Tongue position impacts strength output!

Yes, you can call me crazy, but in fact, you can support your performance by paying attention to the correct position of your tongue. 👅 🧭

The tongue's impact on the brain & neck muscles

First of all from a brain based perspective your tongue has a very high priority from a homunculus and cerebral cortex perspective. 🧠

Second of all your tongue muscles are deeply connected with the muscles of the jaw and the throat. As a result, bad tongue position can lead to an unfavorable neck position and deteriorated neck stability. This can have negative impact on our balance and thanks to the latest findings, also on our strength. 💪🏽

Significant strength improvements, thanks to optimal tongue position

There is an interesting 2014 study on this subject that actually proved that keeping the right tongue position can increase the strength in training by up to 30%.

Study link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3940506/ 📚

How does it work?

The next time you work out, try pushing the tongue against the palate (roof of your mouth) with force and observe your stability and strength. For my part, I have been practicing this little trick with my athletes and also myself for quite some time now and noticed immense effects. Especially when it comes to somehow “squeezing out” the last rep, paying close attention to the correct tongue position can help dramatically with power output. ✊🏽🔥

Have fun trying!

Markus