as far as mind and muscle connections when i lift, i think of the muscles im working, and nothing else, just focus on "feeling" that muscle. for instance, if u dont feel it on squats go lower, dont feel it on rows tighten up ur back more, then think of nothing else at all. mind to muscle, a thing arnold swore upon. i did the DFT 5xt5 for 4 months (with a one week break) and ate ate ate, i gained 8 pounds. Not tons but not bad for 4 months either.

that fat is kind of the nature of the beast, u can worry about it later, get big and strong right now, this stuff takes a while. I've been lifting for over 2 years, people are just now starting to acknowledge me as a "big" guy. i didn't read ur other post, but do deads squats rows and bench...that should be the majority of ur workout. So many people ask for advice from me, i tell them what i do, they dont listen, they believe so much in isolation exercises, and doing 10 different exersices on "back day" and the same for "chest day" throw that crap out the window.---i tried that for over a year, never could bench more than 225 for a 1 rep Max....after 8 weeks on the 5x5 i was using 235 on the bench, for the ENTIRE 5x5.....EAT EAT EAT....