• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • LOG IN
  • SUPPORT
  • CART
  • ABOUT
  • MEDIA
  • HOST LAUREL
  • CONTACT
  • BLOG
LAUREL BEVERSDORF

LAUREL BEVERSDORF

Movement Courses and Teacher Training

  • ONLINE COURSES
  • LIVE/ONLINE EVENTS
  • PRIVATE SESSIONS
  • VIRTUAL STUDIO
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram

Brains or Brawn? Both! How Strength Expands Your Life

Leave a Comment

When it comes to building strength, the first place in the body people often think of is the muscles. After all, these are the main tissues involved in coping with loads of all kinds, and it’s relatively easy to feel and see how the presence of muscle corresponds with greater capacity to load. But it turns out the power the muscles afford the body originates elsewhere—in the brain, technically the central nervous system (CNS)—which is a reason to reconsider one’s approach to strength training, as well as its possible benefits. 

What Muscles are Made Of

Before we get into the mechanics of how muscles work, let’s start with their basic structure and anatomy. Muscle fibers (which is what we call “muscle cells”) appear throughout the body in bundles. You can think of individual muscle fibers like pipe cleaners, as I demonstrate in this video, which is part of a longer course I created for a course in my Virtual Studio called Strength Science 101.

Each fiber in a bundle is innervated by a motor neuron—the passageway that transmits signals from the CNS to the fiber. All of the fibers and motor neurons of a bundle together comprise a motor unit, which will always fire together. 

Motor units (and muscle fiber bundles) come in all sizes, as I show in the video. Some have fewer fibers and some have more, but muscle fibers of high threshold motor units make up the majority of a muscle’s mass. Meaning: most of our muscles are made of big bundles. Meaning: if we want to access most of our muscles, we need more powerful movement.

How Muscles Work 

Getting muscle bundles of any size to “work” (by which we generally mean contract, or produce force) requires the same process. First, the CNS will send a signal along the motor neuron to the muscle fiber—a process called central motor command or neural drive. If the signal fires, all all those muscle fibers connected to the motor neurons will contract. 

Muscle contraction happens at the place where the muscle fiber and motor neurons meet—called the neuromuscular junction. Muscle activation is a little different—it happens at the level of the whole motor unit. Both, however, require a clear connection to the CNS. 

So, if we want to get stronger, and strength requires CNS signals, can we simply think our way to strength? Not quite. What we do see, though, is a direction connection between exposures to activities/movements that require strength and capacity for muscle activation, and by extension muscle contraction. 

muscle-activation-brain

The Brain-Brawn Connection

People who strength train in some capacity are simply able to access a lot more of their muscle fibers.

People who don’t strength train leave a lot of muscle fibers sitting there doing nothing. This becomes a bigger problem after age 30. The old use it or lose it phenomenon speeds up and those unused muscle fibers go, “I guess I’m not needed here.”

Then they go away!

But when we start a new movement practice—especially one that requires strength—we get to access muscle fibers that previously went untrained. Because those fibers were already there, like rooms behind closed doors in a house, you can discover a whole new way to experience your body, but without having to move to a new house or even renovate the old one. 

Accessing these hidden rooms requires that our brain send bigger signals. The CNS (central nervous system) is queen!

This starts with giving the queen a reason to send bigger signals—like exposing our body to higher effort activity, like lifting substantially heavy weights. And like anything you do repeatedly, with practice, the bigger the signals our brain sends, the better it gets at sending big signals.

Our neural drive improves. So does our strength. And together, we feel more capable of exploring areas of life even beyond our home. There are fewer consequences for hard work, spontaneous adventure, or that pick up game of basketball with your nephews.

The thing to remember is that, in this case, the size of our signals (determined by loads) matters. Because of how muscle activation works—motor units are recruited from small to large—if I never engage in effortful enough activity, I never get to activate the majority of muscle fibers (of the large “high threshold” motor units). If I never cross the threshold to effortful—let’s say I only do life activities plus things like yoga and Pilates—the high threshold motor units don’t get used, and the majority of my body’s total muscle mass goes largely untrained.

That’s a lot of closed doors and undiscovered space.

Again, this use it or lose it phenomenon explains sarcopenia—the involuntary loss of muscle mass and strength—as we age. While sarcopeonia is a natural outcome of aging, by strength training, we slow down the process exponentially.

In other words, we extend the quality of our life by ensuring our own physical capacity, which is our ability to participate and engage to the fullest in the activities of our life that are meaningful to us. With more load, more muscle activation, and more muscle contraction, we have more options for how to live our lives.

What used to be heavy is light.

What used to seem impossible is possible.

Filed Under: Body of Knowledge

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

  • Topics

Footer

Join me on Instagram

laurelbeversdorf

Prepare to Pull Up Mini Course Testimonial Time! 👇#repost @wholecore It took 5 MONTHS of training to get my chin above the bar. Is my pull-up picture perfect?  No way! I need a lot more practice to do it gracefully but this milestone feels like a big accomplishment.Last fall I wasn’t even close to doing an unassisted pull up. Then I joined the Prepare to Pull Up program with my #rollmodelmethod teacher @laurelbeversdorf.For 2 months I worked on WHOLE BODY strength exercises designed to prepare my body to do pull-ups.  I worked HARD 2-3 times a week for 12 weeks. I was *so close* but my practice plateaued so I took a break for 6 weeks and started focusing on other exercises. During that time I only attempted 1pull-up once a week. Lo and behold when I went back to training pull-ups I felt a lot stronger and just a couple of weeks later - BINGO! The moral of the story - there is no easy or quick way to do a pull-up or any other strength movement for that matter. It takes consistency, patience, perseverance, guidance and sometimes you just need to take a break.#mondaymotivation💪#wholecore #strongmamas #fitafter50 #fitafter40 #perimenopausefitness
In this week’s episode on the Movement Logic Pod In this week’s episode on the Movement Logic Podcast, I had the pleasure to talk to nutrition scientist, Dr. Ben House, PhD. @drbenhouseDr. House has been working in nutrition and fitness for over 15 years, and has published many articles in peer reviewed, scientific journals.In our conversation, we talk about the intersection between nutrition and fitness, specifically for women between the ages of 40-65 who may exercise and eat with a number of related (but different) goals like performance, health, longevity, and aesthetics.You will learn:Why food fear spreads like wildfire on the internetThat muscle can prevent hyperglycemia and inflammation.How the energy from food (listed on food labels) does not correspond with how your body metabolizes and gets energy from that food.That low carb diets, like keto go back to the mid 1800s and then resurge every couple of decades.That body-building is not just about aesthetics.Why thinner is not automatically healthier and what the “cost of leanness” is.How fat is responsible for the evolutionary success of humans.What sarcopenic obesity is.What apophenia is and how it is responsible for lots of myths about weight gain and menopause.Why 8,000 steps/day and the CDC’s physical activity guidelines will move the needle a lot further than Andrew Huberman’s litany of “protocols”.Ben’s research-supported recommendations for daily dietary intake.What body recomposition is and how it could help people maintain weight loss.LINK IN BIO TO LISTEN 👀Or search Movement Logic: Strong Opinions Loosely Held wherever you get your podcasts. 👨‍🎤👩🏻‍🎤Don’t forget to SU B S C R I B E 💫
It may not seem obvious, but your abdominals play It may not seem obvious, but your abdominals play a very important role in pull ups.So while everyone is out there trying to get abs, you could be out there trying to get pulls ups—working on multiple ways of being strong all at once. You might accidentally get the strongest abdominal muscles of your life.That’s my favorite way to train.Instead of trying to change your body (which women are constantly told they need to do) try to change WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH IT.Have a strength goal. Work toward it consistently. Notice a whole bunch of fringe benefits!Today is day 2 of the Prepare to Pull Up free mini course and you can still join and get all five mini-workouts.Link in bio 👀
It’s DAY 1 of the #preparetopullup FREE mini-cou It’s DAY 1 of the #preparetopullup FREE mini-course!Today students received a pull up warm up with 5 exercises to warm up for pull up practice. One of the exercises was “the dead hang”.Here guest teacher Eli and I share 7️⃣ different ways to bring the dead hang to life!These are wonderful ways to input some excellent, novel loads to your hands, shoulders & spine.Enjoy hanging around with us today! 😉And it’s not too late to join! Link in bio 👀
Giving the phrase “hanging out” in the poses n Giving the phrase “hanging out” in the poses new meaning. 😏😁Tomorrow the Prepare to Pull Up free mini course begins.Participants receive 5 mini pull up specific workouts, one of which includes the exercise Active Hang Knees to Chest (which looks an awful lot like chair pose!)In the spirit of asana-themed pull up bar moves, the exercise would be like “hanging out” in the transition from mountain pose (tadasana) to chair pose (utkatasana).We’ll do this exercise in a quickie 6-min core workout. There may be some planking, too. 😉Buuut, today for my post, I thought I’d riff on the idea that hanging around could invoke some other familiar shapes.If you have a relatively low pull up bar there’s lots of possibilities for playing with the asanas.Feel how, from the perspective of hanging, familiar poses have new stuff to offer your experience than you may not have felt before.And psssst! It’s not too late to join the  Prepare to Pull Up Free Mini Course! We start tomorrow!Link in bio 👀
The Prepare to Pull Up Free Mini Course starts tom The Prepare to Pull Up Free Mini Course starts tomorrow 5/31/23.Get 5 days of quick pull up workouts and exercises. Strengthen your grip, shoulders, core, and even lower body. (This is a whole body, beginner-friendly workout!)Link in bio 👀
When people have had pain in their bodies for a lo When people have had pain in their bodies for a long time, and have tried every solution under the sun, it can be hard to believe that something as simple as movement will get them out of pain. As movement teachers, we know this to be true, and it’s vital that we possess the skills necessary to help our students and clients experience this for themselves.
Need some guidance on how to do that? Right now, we’re offering a site wide sale on ALL of our tutorials!!Every Movement Logic Tutorial contains hours of anatomy, kinesiology, myth-busting, and most importantly, dozens of exercises that will help you train strength, flexibility, and functional movement, for whatever you or your clients want to do in life.And, the more you invest, the more you save, with up to 35% off our popular tutorials.
Sale ends TONIGHT at midnight, so don’t delay. Click on the link in bio to learn more and to save!
😩Feeling stuck in your teaching? 😩😩Bored 😩Feeling stuck in your teaching?
😩😩Bored of the sound of your own voice? 😩😩😩Want to feel inspired, but not sure where to go for help? We’ve been there.
Here’s the good news: we can help you.
💥💥💥Right now, we’re offering a site wide sale on ALL of our tutorials!!💥💥💥Every Movement Logic Tutorial contains hours of anatomy, kinesiology, myth-busting, and most importantly, dozens of exercises that will help you train strength, flexibility, and functional movement, for whatever you or your clients want to do in life.And, the more you invest, the more you save, with up to 35% off our popular tutorials.
Sale ends Monday May 29th at midnight, so don’t delay.🔗🔗🔗Click on the link in bio to learn more and to save!
😩😩😩That feeling when you have taken a ton 😩😩😩That feeling when you have taken a ton of trainings on anatomy and kinesiology but still don’t know how to integrate any of it into your classes.
Well, guess what? We’ve done the heavy lifting for you. Right now, we’re offering a site wide sale on ALL of our tutorials!!Every Movement Logic Tutorial contains hours of anatomy, kinesiology, myth-busting, and most importantly, dozens of exercises that will help you train strength, flexibility, and functional movement, for whatever you or your clients want to do in life.And, the more you invest, the more you save, with up to 35% off our popular tutorials.
Sale ends Monday May 20th at midnight, so don’t delay. Click on the link in bio to learn more and to save!
What does inclusivity as a movement teacher look l What does inclusivity as a movement teacher look like? For one, it’s seeing the people in front of you and helping them to help themselves feel better in their bodies.
Need more ideas on how to do that? You’re in luck! We’re offering a site wide sale on ALL of our tutorials!!Every Movement Logic Tutorial contains hours of anatomy, kinesiology, myth-busting, and most importantly, dozens of exercises that will help you train strength, flexibility, and functional movement, for whatever you or your clients want to do in life.And, the more you invest, the more you save, with up to 35% off our popular tutorials.
Sale ends Monday May 29th at midnight, so don’t delay. Click on the link in bio to learn more and to save!
🤔If the only thing you know to offer your clien 🤔If the only thing you know to offer your clients and students with pelvic floor pain or continence issues is more cowbell – err – more Kegels, we can help.✅The @movementlogictutorials Pelvic Floor Tutorial is jam packed with dozens and dozens of exercises that consider the many and varied reasons why someone might need help with their pelvic floor outside of the standard issue “do more Kegels” response.
✅✅Even more good news: right now, we’re offering a site wide sale on ALL of our tutorials!!✅✅✅Every Movement Logic Tutorial contains hours of anatomy, kinesiology, myth-busting, and most importantly, dozens of exercises that will help you train strength, flexibility, and functional movement, for whatever you or your clients want to do in life.✅✅✅✅And, the more you invest, the more you save, with up to 35% off our popular tutorials.
➡️Sale ends Monday May 29th at midnight, so don’t delay.🔗Click on the link in bio to learn more and to save!
In 2017, @sarahcourtdpt and I noticed a problem in In 2017, @sarahcourtdpt and I noticed a problem in the kind of continuing education available for movement teachers. There was plenty of content to go around - but not much functional, useful, and applicable movement education that people could actually use immediately with their clients (aka Too Much Fluff, Not Enough Substance).So along with @trinaaltman, we set out to do things differently by creating @movementlogictutorials.6 years, 6 tutorials, and 2 additional collaborators later (@anulamaiberg and @yogawalla), we’re pretty proud of what we’ve created.To celebrate, we’re offering a site wide sale on ALL of our tutorials!!Every Movement Logic Tutorial contains hours of anatomy, kinesiology, myth-busting, and most importantly, dozens of exercises that will help you train strength, flexibility, and functional movement, for whatever you or your clients want to do in life.And, the more you invest, the more you save, with up to 35% off our popular tutorials.
Sale ends Monday May 29th at midnight, so don’t delay. Click on the link in bio to learn more and to save! 👀🔗
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Quick Links

  • MEMBERSHIP STUDIO
  • LEARN IN PERSON
  • LEARN ONLINE
  • HOST LAUREL
  • CONTACT
  • BLOG

Start Learning

LEARN MORE

Copyright © 2023 Laurel Beversdorf · Design by GreatOakCircle.com
Privacy Notice - Australia | Privacy Notice - California | Privacy Notice - EU | Privacy Notice | Terms of use | Cancellation Policy

Tired of status quo instruction and ready to move beyond the script?
_____________
Enter your name + email below to join the resistance...errr my list...and get 3 FREE sequences to strengthen and soothe your neck and shoulders using resistance bands, a kettlebell, and therapy balls.
YOUR NAME:
YOUR EMAIL: