Recently one of my clients name Jon brought up this question. Jon a highly motivated middle-aged guy transformed his body over the last year. By following the protocol I set out, Jon built added an impressive amount of muscle to his frame while shedding a tremendous amount of body fat. Although he’s now the envy of his friends and now sports a body most men half his age would kill for he still had that burning desire to get to the next level of physical development.

Jon, like many trainees, made continuous process for about 6 months. After the first 6 months the progress slowed somewhat compared to his initial gains. Then as Jon approached the 1-year mark his progress seemed to come to a stand still. No matter what Jon tried, he could not get his bodyweight past 185lbs.

Jon changed diets, tried new routines, added extra supplements but with only minimum change in his body. Frustration began to set in and those little nagging doubts began to creep into his mind. All of the familiar negative self talk plagues the minds of everybody at some point, started coming up in Jon’s brain such as:

I don’t have the genetics.

Natural guys just can’t that big.

Nothing is going to work.

I am not training hard enough, long enough, frequently enough, etc…

I am eating too much…

I am eating too little…

I don’t have the time to put into the gym.

I don’t have the time to eat properly.

I am not getting enough sleep.

Maybe I am too old, too young, too whatever…

I am not getting protein… and so on.

Does this sound familiar? If so keep on reading.

Like millions of bodybuilders Jon had reached a “Mental Ceiling” and his outside actions were actually contributing to “self-sabotage”. Most people fail to recognize it’s the inner world that creates the outer world. Every action or non-action you perform is actually just a reflection of a program held in your mind, whether conscious or not.

The mind is a powerful ally and a formidable enemy. What one holds in the mind tends to manifest in our lives. Virtually every self-help book since Napoleon Hill’s timeless classic “Think & Grow Rich,” written in 1937, has illustrated this fact. Modern day psychiatry legend Dr. David Hawkins author of “Power vs. Force” explains in measurable detail the effects of every belief system, self-talk, and the emotions connected to thoughts or “states of being” with his Map of Consciousness.

If you are experiencing a limitation in life I highly recommend checking out these two excellent books to overcome one’s own self-imposed limitations.

I have experienced sticking points myself; as have virtually every client I ever trained or worked with during my 19 years in the industry. The reality is these points are ALWAYS SELF-IMPOSED! Einstein once said, “ The mind that solves a problem, must be different than the mind that created the problem.”

Since all “challenges, problems, and sticking points originate in the mind, the athlete must seek out and eliminate or replace the mental attitude or belief system that is holding them back from achieving their goal.

Here’s what you need to do overcome self created limitations.

First, take ownership of what you’re experiencing. In other words don’t place blame on outside circumstances, people, places, things, time, etc. While it may appear that these things are stopping you from making the gains you desire, the truth is it’s your mental programming that’s drawing you into these limiting conditions or circumstances.

Review your thoughts through journaling. This is very important. Every evening write down your thoughts, and actions of the day, what you were thinking, and what you did or did not do. Was your self-talk positive or negative? Did you experience old self-defeating patterns of thought? What people influence you in your life? Is the people in your life positive or negative?

When you carefully analyze your thoughts, experiences, and feelings, it becomes clear just how many of them are self-defeating. In fact most people are not aware of how many limiting thoughts, belief systems, and emotions are running in the back of their mind or within the subconscious mind. Most of these negative programs were picked up in early childhood, from television, or emotional events that you may or may not remember.

The question then comes “Hey Wade, how can I fix something I don’t know about?”

Again, if your not producing the result you want, it’s clear that something some limiting thought is in your mind that’s preventing you from achieving your goal. Accept responsibility for your thoughts and actions, and you have made the first and most important step to changing the result.

The next step is canceling out those negative programs and inputting new mental programs that promote exactly what you wish to achieve. This is best achieved by declarations, which is a specific form of affirmation, using Neuro-linguistic programming to re-train the brain.

It’s important to form the new positive declarations into emphatic statements in the present tense for them to be effective. When stating these declarations, touching your body in certain kinesiological points increases the effectiveness of the statements.

Let me explain:

T. Harv Eker author of “The Secrets of the Millionaire Mind” uses this format to elicit rapid changes in peoples thinking. Here’s how the process works:

State the first statement written below with your hand over your heart. State the declaration loudly and with enthusiasm. Then touch your forehead at the point between your eyes and make the second statement, with the same energy and enthusiasm.

This process is called anchoring. Anchoring connects, thoughts, words, and actions to the bioelectric meridians in your body to elicit faster responses. World-renowned motivational teacher Tony Robbins is a master of this technique. He and many other motivational speakers use this or similar techniques in public seminars to instantly change people’s lives.

Your declaration statement would go something like this:

My inner world creates my outer world.

I have a muscle-building mind.

What I heard about bodybuilding is not necessarily true. I choose to adopt new ways of thinking that support my bodybuilding goals.

I have a muscle-building mind.

What magazines say about genetics is not necessarily true; I have the genetics to build mountains of muscle.

I have a muscle-building mind.

I release my unsupportive bodybuilding experiences from the past and create a bigger, more powerful body.

I have a muscle-building mind.

I observe my thoughts and only entertain those that empower me. “I create the exact level of my muscle building success”

I have a muscle-building mind.

By repeating this process you erase old “failure” programs that run in your head and create new neural pathways that lead you to rapid success.

You can make up your own declarations after analyzing your self-talk. Change any negative belief systems into positive belief systems in each statement and then anchor it with the physical movements as illustrated above.

Although at first glimpse this strategy seems extraordinarily simple, rest assured it’s application is powerful and extremely effective. The key is daily repetition of the declarations. I suggest you go through your declarations first thing in the morning, and last thing evening, just before you go to bed. Perform these declarations faithfully everyday, until you truly believe in your statements.

What happens is the body starts to manifest behaviors that support your declarations. The personal barrier is usually broken within a few weeks, sometimes only days, depending on how focused the individual is when repeating his/her declarations. Most sport psychologists use variations of these techniques with professional athletes. It definitely works as records keep getting broken every year.

Another more radical strategy to employ is hypnosis. Bodybuilding Legend Bill Pearl used Self-Hypnosis to overcome physical limitations and built perhaps the greatest drug free physique of all-time. The challenge with Hypnosis is getting the procedure done by a professional Doctor who is well schooled in its application.

The Final strategy and probably the most beneficial, is to learn a process of meditation. Meditation is without a doubt the most effective personal study to uncover the inner workings of the mind. Science is now taking notice of the tremendous benefits meditation produces in all aspects of people’s lives.

Meditation produces the most long lasting and powerful results or any psycho-physiological technique and can be performed without much training in the privacy of one’s home.

There are numerous organizations that teach meditation, which is often referred to as the science of the mind. Simply look for one in your area until you find the technique or teachings that resonate with you.

So here’s a quick review on how to smash through any self-imposed ceiling in your life.

First, accept responsibility.

Second determine the mental thoughts, patterns, behaviors, through journaling and self-analysis.

Third input proven mental strategies to overcome the old limiting programs or beliefs.

Fourth, repeat the process over and over as new programs or old programs can come back if left unchecked. Success comes through repetition.

So there you have it. Employ these mental strategies and develop your own mental game plan. Every great athlete recognizes and uses mental strategies to produce optimum results. The sooner you do, the faster you will achieve your muscle building goals.

For those interested in self-hypnosis for bodybuilding email me at freakybig@gmail.com and I will provide you information and resources.