Mental Health. Because there is no substitute soul.

A big topic. An important topic. A topic that is hushed up. Who wants to talk about "mental health problems"? That's exactly why we're taking it up here! The onset and prolonged continuation of the coronavirus crisis has drastically exacerbated the challenges that the population was already facing in terms of mental health. The number of people complaining of symptoms of burnout has multiplied, and the number of people suffering from symptoms of depression has even increased fivefold. So all of us have relatives or friends who suffer from it or are perhaps even affected ourselves. So what can we do to help?

Mental health? What does that actually mean?

Let's start with the definition: Mental health refers to our general wellbeing in terms of our social, psychological and emotional needs. How do we deal with stress, how resilient are we, how well can we concentrate and how happy are we in general in our life situation. In other words, our mental health.

In short, your mental health is your inner self's honest answer to the question "How are you doing?"

Of course, life is not all highs and certain lows are perfectly normal. Everyone has bad days, a week when nothing works out or simply a slump. There is nothing more to say about this than the crude but true phrase: that's life. However, it is definitely not normal for such stresses to have a permanent effect on the body and soul, which is why we can only get over it up to a certain point. Permanent overload can lead to serious illnesses.

Unfortunately, such issues are still taboo and are all too often left out of interpersonal interactions. Sounds nonsensical, but it is! After all, if you break your arm, you go to the doctor and get treatment, so why shouldn't you do the same with your inner self? It is particularly important to realize one thing here: You are not alone. Many people are like you: life tests you. It presents you with seemingly insurmountable challenges. Your partner leaves you. A loved one dies. Your best friends let you down. You lose the job you depended on. Such things can take a huge toll on a person and you must not be afraid to take the body's warning signals seriously. Such warning signals can be many and varied:

• Loss of appetite
• Rapid weight loss
• Massive concentration problems
• Sleep disorders
• Headaches
• Withdrawal
• Loss of energy
• Forgetfulness, irritability, mood swings
• States of anxiety
• Overwhelmed by everyday tasks (school, work, shopping, etc.)

As you can see, the list is diverse. Each of us should pay attention to the corresponding signals from our own body and take appropriate steps to prevent unpleasant consequences. What do these steps look like? GIGAS has summarized some helpful tips for better mental health here.

Big topic: self-awareness

At a time when we all consume social media (especially Instagram and tiktok) on our cell phones every day, it is all the more important to take care of our own perception. When we look at the pictures and videos of successful, top defined athletes here, there's one thing we shouldn't forget: social media is a highlight reel. No one is going to post an unflattering photo of themselves unless they explicitly say so. Before you see a picture and are almost ashamed of not looking as slim or as broad as person XY, you should ask yourself the following questions:

• Is this person using an advantageous filter?
• Is the person standing in normal or very "anabolic light"?
• Has Photoshop been used to help?
• Does the person consume steroids or other doping substances?
• Does the person have average or outstanding genetics? - Was the photo taken after training ("on pump")? - Is the person a professional athlete/influencer in the fitness sector and can therefore design their entire daily routine for maximum performance?

If you can't answer all of these questions with a clear "no", you definitely don't need to worry about not working hard enough on your body. Rule of thumb: No one looks the same in everyday life as they do in social media images under optimal conditions. Hence the first important tip:

Don't compare!

You MUST stop doing this! This is super important in order to stay at peace with yourself in the long term. No matter how strong, smart, tall, funny or whatever you are - there is someone out there who can top you.

But life is a journey, not a competition. Just because you're not the best at something doesn't mean you shouldn't do it. Whether you're bench pressing 40kg or 140kg for 10 reps, as long as you enjoy it, do it!

Remember: the only person you want to beat is yourself. Accordingly, the only person you should be comparing yourself to is the you of yesterday. Be inspired by the achievements of others, but don't measure yourself against them. It's not about perfectionism, it's about improvement.

However, it's often not just in direct comparison, especially in bodybuilding and in the fitness industry in general, people tend to be much more critical of themselves than they should be. Let's be honest, we've all been there: you're standing in the bathroom, looking at yourself in the mirror. And you see flaws. You don't really like yourself. Hips that are too wide, shoulders that are too narrow, love handles or not enough muscle. Or you look at yourself and ask yourself: "Can you even tell that I work out?" There are days like that, and sometimes it's completely normal. EVERYONE has something about themselves that they would like to get rid of. From receding hairlines to cellulite to a falsetto voice, everyone has their "flaws" and we think that's a good thing! That's a good thing! Because they make us unique and make it possible for us to distinguish ourselves from others. Nevertheless, here's an important tip to keep in mind how many steps you've already taken on the way to your fitness goal:

Please smile - take photos!

Take photos of yourself regularly. With and without a pump, in good and poor lighting conditions. This way, you can reliably track how far you've come in the long term. This is where our memory plays tricks on us: it always fools us into thinking that the present is the standard in the past.

Have you ever had the experience of looking at an old photo and thinking, "Oh yes, I still had this cell phone or that hairstyle back then." In your memory, you probably had your current cell phone in your hand and the current hairstyle on your head. It's similar with your figure. That's why it's extremely important to keep track of your training successes by taking regular photos. It is also advisable to track and save the weights you move during training. On the one hand, this ensures that you always know how successful your training is, and on the other, it is incredibly motivating to see that your working weight from six months ago is your new warm-up weight.

Realistic goals

"Hard work beats talent" is a phrase you read over and over again. But as inspiring as it may be, it's unfortunately not true. Not entirely, at least. Because no matter how ambitiously, diligently and relentlessly you dedicate yourself to a goal, you simply can't make it to the top without the right genetic prerequisites. Genetics is not everything, but without genetics everything is nothing, as is often said among bodybuilders.

And not everyone has the same genetic prerequisites. Contrary to popular belief, strength training does not give you "more muscle". In simple terms, the muscles that the body already has are thickened in cross-section. So you cannot simply train muscles where there are none or few. It works like a hearing aid, which, no matter how good it is, is always dependent on the user still being able to hear at least the basics.

So not everyone can build up muscles at the same speed, in the same quantity or with the same aesthetic appearance. Every beginner in this sport must be aware of this.

There are also other factors that have a significant influence on training success. Far too often, enthusiastic amateur athletes take professionals who are fully committed to the sport as their benchmark. This can only lead to dissatisfaction in the long term. After all, everyone's circumstances are different:

Not everyone has the time to sleep 8 hours a night, pre-cook every day or cook healthy meals every day. Not everyone can make it to the gym 6 times a week. Your potential success always depends on your everyday life.

Our conclusion

Make the most of what you've been given. Work with what you have and do what you can. It doesn't matter if someone else can lift twice or half as much as you can.