🌷【Body Building After 30】How you use your body changes your mentality. Why correct movement aligns the mind and how to start training

Hello everyone! 😊✨ This is YUKI from the Beautiful Mind Body Method. 🏋️

I'm sure many of you have experienced something like this.

“I want to strengthen my mentality, but it’s just not getting any stronger...💦”
“I want to move more, but my body feels heavy and I can’t...💦”
“I want to get motivated, but my feelings are just spinning their wheels...💦”

And when this state continues, almost everyone thinks:

“It’s because my mind is weak.😓”
“I can’t try hard enough because I lack the drive.😥”

They start blaming themselves. But in reality, that very assumption might be putting even more burden on your mind. Because:

The reason your mind can’t move forward is deeply connected to “how your body moves.”

Although the human body and mind appear to exist separately, they are actually surprisingly closely linked, and the state of the body itself dictates the state of the mind. When the body feels heavy, cannot exert force as desired, and movements become awkward, the mind becomes heavy in the same way. Even if you have the desire to move forward, your body cannot keep up with those feelings, making it difficult to find motivation. In other words, when your mind cannot move forward, it is often a sign that your body is not in a state where it can move forward. So, what is a state where the body can move forward?

Where is the mechanism that links the mind and body? How can you acquire the way of using your body to align your mind? From here, I will carefully unravel this, mixing in both professional perspectives and intuitive language you can use in daily life.🌸

The body has “muscles for moving forward (accelerator)” and “muscles for stopping (brake)” 🚗💨

Essential to understanding body movement is the concept of:

“Accelerator” and “Brake”

※I have written about this in detail in this article, so if you are interested, please take a look. I think it will deepen your understanding of what follows in this article as well!!

Human muscles and joints each have their own roles. In fact, there are many people, including experts, who are building their bodies without understanding this at all. Understanding this is truly the essence of body building after 30, and it is the most important point in understanding the connection to your mentality.

🌸Muscles for moving forward = Accelerator

The joints and muscles that act as the accelerator are: ・Hip joints ・Glutes (gluteus maximus) ・Back of the thighs (hamstrings). When you can use these muscles, your body can naturally exert the power needed to move forward. Walking, running, standing up, climbing stairs, squatting, etc. At the root of every movement in life are the “movement of the hip joints” and the glute and hamstring muscles that support them. When these work, the body becomes lighter, less prone to fatigue, and moving no longer feels like a chore. As a result, your activity level increases, your muscles and physical strength naturally improve, and a positive influence is created on your mentality as well.✨

🌸Muscles for stopping = Brake

On the other hand, the joints and muscles that act as the brake are: ・Knee joints ・Front of the thighs (quadriceps). These are not muscles for moving forward, but muscles for stopping. They are indispensable for stopping motions, but problems arise when they become the main players. Because they take over the original role of moving forward—a role they were not meant for—the body ends up in a state where it wants to move forward but cannot. And this “contradictory state of trying to move while braking” has a strong influence on the state of your mind. If you are currently experiencing:

・Wanting to move more but unable to ・Lacking strength ・Lacking motivation ・Getting tired easily ・Not feeling mentally forward-looking

If this state continues, it is highly likely that it is not a weakness of spirit, but that your body is stepping on the brakes. Because your body is not in a state where it can move correctly, your mind is left unable to prepare to move forward. In other words:

It is a state where “if the body moves, the mind moves,” but “because the body has stopped, the mind has also stopped.”

Understanding this mechanism is very important for aligning your mind and body.✨

The reason why being able to use your accelerator muscles makes not just your body, but your mind positive as well ✨

When you learn to use your 'accelerator muscles' correctly, your body changes more than you can imagine.
And that change will inevitably ripple into your mind.

Here, I will explain in an easy-to-understand way, incorporating professional perspectives, why working your accelerator muscles makes your mind more positive. 💗

🌸 A body that moves forward easily = A mind that moves forward easily

When your accelerator muscles are engaged, your body naturally gains the power to move forward.
When you take a step, you get a sensation as if you are being gently pushed from behind, and your body begins to move with lightness.

Then,

'Maybe I'll try a little bit'
'Maybe I'll try moving'

—a small sense of positivity wells up.

Since the mind is constantly reading the body's sensations, when the body can move forward, the mind also begins to prepare to move forward.

🌸 Becoming less prone to fatigue = Becoming less prone to mental slumps

Accelerator muscles are very large, so when they work correctly, the burden on your entire body decreases all at once.

When you become less prone to fatigue, you gain the mental space to think, 'Okay, let's try a little more,' and your mood is less likely to drop.

Conversely, if you are in a state of constant fatigue, even someone with a very strong mentality will easily feel down.

🌸 When your posture is aligned, your mental state is more likely to be stable

When you can use your accelerator muscles, your pelvis, spine, and head are more easily aligned, and your posture naturally improves. When your posture is aligned, your breathing becomes deeper, your chest opens, and your autonomic nervous system is more likely to stabilize.

As a result,

・Anxiety is reduced
・Your mind becomes easier to calm
・You can shift your mood more quickly

—many positive effects are created for your mental health.

🌸 The experience of 'I did it' nurtures the mind

When your accelerator muscles start working properly, your body experiences not just superficial changes like 'toning up' or 'moving lightly,' but more essential and significant changes.

In my experience training many people, I have seen countless cases where those who had suffered from long-term pain in their knees, lower back, neck, or shoulders saw that pain reduced to a surprising degree by learning how to move their bodies correctly.

For example, when someone who previously couldn't squat deeply due to knee pain learns to squat correctly using their hip joints,

'Wow, I did it!'
'My knees and back don't hurt!'

—a major success experience is born.

This experience of 'I did it' works strongly on not just the body, but the mind. The moment you can do what you couldn't before, the feelings that were once full of anxiety gradually change to positive ones, and confidence that 'I can do it too' begins to sprout.

By changing how you use your body, pain improves and you gain a body that can move forward. That accumulation gently nurtures the mind and leads you toward a positive mentality. ✨

Why relying only on 'brake muscles' lowers not just your body, but your mentality 🥀

If you continue in a state where your accelerator muscles are not working, your body will move while relying on your brake muscles. In car terms, this is like 'stepping on the accelerator while also stepping on the brake.'

If this contradictory state continues, your body will naturally get tired, and breakdowns will easily occur.

And that fatigue has a deep impact not just on your body, but on your mind.
The sensation of wanting to move but being unable to do so exhausts the mind.

'I want to move forward but I can't'
'Even if I have the desire to move, my body won't follow'

This gap between will and reality leads to mental exhaustion.

'I'm no good...'
'It won't work out anyway...'

Negative self-evaluations like these become easy to form.

But that might not be a problem with your feelings; it might just be that your body isn't using its accelerator muscles.

That is all it is.

And this tendency to primarily use brake muscles also works negatively in body building.

Actually, the muscles in the front of the thighs and the calves have a characteristic where they tend to develop in tandem. If you only use these areas, your legs are more likely to become thick, you will tire more easily, and pain will be more likely to occur.

If pain and fatigue appear, your activity level decreases, and your mentality will decline further.

A way of using the body that is centered on brake muscles makes it difficult to direct your mind forward.

That is precisely why,

When you feel like, "I haven't been feeling stable lately,"
"I just can't seem to stay positive,"
"I don't have the energy to take action,"

that is exactly when you need to check how you use your body before you check your mind. I believe that the mind and body move as a set. It is only natural that trying to fix your mind alone will not work🥀

It is only natural that trying to fix your mind alone will not work🥀

Why squats and lunges are the best for mastering correct body movement

How can you master movements that engage your 'accelerator muscles' and move your body forward? The answer is actually very simple and lies within the basic movements of squats and lunges✨.

However, the important thing here is not the idea of "doing squats and lunges as muscle training"❗

Especially for body building after 30, it is more important to perform them as training to master correct body usage and movement rather than focusing on increasing muscle mass.

These two movements, squats and lunges, are the foundation for every movement we perform in our daily lives, not just in training. That is why I believe they are excellent exercises that are indispensable for building a body as you age💗

First, a squat is a movement where you use your hip joints with both feet on the ground, engaging your accelerator muscles like your glutes and hamstrings🍑✨

It is also an exercise that awakens the muscles needed to move forward and reminds you of the sensation of, "Oh, this is how my body moves forward."

However, if you only use the front of your thighs, your 'brake muscles' will become dominant, making your movements feel heavier instead💦. That is why your form—where you focus and how you move—is so important.

And what could be called an advanced version of this squat is the lunge.

While a squat is a movement that uses the hip joints with both feet, a lunge is a movement that engages the hip joints, glutes, and hamstrings one leg at a time. In fact, there are almost no movements in daily life where you use your hip joints with both feet simultaneously.

Walking, running, climbing stairs, picking things up... all of these are movements that use the hip joints one leg at a time🚶‍♀️✨

That is why incorporating the correct hip joint movement learned in squats into the single-leg movement of a lunge is crucial for improving performance in daily life🌈.

This is not just for people who are training. It is the average person who does not exercise regularly who needs to regain their natural way of using their body.

Whether or not you have mastered this movement will greatly change not only your walking style and posture but also your future health and how long you can stay physically active🌟

In other words, squats and lunges are an investment in your future that will determine whether you can live a rich life and move forward with a capable body💖

Those who want to strengthen their mental state should prioritize aligning their 'body movements'

When performing squats and lunges, the most important thing is actually "how you do them."

In other words, the "form" in training is very important. And it is not just about the form, but also about what mindset you have when performing these two exercises, and furthermore, why these two exercises change your daily movements and lead to a body that can use its accelerator muscles.

Understanding the reason before you start is truly important✨

In my experience guiding many people, I am not saying that the squats and lunges commonly performed are wrong.

It is just that, in many cases, the movements in daily life are not connected to squats and lunges as training.

There is a slight difference between the squat and lunge forms commonly seen in the world and the squats and lunges I envision for improving daily life.

Especially regarding lunges, I feel a bit skeptical about whether the general style is directly linked to daily movements🤔.

Do you just want to target muscles, or do you want to improve the movements of daily life itself? Just by having a different goal, the results of the same squat or lunge will be completely different.

If you want to build your body for the following purposes:

・Improve performance in daily life
・Fundamentally improve ailments like stiff shoulders, lower back pain, or knee pain
・Improve sports performance
・Create a body that doesn't get tired easily

If you want to build your body for these purposes, you need to choose squats and lunges that teach you the correct body movements directly linked to daily life, rather than just "squats and lunges that target muscles"✨.

Conversely, if you don't think that deeply and your goal is simply "I love muscle training!" or "Moving my body is fun!", then of course it is OK to enjoy training with general forms💗.

The important thing is to have a clear purpose for why you are moving your body.

Once your purpose is set, the training method you should choose will naturally change, and both your body and mind will move in a better direction🌸✨

And finally, just one important thing.

When you want to strengthen your mental state, many people try to do something about the mind itself. But what you really need to change is not your mind, but your body's movements.

Once your body is ready to move forward, your mind will naturally follow.
That is why you must first move your body correctly.

That is the shortest path to cultivating a positive mental state💗

I haven't explained the correct functional way to do squats and lunges or the form details yet, but I plan to share them carefully in future articles.

For now, I hope you understand that mastering the exercises of squats and lunges is very important for improving the quality of your daily life and for building your body after 30 with a long-term perspective🌿

Until then, please try moving your body in various ways.

"Which muscles am I using?" "Which joints are moving?"

Feeling these small realizations is very important.

Let's put aside whether the muscles you are using or the movements are correct or incorrect for a moment. First, it is important to feel which joints and muscles you are using to live and move in your own body.

This process of "feeling" is the first step in cultivating body awareness.

By accumulating these small realizations and valuing the time spent grasping these sensations, you can greatly utilize them for the next step💪

Also, I have written in detail in another article about the one thing I focus on when doing squats.

If you read this, I think you will be able to understand more deeply the essence of all the other training and body usage explanation articles I intend to share from now on.
If you are interested, please take a look at that article as well🌸

Recommended for those who read this article

【Self-Introduction】Delivering health and body-building tips from note to you💖

Bishin Body Method YUKI✨'s 'note Sitemap'💖 A list of all articles via links