Competitive Bodybuilding is broken up into two main aspects: physical and mental. In this article, I am going to discuss with you the mental aspect of competitive bodybuilding, and just how overlooked and important it is.

For a bodybuilder looking to achieve success in the sport, there is never an  offseason. By having this year round lifestyle of high quality and specifically planned nutrition and training, day in and day out, it takes a toll on your mind, even more so than your body. In the periods of time when you are not getting ready for a show,  you are able to eat more, lift heavy, and GROW! Although your training is tough and you still never miss a meal on a planned and structured meal regimen that you follow year round, it doesn’t even come close to comparing with a pre-contest lifestyle. During your contest prep, your calories are low, your cardio is higher than usual, your training becomes a daily feat, and simple tasks now seem to require so much energy. It is in these times when your mental strength is tested.

When I dieted down from my first show I started at 206 lbs. Eight months later of hard-core diet and training, I showed up at my show weighing 150 pounds, YES I had to lose 56 pounds! Of course during those eight months there were times when I felt like my body was shutting down, but what I always kept in the back of my mind is “I am doing this, because bodybuilding is my passion.” By remembering that simple sentence, it kept me on track and helped me to stay mentally strong, never wavering from my diet!

Besides the obvious reason of having a strong mental aspect is beneficial to help keep you on your diet, what a lot of people don’t realize is that if you believe you can accomplish something, you will succeed. If you have a weak mind and question yourself, then your chances of succeeding diminish drastically. A few ways you can improve your mental strength is by doing the following:

1. When you wake up in the morning, before you start off your day, begin by envisioning your goal.
2. Next, mentally plan out your day, making specific mental notes on what you are going to be doing that day, which will lead to furthering your success in that goal.
3. Finally, as you go throughout your day, keep your goal in the back of your mind and before going into any situation, think; “will this hurt or help me in my journey to achieving my goal?”

That is one simple change you can make to your daily routine that I GUARANTEE will help you on your journey to your specific goal. Other useful methods, all of which I do daily are,,,

• Writing down your goals
• Tracking your progress on paper and on a personal blog
• Always being very precise and accurate when it comes to my diet and training
• ALWAYS being prepared but able to adapt if need be.

If you can take away one lesson from this article it is this, “Train and think like a champion today, Become and live as a champion tomorrow!”

Thanks for reading, Alex Kike

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