If you’ve ever taken part in any sports or performed anything (dance, music, singing, …) in front of an audience or crowd, it’s likely you’ll be familiar with experiencing some degree of competitive nerves or anxiety.

As both a physique coach and exercise psychologist, one of the questions I get asked most frequently is “How do I get myself out of this motivation slump?” It’s no secret that we all struggle or have struggled at some point with motivation to exercise and/or to nourish ourselves in a way that’s contingent with our goals. That’s because motivation isn’t something you either have or you don’t – it’s a lot more nuanced than that.

Have you heard of this expression? Do you ever feel like this is you? “All or nothing” or black and white thinking styles are incredibly common, especially when it comes to the fitness world. With this thinking, you’re either “making progress or you’re not”, “ticking the boxes or not”, “eating 100% clean or ordering a takeaway”, “smashing the gym 6x a week or not going at all”. Do you see where I’m going with this?

If you have competed before, or have gotten extremely lean, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about when I refer to “prep brain”. If you haven’t been there before but are currently dieting for the first time, you will no doubt find out about prep brain soon enough. It’s not actually something you really need to worry about – it’s more just about knowing that the leaner you get and the closer it gets to your show/shoot, the very logical part of your brain may simply not be as rational as it normally is.

Self-care is a term that has become increasingly popular in the fitness community, and you’ll hear everyone throwing it around or showing the world their self-care routines. This isn’t a bad thing at all: whether we’re in an offseason or on prep, we all know for ourselves that self-care is relevant, but that doesn’t always lead us to practicing it deliberately.

Do you ever scroll through Instagram and wonder how on earth competitors cope with weight gain post-show? Do you sit there unable to relate to women embracing curvier bodies, whether it be after spending 20-24 weeks dieting for a show, or just as part of the “building” process?

In the bodybuilding world, it is no secret that clenbuterol – more commonly called “clen” – is used to aid with fat loss. In fact, you can be fairly certain that most people competing in an untested federation will have taken clen during their prep. Although its usage is openly discussed with and amongst male competitors, it still remains a huge taboo amongst females. As with most things, this is probably due to a fear of being judged by others for using it.

It’s no secret that anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) are a big part of the bodybuilding community and that their usage is increasing globally each year. I still remember being a young naïve adult, just jumping on the steroid cycle that my friend suggested I tried, without too much knowledge behind what I was taking.

Before reading this article I strongly suggest you read the article Introduction to AAS-Testosterone. Once you have done so, you will have a better grasp of the basic concepts that are discussed in this article. I’d also like to remind you that the following topics are for informational purposes only and should not be deemed as advice in any way.

If you are a male assisted bodybuilder, there’s no doubt you will have heard of the post show magical phase in which you can add some quality tissue in a short period of time. This is because as we pull body fat levels down to low levels, the body becomes very sensitive to changes in nutrients, but also hormones

Many of you within the bodybuilding realm will know that assisted bodybuilders use the hormones T3 (triiodothyronine) and T4 (thyroxine) when dieting for a contest prep, but these hormones are also sometimes also used by individuals who are doing photoshoots or looking for an extreme body transformation. Specifically, T3 and T4 can help accelerate fat loss throughout a dieting phase, which is great; however, as with other compounds, many will take them without knowing much about how they work and what they do.

If you’ve thought about going down the assisted route in bodybuilding, you’ve probably told yourself “I don’t want to inject, but I’m happy to take orals”. I say this because I remember telling myself and saying it out loud to peers. Of course, at the time I knew nothing about oral steroids and thought they were just the same as injectables.

If you have been involved in bodybuilding for a while, you’ll have no doubt heard of assisted bodybuilders using insulin across the day, perhaps in the morning or around the workout parameters. Whilst this is fairly common, very few people understand the principles behind this practice, and/or why insulin might be used alone or in conjunction with other drugs such as Growth Hormone (GH).

As you begin to climb the ranks in the bodybuilding game, you are sure to come across the use of growth hormone (GH) alongside anabolics. This is seen in particularly in the heavier classes that require more muscle mass such as heavy weights, super heavy or class 1,2 etc. Although it might not be needed, it can and will be used by athletes in the classes below these too.

If you know anyone with type 2 diabetes, then you will know that metformin is the most prescribed drug to help manage this disease and its associated complications, as it has clear benefits in relation to glucose metabolism (how it’s used in the body).

SARMs have been around in the bodybuilding scene for quite some time now. Although there is an abundance of information on these, like with any topic within the bodybuilding industry, there can be some misinformation or conflicting ideas. As a result, it still seems that people know little about what they do in the body and how they can aid one’s physique development.

Over the past three years or so, there has been a big shift in the industry in how assisted bodybuilders control oestrogen levels. In the past, assisted bodybuilders might have used medications such as aromatising inhibitors (e.g., Arimidex) or selective oestrogen receptor modulators, known as SERMs (e.g., Tamoxifen) to stop their oestrogen levels getting too high.

It’s no secret that stress is something very real in today’s society. Not only that, but it is usually held at chronically high levels. Whether it be bills, your job, family or another matter, we’ve all felt stressed at some point. There might be some of you wondering, how do I know if I am stressed and what does it do to my body? How is stress related to my physique goals?