting muscles out of the equation as much as possible and maximizing the activation of the target muscle.
Body sculpting is about being truly present in the moment. Blocking out the distractions around you in the gym as well as the stresses of the day. It’s about becoming “In-Tune” with every breath, every heartbeat, and every movement. It’s a heightened sense of awareness.
The end result is a more rewarding experience from your workout, because you gain so much more than a “pump” and caloric burn… You gain CLARITY!
The Rules:
There are 4 Rules for this challenge…
1) Check your ego at the door – This challenge may make you feel like a wimp at times, because executing a perfect rep with very little help from supporting muscles makes an exercise much more challenging.
2) Reduce the weight – Effectively performing the exercises in the Art Of Body Sculpting 33 Day Challenge requires lighter weight than what you’ve been used to lifting.
It may seem like you are taking a step back by reducing the weight… and it is… but it’s all for the purpose of moving leaps and bounds forward as a result of enhanced mind-muscle connection and higher quality workouts.
On a side note, your joints will really thank you for making these simple changes to your workouts. It’s all about training smarter.
3) Slow down the tempo and control each movement – This point was driven home to me long ago when I read the Steve Reeves book, Building The Classic Physique The Natural Way.
Steve said, “You should do each rep slowly and smoothly. Forget about bouncing or swinging the weight just to get it up.” He also went on to say, “Most people neglect the negative or lowering portion of the movement. They let the weight just drop, with little resistance, instead of lowering it slowly and concentrating deeply on the muscle fibers being worked.”
4) Get playful by changing the grip, stance, angle, and pressure points – Yes, playfulness is encouraged during this challenge. By simply changing how you grip a bar or angle your feet can change where you “feel” the tension during an exercise… producing an entirely different result.
These changes are subtle and rarely noticed by the naked eye. This is why body sculpting is just as much an exercise in the strength of the mind as it is the strength of the body.
I will go into detail for each individual exercise throughout the 33 day challenge.
Each daily exercise is meant to be performed in addition to your regular scheduled workout. The purpose is NOT to go to fatigue. It’s simply a playful practice to enhance your mind-muscle connection, increase your level of awareness while training, and becoming present in the moment.
Art Of Body Sculpting Day 1 Challenge: Barbell Curl
Your challenge for today is to perform 10 quality reps of the barbell curl by reducing the amount of support from the anterior deltoid and focusing all of your attention on the biceps brachii.
Prior to picking up the weight I recommend you stand erect with your shoulders back and elbows dug into your sides, then go through the curling motion and focus on squeezing your biceps brachii while relaxing your shoulders and forearms. This will enhance your mind-muscle connection before you ever lift the weight.
When you are ready to perform the exercise, select a weight that is slightly lighter than what you would normally use for 10-12 reps of barbell curls.
Grasp the bar with a narrow grip, slightly less than shoulder width apart. This will place emphasis on both heads of your biceps bracii as well as the brachialis.
Begin the movement by contracting your biceps then lifting the barbell by flexing at the elbow. Visualize squeezing a pencil between your forearm and biceps.
Contract your biceps forcefully at the top of the movement, then lower the bar to the starting position in a slow and controlled manner. Briefly pause at the bottom and contract your biceps before lifting the bar again.
Get playful… begin by curling the first couple reps with your normal tempo, then begin to slow the tempo down and “feel” the difference.
Play around with a fairly loose grip, then switch to a really firm grip. Do you notice a difference in where you feel the tension or in the intensity of the contraction?
Play around with the flexion/extension of the wrist. Does the contraction or stretch feel different if your wrist is extended, flexed, or in a neutral position? Where do you feel the tension?
Play around with the placement of your elbows. Does the exercise become more challenging when you have your elbows in front of your hips as opposed to behind your hips or directly at your sides?
You can take this practice to the next level by performing a strict curl with your back against a pole or wall.
Your glutes, back, and shoulders must remain in constant contact with the wall/pole at all times.
This takes away all momentum from the barbell curl, making this exercise much more challenging, but at the same placing more tension on the biceps.
Use this opportunity to improve your level of focus and concentration. Are you able to block out the distractions in the gym? Are you capable of setting aside the stresses from your day? Are you truly present in the moment… “feeling” the muscle stretch and contract?
This is YOUR time. A time to focus on you, while making the absolute most out of your efforts.
Now go play and be sure to report back with your experience and findings.
Sculpt a Masterpiece,
Scott Tousignant
About The Author
Scott Tousignant, BHK, is a Certified Fitness Consultant with a passion for transforming fitness enthusiasts goal driven, dedicated, and voracious physique artists who take pride in their body, fitness, health, and lifestyle. Embraced by physique artists around the world, his Metabolic Masterpiece Body Sculpting Programs will guide you through the process of sculpting your body into a work of art, by applying what Scott has coined, The A.T.T.R.A.C.T. Formula.
With his synergistic, boredom busting body sculpting workouts you will melt stubborn fat and gain muscle while skyrocketing your metabolism!
The art of molding and chiseling an aesthetically pleasing physique with ideal proportions and spectacular symmetry is one of life’s most rewarding and fulfilling experiences. It’s an opportunity for self growth and self discovery that will impact every area of your life.