Mental Fortitude

this is the fifth article I wrote for NB&F magazine, which appeared in the February 2011 issue

Mental Fortitude

Physical strength is the product of mental fortitude. The human body is designed to adapt to stresses imposed upon it. In order to become physically stronger (which can be defined in various ways) you must continue to impose stress greater than that which your body has already enabled itself to sustain and recover from. In other words, you have to take it to another level if you want to continue improving. Success in any endeavor requires one to get out of his/her comfort zone. In bodybuilding that translates into the willingness to endure pain.

When I look at my own physique and I see the progress I’ve made since being a skinny little boy earlier in life, I am reminded of everything I’ve put myself through over the years to get to where I am. I also know that I need to continue finding new ways to challenge myself, so I can force my body to adapt and become stronger. The longer you’ve been training, the harder this becomes. Each day I walk into the gym I think to myself, “what are my competitors doing?” Part of my philosophy as a competitor is to choose a path that few are willing to follow and even fewer are able to follow. When I plan a leg workout, I often try to come up with things that would make others uncomfortable just to watch. Why? Because when I step onstage, I’ll know that no one standing next to me worked harder and while my physique may not be the best, it will demonstrate my willingness to work.

Since I have been very young, I have always thrived on the ability to do things that others either can’t or would not want to try. The fact that I’m willing to do these things voluntarily lets me know that I am different. Why is this important to me? Because I do not want to be like everyone else! My greatest fear in life is mediocrity! Over the years, I have realized that I seem to be very different than most other people. They don’t understand why I would want to do what I do on a daily basis and I can’t understand how many of them are so easy to give up at the first sign of resistance. How can they not have more resilience?

You can study workout methodologies, splits, rep schemes, etc all day long, but in the end if you aren’t willing to endure some pain, then you will never have an exceptional physique. Not everyone is mentally tough enough, however, to voluntarily put themselves through such rigors. Having worked with numerous clients over the years I have grown to realize that I cannot help someone become physically stronger if they are mentally weak to begin with. Furthermore, mental toughness is something you can’t teach. It’s acquired and learned on one’s own over the course of one’s life. I owe much to my parents for teaching me the value of hard work and sacrifice. I learned very early in life the concept of hard work being equivalent to money in the bank. It’s been said before, but YOU GOTTA PAY YOUR DUES!!! Some people just never figure this out I guess. You can give them all the knowledge you have, but it’s useless because they can’t implement the most basic concept: HARD WORK! I’d rather have a client who’s terribly out of shape, but willing to work over someone who’s very fit, but can’t handle a little bit of pain and is afraid to make sacrifices. It’ll be easier to enable the first type of person to see improvement and results.

Being mentally tough is essential, not only for bodybuilding, but for life. So where does this trait come from? I would argue that it is the result of hardships faced throughout your life. If you haven’t faced some level of hardship in your life, then either you’re too sheltered or you’re just lucky. For everyone else, hardship builds character, enables you to cope and most importantly imposes mental stress that allows for adaptation. This adaptation of mental strength is what provides the foundation for what you must do in order to attain physical strength. A strong healthy body is often the sign of a strong healthy mind. When you look at the very top WNBF pros, you’ll likely find many differences in their approach to training and nutrition. One thing they’ll always have in common, however, is mental fortitude, because without it they would not have gotten to where they are.