There are many things in life that can get in the way of your bodybuilding momentum. How you react to these events is going to determine how well you succeed on the other side of the event. I can tell you that I have had both positive and negative experiences with life changing events and my bodybuilding momentum, so I feel like I am qualified to talk to you about this topic.
Illness
We all get sick. Some types of illnesses allow us to continue with our work at the gym while others do not. When it comes to an illness you have to treat the time away from the gym the exact same way you treat a rest period from the gym. Do not stress out. Realize that your body is going to be fully recovered by the time you get back into the gym and you will continue to make some massive gains. Your body might have needed a rest anyway.
Injury
An injury is something you should do everything to avoid. However, when injured assess your ability to train other body parts. Keep going to the gym to train. When I recently tore my calf muscle I dropped all leg training from my routine and shortened my training cycle accordingly. I continued to hit the gym hard. As a result, my upper body continues to grow. Now that the injury is healed I am back at it harder than ever.
Job Stress
When job stress gets in the way of my training I tend to change the time I train. I will workout earlier in the day to avoid things like my job from getting in the way of my workouts. Life happens and workouts need to happen as well. Adjust the timing of your workouts to suit your own lifestyle. Yes, some people say training at this time or that is optimal, but sometimes we cannot achieve optimal. Workout out is the important part, not when you do it.
Family Stress
Like job stress, family obligations can get in the way of working out. I try to remain flexible about my training times. I work around my family obligations. You can always switch to an earlier workout time (while everyone is sleeping for instance) if that is the only way to get a workout in.
Divorce
Last year I was planning to compete in December. I started my early preparation in August. By November it was clear to me that my marriage was going to end, so I put a stop to all contest preparation. I am partially sorry that I did so and partially glad that I did so. I am not certain that I could have given it my all, but perhaps I should have tried harder. If you are facing a divorce or the break up of a relationship use that as a motivator in the gym. It will change your mood in a positive way. As my divorce has progressed I have gotten back into the gym and I've been working harder than ever. The renewed focus has done wonders for my mood.
Conclusion
Do not allow life changing events to detrimentally effect your momentum in the gym. Use these events to propel you towards your goals. Getting a divorce? Use that as incentive to get the best body you've ever had. Not only will your ex be jealous, but you'll find that you get a lot more attention from other people. Work hard and achieve your goals. Tell me how you have handled live changing events in the comments below.
