Bodybuilding and the Power of Positive Thinking

Putting on a front while breaking down

The one thing that all amateur and professional athletes can agree on is the power of positive thinking. With out it your are 99% guaranteed to fall apart bit by bit on your journey to becoming the best you can be without you even realising.

For me, my goal is to compete in my first bodybuilding competition towards the end of 2012. A strong mental state and a clear view of my priorities is the key to successfully accomplishing my goal of stepping on stage before you all and showing you what hard work, determination and dedication can achieve if you do it with a clear mind.

My knock-on effect of over training

In my previous article "Like an idiot - I overtrained ( http://fitnessinventor.com/articles/699 )" I speak about some of the symptoms of overtraining. I identified the stresses my body was going through that indicated it was time for a rest. What I didn't highlight was the deep underlying stresses I was mentally facing from such a 1000mph lifestyle of working, training, diet, additional jobs, relationships, money etc which is what a lot of people go through everyday but may not be able to find the right balance in order to keep every area happy. These unorganised priorities have place unwanted negative stress upon my mind which has caused me to have severe setbacks in my training and performance.

Step one

The first step is accepting the fact that there is an issue that needs addressing and highlighting the small issues that appear to be HUGE problems. For me, I have identified that I have extreme exercise dependency, (as mentioned in my previous article) which has caused my mind to be overwhelmed by nothing but training and diet in my goal to pack on mass. This is not good!

Exercise dependency has caused me to become very over critical of my current condition and I think this is largely to do with me having to accept the fact that my abdominal muscles will fade and overall shape will appear softer in order to promote muscle mass at a greater rate.

Words of wisdom

I think that the people in life who are successful are the people who have searched within themselves and found the reason to get up, the reason to go to bed at night, the reason to work hard and the reason to deny immediate self gratification when the time comes. The people who succeed and achieve at any one of their goals are the people who can tap into other levels of their personal concentration and self belief that otherwise can be taken for granted. Champions have something in them that gives them the ability to aim, excel and achieve at what ever it is that they choose to do. I believe that the ability to succeed starts with making the decision to do so and once you make the decision by just deciding is already half the battle won.

Kai Greene - Arnold classic champion

Now take from this what you wish but to me it has given me some insight to exactly what it takes to become a champion. You're either a dreamer or You're a doer. For the past few months I have been a dreamer and lost connection with my stable mind set. With a fresh look on life and my priorities in place I hope now only see my training and progress excel.

Conclusion

Bodybuilding is not a sprint its a marathon and also a way of life. You have to be in it for the long run if you really want to reach your best possible potential. Bodybuilding affects the whole of your life and all of those around you and the bodybuilding mindset is as important if not more important than the weights lifted. There is an internal struggle amongst the psychology and the motivations of this extreme and dramatic sport. As we begin to focus on our upcoming goals we need to first leave behind all the negative stress we were too blind to see before and move forward with this new clear mind set we have now locked onto.