Bodybuilding is a physical sport for obvious reasons, but athletes that compete will tell you there is a big mental component to excelling at the sport. If your confidence is off or you’re surrounded by negativity and doubt, that energy can translate to the effort you put into your prep, which then affects your placing when you stand onstage.
Dorian Haywood understands this very well. Haywood operated a chiropractor office out of Colorado, and he found that dealing with clients that weren’t in a similar mindset took a toll on him professionally and personally. He explained that point of view to Dennis James on a recent episode of The Menace Podcast.
“Especially when I’m prepping, my patience to deal with somebody on that level becomes very limited.” said the 2016 NPC Super-Heavyweight National Champion. That’s why he’s spending more time working as a trainer, coaching other athletes, and investing more time and energy into his other passion – bodybuilding.
“When we’re talking about training a group of three guys or three girls at the same time, we’re all there for the same reason, to progress and get better,” he told James. One might think that after spending time going to school for his work as a chiropractor, that it would make sense to keep doing that instead of competing. The 39-year-old bodybuilder explained that there actually wasn’t much more money in his former career than there is with his work as a coach and trainer now.
“So, I like what I’m doing. I don’t see any reason to break the mold here.”
Haywood and James talk more about the value of working with a chiropractor, his experience as a competitor, his future competitive plans (including an upcoming meeting with head judge Steve Weinberger), why he flew under the radar during the early stages of his pro career, and much more. Catch The Menace Podcast every Sunday at 3 p.m. Eastern time over at the Muscle & Fitness YouTube channel. Make sure you also follow @themenacepodcast and @bigdjames on Instagram.
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