Shawn Rhoden talks about his mindset in regards to his competition.
2018 Olympia champion Shawn Rhoden has some major competition. No, not Phil Heath, Brandon Curry, or Mamdouh ‘Big Ramy’ Elssbiay. His biggest competition is himself.
In a recent interview with veteran bodybuilding prep coach Chris Aceto, Shawn Rhoden delved into his thought process when getting ready for competition. The interview, conducted over Instagram live, answered quite a few questions including Rhoden’s mindset.
“When I tell people (I don’t think about my competitors) they can’t understand why. They’re like ‘Weren’t you chasing Phil?’ but no, me and Chris always say we’re going to bring the best ever package. We’re going to bring the best, best, best ever package, the all-time best ever package this year, and we see what happens. I just focus on how we can bring the best Shawn Rhoden this year, to the Olympia, and we just leave it at that.
“People don’t understand, they’re like ‘Weren’t you worried about Big Ramy? Don’t you think you need to be bigger than this guy?’ I’m like, bigger than who? Big Ramy’s 318lb, why do I need to be worried about how big he is? I can’t focus on that!
“For me, I’m just so locked in. Maybe I drank the Kool Aid from day one, maybe I just have the upmost respect for what (Chris Aceto) has done. But I believed in the process from day one.”
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Do you think Shawn Rhoden will bounce back when he’s next on stage?
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Managing Editor at Generation Iron, Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Sound Cloud for in-depth MMA analysis.
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