Strength Training as Somatics
Eastern Districts 2022
Read time: 9 minutes
Hello everyone and welcome back to my blog! For those that are new here, my name is Kimberley and I am a Personal Trainer/Strength Coach with a passion for mental health advocacy and psychology. My day to day consists of coaching clients both in the gym and online through my business Athena Personal Training, being a dog mum to the most amazing 13 year old chihuahua called Brandy, and working towards my honours degree in Psychology through the Open University.
Introduction
In this blogpost we are going to take a look at the connection between strength training and somatics. You may have heard of the somatic nervous system before - especially if you have an interest or prior knowledge of human anatomy - which is the branch of our nervous system that is under our conscious control through the use of our skeletal muscles. Somatics is a movement practice that emphasises the mind-body connection. I will begin by breaking somatics down to its foundational components, demonstrate how these components link directly to strength training, and finally give you some practical tips on how to apply this more purposefully in your own training!
Breaking down somatics
The word ‘soma’ stems from ancient Greek meaning ‘the body living in its wholeness’ (Rachel, 2022).
In 1976, Thomas Hanna (1928-1990) coined the term ‘somatics’ to describe a movement practice taught by developing internal awareness of one's body from a ‘first-person perspective’ (Clinical Somatics, 2015). The practice of ‘somatics’ was originally designed to help combat physical pain symptoms (Day, 2021). Present day somatic practices still use its original foundation by foregrounding internal awareness of experience (Raypole, 2020).
Here are two definitions of somatics that encompass the present-day meaning and uses of the term:
‘Ways of working with the body that are therapeutic, educational, artistic, and physically expressive’ (Mullan, 2012).
‘An umbrella term for methods that prioritise participants’ physical awareness of bodily sensations, inner perception of movement, mind-body contact, and emotional-physical well-being’ (Saumaa, 2020).
You may have heard of ‘somatic therapies’ before; therapeutic approaches often used to treat mental health conditions by bringing awareness to bodily sensations that come up alongside traumatic memories (Sullivan, 2020). Both somatics and somatic therapies stem from the same idea that mind and body are inherently linked and that nourishing this connection can enhance physical and mental well-being.
Somatics is a practice that incorporates both body and mind, and can be deemed holistic and multi-faceted.
Is somatics the same as mindfulness?
When we look at some of the characteristics of somatics such as ‘physical awareness of bodily sensations’ it can bring to mind similarities to the practice of mindfulness, yet they are not one and the same. Dr Lin Ott (2023) explains how mindfulness is instead a vital component of somatics. The practice of mindfulness works by cultivating the skill of bringing awareness to a present moment, thought, emotion, or feeling/physical sensation.
Popular teachings of mindfulness start by focussing on thought which Dr Lin Ott describes as a ‘top-down approach’ to healing, whereas somatics is specifically designed as a ‘bottom-up approach’ by bringing conscious awareness to bodily sensations first before connecting these to thought and intention.
How somatics may link to strength training
A little while ago I posted a poll on my instagram story where I asked my followers whether they agreed or disagreed with the notion that strength training is a form of somatics - 100% percent of respondents agreed. I started to receive several messages explaining how strength training has had an incredibly positive influence on their lives in ways that exceed the physical health benefits that you might expect. Many equated ‘lifting’ (in particular ‘powerlifting’) to a form of therapy because of the mental health benefits that they experienced as a result of their training.
If we look at what we’ve learnt about somatics so far, we can start to link some of the somatic components to strength training. The physical awareness of bodily sensations mentioned by Saumaa (2020) is a key component of ‘being in your body’ when you are lifting weights and the improvements we see in proprioception or ‘perception of movement’ when people strength train is a prime example of the mind-body connection.
A good example of ‘physical expression’ mentioned by Mullan (2012) can be seen in strength training practices by the expression of anger. A form of ‘healthy aggression’ or ‘assertiveness’ may be used as a form of drive to help overcome physical and psychological obstacles. I am a strong believer that expressing anger through the medium of physical movement can be productive and a means of release in a safe contained environment in turn promoting emotional-physical well-being.
Some somatic practitioners disagree with the idea of weight training as a form of somatics because of the set structure of movements and rep ranges limiting the creative and exploratory elements required for somatics. As much as I can understand this argument, I think they are missing much of the point of strength training. If we take the practice of powerlifting as an example; the mind-body connection is ever present; creativity of movement is actively pursued through individual technique practice; and exploration of movement is encouraged during coaching sessions - matching all the requirements of somatics.
There is a plethora of research that shows a strong link between lifting and improved mental health. Some of these improvements are the result of biochemical changes in the body from engaging in exercise; some due to social factors such as human contact and belonging to a community; and some are psychological (this is where I believe somatics fits in). My anecdotal perspective as both a coach and a lifter is that lifting weights is cathartic, it’s creative, and it’s expressive - all components it has in common with the practice of somatics. I believe it is these similarities that allow strength training to be more than just exercise - it is a practice capable of healing.
How to use the concept of somatics in strength training
‘Unlike with typical workouts, you’re not trying to do as many exercises as possible. Instead, you’re trying to perform each exercise in such a way that it teaches you something about your body and its movements’ (Raypole, 2020)
Now that we have a good understanding of the concept of somatics and how it has a place in strength training, I will take you through some of my practical tips below to help you incorporate somatics into your own strength training sessions.
Develop your internal awareness
In order to tap into the mind-body connection you need to develop your internal awareness muscle. In my coaching sessions, I often start by teaching my students grounding techniques such as rooting their feet to the floor - which is the base of your balance and power (especially for a strong powerlifting squat or deadlift!). Some people prefer to start from their core, which we can do by bringing attention to your breathing; one way to do this is to lie on your back with your knees bent for support, place one hand on your stomach and feel your abdomen expand as you inhale and deflate as you exhale - this is also a great tool to learn or improve on bracing your core effectively. Another way to practise internal awareness is to do a ‘body scan’ where you direct your awareness to different parts of your body starting from your feet and slowly working your way up until you reach the top of your head (most people prefer to do with with eyes closed or in front of a mirror with headphones on to drown out surrounding sounds). Remember to be patient with yourself; it may take a couple of tries before it clicks for you!
Use lifting cues to direct your focus
If you have trained with me before you’ll know I am a big fan of lifting cues. Lifting cues can be specific physical actions or visualisation tools that are implemented during a training movement or ‘lift’. Usually, lifting cues are given in order to correct or enhance a person’s lifting technique. An example of a common cue I like to use with my students in a deadlift is to ‘leg press the floor away’ which brings attention to the lower body and can greatly help in directing where my lifter focuses their effort as they start their lift. Another example is ‘pushing your upper back into the barbell’ during the ascent of a squat - which is an example of a cue that is implemented mid-lift exemplifying how these prompts can be timed differently. The act of focusing your effort through lifting cues can help improve both your internal awareness and proprioception.
Take note of sensations and emotions that come up for you
It may help to slow things down in your warm-ups so that you can start to become aware of what you’re feeling. An example here could be noticing the sensation of physical tightness or instability when you first get under a barbell (this often goes away after a few reps or sets). You can also start to bring awareness to your emotions - for example, you may notice a heightened sense of anxiety about a heavy lifting set that you may have programmed that day. Pay attention to these sensations and emotions and explore them with curiosity.
You can start to bring this awareness into your sets to gauge your effort during your lifts (you may already practise some of this by using RPE) - I like to teach my lifters to take it one rep at a time by seeing every rep as a ‘single’ which can help you to ‘stay in your body’. Likewise, I encourage you to do the same in-between your sets by noting the sensation of your heart rate, your breath, and your body as it slowly comes back down to baseline.
How is all of this helpful in context?
It can help make you a better lifter by allowing you to optimise your technique and lifting intensity (by choosing appropriate loads, for example).
It can help you become more in-tune with your body and learn when to rest and recover versus when to ‘send it’.
It can help give your training sessions purpose beyond lifting more weight.
A good example of the above in practice that comes to mind for me, is from when I attended a lifting seminar a couple of years ago which was hosted by Bryce Krawczyk and Taylor Shadgett from Calgary Barbell. Bryce referenced work by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi on ‘Flow’ and spoke about striving for a ‘state of flow’ in his lifting sessions and on the platform to help gauge his level of arousal or ‘hype’. This practice helped him hone his preparation and performance skills as a powerlifting athlete.
Conclusion
I’d like to finish by summarising somatics as ‘movement practices that foster internal awareness of your physical body and emotional experience’. I hope I have been successful in either introducing you to the concept of somatics, or by enhancing your understanding of the importance and potency of the mind-body connection in strength training. Please do let me know in the comments below if this blog was useful to you in any way and feel free to share it with your strong friends!
Love & gains,
Kimberley
References:
Clinical Somatics (2015) What is Somatics? Available at: https://somatics.org/library/htl-wis1 (Accessed: June 2024).
Day, C. (2021) Thomas Hanna, Ph.D. Available at: https://essentialsomatics.com/thomas-hanna/#:~:text=He%20coined%20the%20term%20%E2%80%9Csomatics,%2C%20in%20addition%20to%20CSE (Accessed: June 2024).
Lin Ott, S. (2023) Mind-Body Connection: Somatic Therapy and Mindfulness. Available at: https://www.drsophialinott.com/blog/2023/3/9/mind-body-connection-somatic-therapy-and-mindfulness#:~:text=Mindfulness%20is%20an%20Important%20Part%20of%20Somatic%20Healing (Accessed: June 2024).
Mullan, K. (2012) The Art and Science of Somatics: Theory, History and Scientific Foundations Available at: https://creativematter.skidmore.edu/mals_stu_schol/89/ (Accessed: June 2024).
Rachel, N. (2022) What is Soma? Available at: https://medium.com/age-of-awareness/what-is-soma-15db61a3cecb#:~:text=The%20wisdom%20of%20the%20body,body%20from%20its%20chromosomes%20alone (Accessed: June 2024).
Raypole, C. (2020) A Brief Intro to the World of Somatics. Available at: https://www.healthline.com/health/somatics (Accessed: June 2024).
Saumaa, H. (2020) Somatic Strength Training: An Alternative to “No Pain No Gain”. Available at: https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/act.2019.29259.has (Accessed: June 2024).