The secret to losing weight is in enhancing the functioning of your central nervous system (CNS). The CNS integrates the information that it receives from, and coordinates the activity of, all parts of the body. To enhance CNS functioning practice planning your movements, build joint alignment, and work muscles at different speeds and angles.

Planning your movements involves thinking about what your body needs to accomplish prior to doing an exercise. According to Dr. Kareem F. Samhouri, author of Double Edged Fat Loss 2.0, “Movement planning efficiency can actually yield up to 30% greater contractile strength.”  Visualizing your movement before doing it can help you lift more weight and get faster results.

To fully recruit your muscles it’s important to work muscles at different speeds and at different angles. Muscle fibers run in several directions so it’s important to work the muscles at different angles to get full muscle contractions.  For example, the following exercises focus on fully recruiting the pectoral muscles (as well as muscle groups in the arms and shoulders) by working the muscles at different angles: barbell bench presses,  dumbbell presses with elbows in close to body, dumbbell flys, incline bench presses, decline bench presses, and push-ups.

Muscles are composed of different types of fibers that are recruited depending on the speed of the movement. Fast workout movements, such as jumps, recruit ‘fast-twitch’ muscle fibers, which eat sugars. And, it’s equally important to recruit ‘average’ and ‘slow’ fibers to build endurance, improve circulation and increase muscle.

Building body alignment increases the efficiency with which muscles are signaled.  When joints are out of position, the body signals muscles to back-down. This means that the muscles are not being activated to the extent needed to increase muscle and improve tone, which in turn leads to breaking down fat at a slower rate. Also, misaligned joints can lead to unbalanced muscle development and possible injuries. Doing appropriate exercises with correct form improves muscle imbalance and body alignment.

Visualizing your movements, working to improve body alignment, and more fully recruiting your muscles enhances the functioning of your central nervous system. This in turn makes your workouts more efficient so that you will lose weight in less time.