We've all heard about the placebo effect, but have you ever heard the phrase Mind Over Muscle? In the placebo effect, basically someone is ailing of something, at which time they are given a sugar pill or an injection of some "medicine." Soon after the "medical dosage," the patient actually receives the intended benefit of the "medicine."

The explanation of this lies in the patient's belief that the substances was really medicine and would really help. It didn't matter what was really given to the person, because the person's belief that it would work was so strong that their brain took it as instructions and made it work. The patient's belief healed him. Jesus Christ even said that when you believe in something with all your heart, you can tell a mountain to move from here to there. Peter, one of his disciples even walked on water due to his faith.

Mind Over Muscle, The Placebo Effect So what does the Placebo Effect have to do with gaining muscle? It has everything to do with it! Everything that happens in the body, has to first go through the brain. We can control our brain by our thoughts, with our minds. It looks like this:

1. Our thoughts indirectly control our brains 2. Our brains directly control our bodies 3. Our body gains muscle, if the brain tells it to.

Just as someone believes that a sugar pill can heal them, they are right, it can and usually does. Also, just as they believe that supplements can help them build muscle, it can and usually does, but more often it's not the supplement that's really building the muscle. It's their mind communicating to their brain, "This supplement works. I AM going to gain muscle with this stuff, the science proves it."

When this happens, your mind is telling your brain what's going to happen, and your brain does all it can to make it happen. Guess what, your brain is in charge of gaining muscle, if it wants too, you will gain muscle.

Use It For Your Advantage To gain muscle, you don't have to drink a tub load of chalky, expensive, gross tasting powder, but you must believe in yourself. The supplement placebo effect usually works when you think you are getting a real medicine and that it's going to work.

The underlying principal is that you KNEW it was going to work. You had total faith that it would do what it said. Imagine what you would be capable of if you KNEW that you could gain build muscle anytime you wanted. I want you to know that you can, and it's easy and actually very relaxing. Take a look at the following guidelines to help maximize your mind over muscle ability:

1. Pre Workout- KNOW that your workout WILL add another layer of strong, ripped muscle 2. During Workout - KNOW that with each rep and set you are forcing tons of muscle stimulation and that you will get huge 3. Post Workout - Feel great about the workout and KNOW that you just sparked tons of muscle growth, and look forward to the next training session knowing that you will be building even more muscle.

With everything you do regarding muscle growth, actually think about what you are doing. Think about how every bite of healthy food is making your muscles bigger. Think about how every minute of sleep you get is letting your muscles recover and get stronger. Never doubt your mind and body's ability to gain muscle. Also, never doubt that what you are doing isn't working. If you are doing the right things, it is working.

Gaining muscle mass is undoubtedly a physical thing, but everything that is a physical thing starts as a mental thing. Your brain takes instructions from you through your thoughts, it does what you tell it to do, through your mind, whether you know it or not. You have to constantly be giving it good instructions and make it known that the things you are doing WILL help you build huge amounts of muscle. Take the credit and placebo effect from supplements and master the mind over muscle.