The 1970s documentary, Pumping Iron, is a fascinating look into the strange world of bodybuilding. The film follows a number of participants as they train for Mr. Olympia, the sport’s toughest competition. The top contenders include Lou Ferrigno, the original Incredible Hulk and the former Guvernator himself Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Apart from Arnold’s infamous speech about how “ecstatic” he gets from working out and posing, there are a couple of meatier scenes that give insight into his incredible mental state going into the competition. He remarks that the person who gets ahead is the one who mentally breaks barriers by doing that one extra rep when your mind and body says you’re done.
In a less transparent yet funnier scene, Lou Ferrigno and his father invite Arnold to breakfast on the morning of the competition to try and get inside his head. As you can probably tell this does not go according to plan. What this scene shows is not only the pure alpha-maleness of Arnold but also the mental edge he has on his fellow competitors.
(at the 4:50 mark)
In summary… push through those mental road blocks by doing that one extra rep. By putting the work in mentally, the physical aspect will come much more easily. When your mind and body say “No” let’s see if your heart says “Yes”.
Kevin
