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Stress - Stop it from keeping you small
 

Bodybuilding should be fun, enjoyable and positive, but too many times our dreams of bodybuilding turns into a nightmare. We are confronted day in day out by adverts saying we need to take this, to not take this. To train like this, to eat like that. We worry about having to take steroids. When we take steroids we worry that we are taking fakes. We stress ourselves out spending our last bit of money on a supplement and then worrying about whether we can buy it next month. If we can we worry about whether it actually works!

We bodybuilders are looked at as strange by the general public, our desire to get massive by all means possible makes certain relationships stressful. There will be lots of people lined up to try and make you feel small, mentally at least, to make themselves feel better.

Stress comes in many forms and even when your bodybuilding is going to plan we can rarely avoid it. Many of the side effect of stress may be hampering your progress and keeping you small. Oh did I love my early years in the Iron Game when I did everything wrong but enjoyed myself. I didn't know about proper protein intake, about training methods. I just did it trail and error- reading the magazines and routines of stars I liked the look of. But bodybuilding then was enjoyable.

Then I found out that Arnie took steroids. I still remember my heart missing a beat. You mean I cannot get as big as him without taking drugs? Then the first stresses began. How to get the drugs, how to use them. Do I need to? Some say 'yes,' others shout loudly 'no!,' How to afford them and so on. Then the supplement market really took off and the media was basically saying that you need this or that or will be left behind. Everyone but me was on the latest supplement, or so I thought. More stress. Instead of eating right, I spent as little on quality food as I could to save up for a tub of protein powder. When taking it I simply felt anxious about not being able to eat or have money for other things.

This is my experience. I give it so that those who think alike know they are not alone. I have e-mails from people worrying themselves sick about simple things such as how best to actually eat their food - chew or shovel it in? On how to afford supplements. On seemingly tiny things that mainstream sites and magazines miss, or simply feel that it is not going to sell many copy's or get many hits. The fact is that we create a lot of stress about in our bodybuilding life's that need not be there.

Stress keeps us small. It produces catabolic hormones and that means we shrink and don't grow. Have you noticed how highly strung people are often thin and wiry? Stress interferes with digestion and recovery. It gives us sleepless nights.

Stress raises blood pressure and this is even worse when you are on the gear.

My ex-training partners main thing that kept him small was his stress levels. He would get stressed at the slightest thing, and still does. Even when everything else was right he didn't grow. He actually shrunk. In the end this stress made him into a shell of his former self and horrible to everyone around him. He didn't just lose muscle, he lost his friends, family and peace of mind.

We must make every effort to limit stress in our life's and we will see the difference in our gym progress.

1. Get the knowledge needed on how really to train, eat, sleep. How to take gear and supplements. Get this from an unbiased source or else you will simply be misinformed and the stress will continue. Having the real knowledge on how to train, following it and seeing the results is like a weight being lifted from you. The fog disappears and you finally become your own boss and master of your own destiny.  One of the benefits people tell me about the Manifesto (sorry another plug!) is that the people who follow it can just sit back and follow what is written. They don't have to worry about what to eat, how to train and when its all written down and they trust it.

2. Learn to relax- don't just improve you body but read and investigate on how to expand and improve your mind. All the Mr. Olympians have been masters of their own minds- learning to get the best knowledge possible and then not worrying about anything else. Make an informed design and then go for it and don't worry about the outcome because if you do your best that is all that you can do. The mindset as some call it is as vital to our bodybuilding success as any amount go steroids, food or correct training could ever be.

3. Take a certain amount of time each day to close your eyes and relax. Listen to soothing music. Avoid cannabis as this may give you a feeling of relaxation but directly stimulates catabolic hormones. These types of drugs and the effect they can have on your bodybuilding are explained in the Manifesto.

4. Eliminate all the negative influences in your life. So called friends that put you down. Negative work colleges. People you interact with on any level who are negative either ignore or tell them that you will only talk to them when they are adult enough to talk with a positive underpinning. There are people who simply do not like you to make something of yourself. By doing new things it makes them have to rethink their own methods and ideas. It makes them step back and see what is going on in their own life's. I had to close ties with a person who I thought at the time was a good friend, but his selfish attitude was dragging all those around him, including me, down into his self created pit of stress. After I was rid of him my bodybuilding really took off. Like attracts like and if you are with negative people it rubs off on you.

5. Turn negative stress into positive motivation. Say to yourself. " Well they say I cannot grow with out this but I'm going to prove them wrong." then set about doing it. Enjoy your gains. We often don't. We want 20 inch arms so an inch gained onto our 14 inch guns is not seen as a victory because we are looking at where we want to be rather than what we have achieved. Notice your gains are good, yes not where you may want to be, but good none the less.

These are again points of the top of my head. There's many ways to de-stress and many books out there to help. Master you mind and you will master your future!

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