CANADIAN PHYSIQUE ALLIANCE November/December ISSUE | Page 74

UNSTOPPABLE
Mental blocks are often the most frustrating Examples of mental blocks are forgetting
hurdles for any bodybuilder to encounter. poses/steps in a fitness or bodybuilding
The thing that makes mental blocks so routine, seeing the fierce competition at the
challenging and irritating is that you know athlete meeting and/or backstage, seeing a
how to perform a skill. You know you have the particular competitor from a past competition,
ability to perform the skill and you know you training through injuries, self doubt with your
have successfully performed the skill in the physique, prep, coach and so on. So what
past. does a bodybuilder do? The short answer is
STOP overthinking what you are doing or
Mental blocks and slumps get in the way for what you should be doing. Instead of trying
bodybuilders who are often ill-equipped to to figure things out, just trust in your abilities
handle these hurdles. When bodybuilders and your training. This is assuming you have
face a mental block, the common response is put the proper time and practice into your
to figure it out, i.e., tinker with technique, training & posing. After all, you successfully
over-work, over-analyze and overthink, performed these skills in the past, so get out
which just serves to embed the mental block of your head and let your body perform like
further into the bodybuilder’s mind. you trained it.