It’s common to see the contest prep season roll around and motivation quicks into high gear. This is like a Jekyll and Hyde physique competitor. There offseason is chaos and resembles nothing of an elite competitor then they straighten up and check all boxes with looming show date in near sit. So, what is with the mindset of this competitor?
Burn out is so common in bodybuilding. Competitors go hard for a 20-week prep and just cannot carry that out into the offseason. A lot of the fallouts can come from just getting burn out in the contest prep scene. The pressure you put on yourself to perform can come from all the wrong places like fear of failure, fear of inadequacy, and harsh self-criticisms. This has been investigated in several athletes as well and at all levels.
In a study surveying 253 respondents (59 non-athletes, 115 recreational athletes, and 79 competitive athletes) they found regardless of the level of athlete, psychological distress was associated with lower levels of self-compassion, fear of self-compassion feelings of inadequacy, and striving for acceptance (Walton 2020). So, this shows us that high levels of success in athletics is not driven by inducing psychological negative distress (beating yourself up mentally), but can be derived from enjoyment, which can prevent burnout.
Now there is a positive internalized drive for perfection that can drive us to want to fulfill our greatest potential as an athlete, but this is something internal and not driven from your social standing or Instagram or friends. This goes deep into your why behind what you do, the emotional connection you get from striving to develop yourself to be better. The negative drive is from is being harshly self-critical and creating fears of inadequacy to force yourself to be better.
What can you do to prevent burn out?
Evaluate why you’re doing what you do:
- Do you want this for yourself, why?
Turn your negative words into positives:
- “I won’t ever grow biceps” change to “I Will grow biceps”
Stop harsh criticisms and change to self-belief and words of self-control
- “My ass is so fat” change to “I have the ability to change my ass” “I will step on stage shredded”.
Give yourself encouragement:
- Speak 3 positives in your life today “I nailed my diet, I have a great job, I love my dog”. Focus on the good things.
Think bigger! Train Hard!
John Jewett MS RD IFBB Pro
Reference Walton CC, Baranoff J, Gilbert P, Kirby J. Self-compassion, social rank, and psychological distress in athletes of varying competitive levels. Psychology of Sport and Exercise. 2020 May 29:101733.
