Mental health is often overlooked as a fundamental component of fitness. Many people get overly focused on supplements, diet, and training that they forget the foundation of the entire process. In fact, mental health is so important that I would rank it as more critical than nutrition. Without a sound mind, your efforts in the gym and the kitchen will be less than optimal at best and futile at worst.

Having a clear mental space is important because it allows you to get out of your own way. Often times, we engage in self-sabotaging behaviors in our lives such as perpetual pleasure chasing (e.g., drinking, drugs, and other vices) that only slow us down and prevent us from achieving our goals. Consider an individual with a perfect diet, workout routine, and supplementation. If he regularly drinks alcohol, even if it’s only once a week, it’s almost guaranteed that he won’t achieve his desired goals. The reason being that alcohol suppresses our body’s natural production of testosterone (source). The same goes for drug use (source) – recreational drugs not only have similar mechanisms to alcohol in that they inebriate us, but they also distract us from our goals and have other long-lasting effects. Even vices like gambling prevent us from attaining progress because they distract us from our goals, siphon away our financial resources, and keep us constantly chasing our next dopamine high.

I can speak from experience when I say that cutting out vices from your life will elevate your mental health and consequently your fitness. Make the decision today to cut out pleasure chasing from your life in favor of long-term success, and then watch how quickly you accelerate towards your goals. No chemical high can compare to the deep feeling of satisfaction you attain from reaching your highest potential.