The Mind in Bodybuilding

In the July ’09 IRON MAN I reviewed Frank Zane’s High Def Handbook. I mentioned that even today Zane’s physique is considered the ideal by most guys looking to build the perfect body. His results, however, weren’t completely the result of great genetics—his mind also had a lot to do with it.

Zane has always had a fascination with mental training and how it can take results to a new level, and The Mind in Body Building puts his practices into perspective for you to use. He expounds on stress management, meditation, visualization, mantra, focus, his mind/muscle machine, pulsed magnetic field therapy, dreams and even music.

While most of the 70-page booklet zeroes in on Zane’s experiences and use of those things in building his body, he also discusses how they can improve your life. After all, the mind is the ultimate ally in the struggle to achieve any goal, whether muscles, money or happiness.

For example, meditation alone has been shown to improve everything from the crime rate to athletic performance to health to finances. Zane describes a number of ways to do it, including the beginning technique of breath counting. Practicing that simple technique for 20 minutes on most days—Zane prefers to do it before his workouts—can produce significant results in your life as your concentration abilities sharpen and your stress decreases. Zane says mantra and meditation were key players in his winning the Mr. Olympia title three years in a row.

Zane interjects philosophy and life lessons in the book as well. For example: “No one deserves your anger, especially you. You must recognize the effect negative emotions such as anger and hatred have on you, your body and your personal growth. They add to your negative karma…. Realize that what disturbs you in the behavior of others is due to the fact that you have the same trait as the person who is the object of your anger.”

While popular books like The Secret scratch the surface of using your mind to achieve your ultimate goals, Zane’s The Mind in Body Building goes much deeper. It’s a veritable how-to manual on mental training that can give you bigger, faster results in the gym as well as other areas of your life.

Editor’s note: The Mind in Body Building is available at FrankZane.com.