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Oh, one more thing...
Neurological conditioning is NOT the same as mental conditioning.
The idea is that the human body is actually much more capable of bearing extreme tension (weight) than is normally seen or understood.
What prevents us from lifting huge amount of weight is NOT usually from lack of muscle size. It is from a "safety margin" that our neurological conditioning built into us. What goes on internally (again, neurologically) is that when you lift some heavy weight you are not used to, the body automatically shuts down and "fails" to lift to "protect" you from the "unknown" tension/weight.
Neurological conditioning involves progressively subjecting one's body to higher and higher tension to condition the body's automatic mechanism to reduce that "safety margin" and to allow the body to not shut down when tested to a certain amount of tension.
Anyhoo, check out the book. Pavel does a much, much better job of explaining much of the science behind it.
BTW, flexibility works in a similar fashion. Most people pull muscles when they are subjected to a sudden stretch. It's from something called "stretch reflex." What the body is doing is that when a sudden force is applied to a part of the body, the body (the neurological conditioning) automatically tries to protect the vulnerable bones and joints by contracting rapidly (almost violently). That of course "pulls" the muscles involved (it's a sacrifice - hurt the easily healed muscle to protect the really vulnerable bones and joints).
For most people (not used to sudden force), this automatic safety margin is excessive, thus limiting their "flexibility." The body just won't let the muscles to "stretch" without violent contracting back.
This is NOT improved by "stretching" the muscle (which may indeed increase the range of motion, but will weaken the muscle the same way over-stretched rubber band is now longer, but weaker-tensioned).
It is improved by PNF (Priprioceptive Pneumomuscular Facilitation), in which antagonistic muscle tension (as in, if you tense one muscle group, the antagonistic muscle group cannot be tense at the same time and must be relaxed automatically by the body), combined with proper breathing control, is used to condition the body neurologically to allow the body parts to "go farther" and reduce that safety margin. Of course, it helps to improve mobility in your joints (not just muscles) by practicing what are called mobility drills.
It's all really about "re-wiring" the neurological setup at a different level.
Check out Pavel's "Beyond Stretching" or Kurz' "Stretching Scientifically."
Skorzeny
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For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the supreme excellence. Sun Tzu
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