Regardless of what your specific endeavor is in all of this (bodybuilding or other physique divisions, Strongman, Olympic lifting, mainstream athletic sports, etc.), while you may be very good at what you do and you have come a long way, do you want to become complacent? Even with making progressive strides in your chosen field, there is room for an improvement from outside sources that will help you in your main chosen passion.
Now, I realize what that may sound like, being vague and ambiguous, and all, with me being a bodybuilder… but, no, I am not talking about what you would find in a bottle or a syringe. Instead, I am talking about your own gusto and ability… with a dose of quizzical interest. What I am talking about is cross training.
Not CrossFit, unless that is what you want to move into. If that is the case, go right ahead.
I am talking about finding a second (or third, even) physical activity, one that will require you to use your body and mind in a different way, ask something different of your body, put you in a different (yet, same) mindset, and overall, just make you more of a beast than you already have become.
It is beyond obvious what my combination has been and will be: bodybuilding/weight lifting and martial arts. And honestly, it does not stop there (because of contest prep, some other activities cannot happen at this time). After this contest season is over, I intend to return to some strongman training and power lifting. Bodybuilding will still be in the mix, but those three training protocols all require something different from the individual. Results are hugely different, but for me, they all have the same thing in common: I get better. That is all that matters to me.
So, whoever you are, there is no reason for you to be stymied by being burned out on a singular track of development. Take your pick of things… it will be good for your body, AND your mind (after all, an unhealthy mind will eventually give way to an unhealthy body). Do not just choose arbitrarily though… have some method to your madness, so to speak. I know exactly why I chose bodybuilding as a complement to my martial arts, and why both benefit from each other, therefore making both better, which equals me being better. And a really good, and unlikely example, would be my wife. In her teen years up into her mid twenties, she rode horses. Equestrian arts never would have come to mind, would it? But riding the horses took a lot of work; it is not just sitting up there and riding along. There is a LOT that goes into that, and it can be taxing on the body. But in training and riding horses, that provided the base for her to transition effortlessly into power lifting (which later saw her transition into bodybuilding).
Think about what you want to do, want to accomplish, want to achieve. If nothing in particular comes to mind, this is okay; you can always just go with what interests you, and over the course of time, you can make that connection with yourself and your secondary involvement, and discover how it is helping you and the primary.
Always want more. Always be more. Know you are more. Do more. Give more. More people then benefit from what you are, and with luck, the good influence spreads.
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