#105 | Becoming Men Again | Vulnerability |

I'm going to have myself a little orange burst .

Companies that I've tried super , and really this is not like sponsored not yet , not yet nick , send the check but it is really good , it's really good , man , and all the protein powers that I've had for a long time . I've always tasted very chemically and I just I didn't want to you take it . You're like gagging on it . It's horrible .

You know , hey , yo , no diddy . That's what the children are saying . No diddy , oh God , hold on a second . Here we go .

Oh my God , bad day to be Panetti's toilet .

But I , uh , I had the mentality that , um , that I was gonna get guys to come in and like strong men and do that , but everybody's a pussy . So that never happened .

So I don't know , I want to get that first and then I'll bring that shit in . But everything's good . I'm just trying to make more room for the gym and get ready for the cold weather , because this shit is a tease . It's not going to last long .

And then , because he sees I'm going home , he starts like really slowing down because he doesn't want to go back home . I'm like , bro , you can't fucking breathe let's go and training .

I guess it's not as thick , yeah , so it shaves down because it's always going to be there and at whenever I go to the nail salon and they take like razors and they fucking take off the dead skin , bullshit they take off the dead skin and they well , it's illegal , apparently I didn't know that .

you can't , like you can't , technically you can't take a razor and like razor it off , like it's I don't know , apparently it's illegal . You can't do that in hair salons but like some of them , like yours does it . Yeah , I'm not going to , I'm not going to say where , but yeah , um , so shout out to them .

Uh , so they take the razor and they , they just take all the dead skin off and then they sand it down with the machine and then that's it .

I was like , oh , that's not good . So then I wrapped the towel around it .

I had two of them and I still trained what's giving you ? holes in the middle of your hands , uh , probably the kettlebells . Like the way I grip it is that I , I oh , whenever I do bells like to save , like my cows is here . I go down like this , I kind of . So you do like a c clamp almost , yeah , kind of , as I come down .

But I do like sports style . So sports style is like you come down , you rotate your hand , like this hard styles where you just kind of throw the bell away from you . I don't like doing that . So you start to rotate , you come down , you hinge right down and up and then as I come down I switch at the bottom . I do like a C-clamp type of grip .

So that's probably why . But I'm also gripping it so tight that like , if I let go or if I I don't know if I don't grip it the right way , it slips out of my hand or it'll kind of damage my hand in a certain way . So there's like certain grips that I like to do . I got to start gripping it harder .

So if I'm doing a heavy snatch and I'm up here , if you want to do like a snatch bottoms up , that's cool , but you have to let go and punch and grab at the same time . You just have to know when to do that movement and there's a lot of kettlebell coaches , a lot of ways to teach it .

I always teach it like when you're starting lighter , you start to come up and you let go and you imagine like you're trying to spear the ceiling with your fingers and then you catch Little Aquaman . Little Aquaman , exactly Like fucking Triton , whatever Little Triton . There you go , yeah , you got it , and you grab it at the top .

So you come up , roll back , spear , grab and then when you get heavier , you'll be able to kind of time it at the right sense and being able to go up .

It's like so many people don't use them , or utilize them for what they are . Yeah , they consider it like a bitch tool or something that's like oh , what really ? Like no , I'd rather just go bench or deadlift or do that like that .

It's like you have no idea how this actual piece of equipment can transform not only your physique , your training style but , just , it'll compound into every other daily life and activities too .

You could bring it to the beach , you could do it at home and it's just so convenient to have like you don't have to be fucking nuts and like me and just buy every single one on the planet .

But that's for guys like me and you and everybody else to do it , To get it mainstream .

So kettlebells being one of the best ways to work your grip and your grip strength . Research suggests that grip strength is a reliable indicator of health and longevity . Grip strength is a fundamental part of physical fitness and can be a biomarker of aging .

Studies have shown that people with weaker grip strength tend to age faster and have higher risk of chronic diseases and shorter life expectancy . For example , one study found that men with the weakest grip strength in their late teens were 20% more likely to die by their mid-50s than those with moderate to strong grips

. Oh Lord , oh , you're going to live forever , dude . You're going to live forever , dude . You're going to live forever , bro ? Shit , I hope so . Yeah , dude , it is crazy . So you start to think about all those things . And yeah , I've always been the asshole that takes every grocery into the house on one trip , no matter what it takes .

I'm not going back again . My mom always made fun of me . I'm like dude , I'm not doing two trips . We got steep ass stairs . I'm only going to be huffing and puffing once and I'll just do it . I would , I would , I will lose a finger before I let those groceries beat me up .

So I forgot what weight it was , but I think like 50 of your max deadlift or maybe like a little bit below that , pick it up and see how long you can grip it for , say , if it's 60 seconds , you drop it okay , and then you do it again the next day or next week in certain amount of timing , like I don't remember what it was , but you hold it .

And if it's less than the what you did last time , like less than 60 seconds , that means that you're fatigued , like your cns is overtrained , because your grip strength and how much you can hold it that's also a factor in how you can tell if you're overtrained or not .

Because I I feel that sometimes too , like I don't know what it is , it's just like I feel like my grip isn't strong , like I can't hold , or like if I'm deadlifting I can't , like I feel like my hand is like hollow . I'm like maybe my body feeling yeah , it's weird . Like you don't have , you don't feel like you're actually squeezing it .

So that's a big , big factor in playing . If you're overtrained , too , that's a good way to tell . I feel that with jujitsu .

You're coming back . I'm out of retirement . I mean I am meeting up with my old coach tomorrow . Shout out Weiss sucker for Jiu Jitsu , so exciting . He was my belt from him , covid , happened everything went to shit I got to covid , thanks for everything , yeah , piece of shit . And uh , I fucked my knee up , I popped my knee and uh , some guy had me .

I had some guy in a single leg and I forgot the transition . But I like fucking rotated internally , rotated my knee and then , and I was limping , I was like oh fuck . And then also everything happened with me becoming a trainer full-time . So I was like all , let me take a hiatus from it , but we'll see how that conversation goes .

Sometimes , especially with sandbag training , right , you have to fight to get a heavy bag to your shoulder and then , as the rounds go on , you get tired . You , that fight or flight mentality kicks in . So jiu-jitsu and muay thai and all that stuff , that instilled in me what I do today in the mentality .

So I do , I do miss it , I do um , but like we were talking about , it's like you know getting injured and you know just making sure you don't get hurt . But it's also also like balancing strength training and jiu-jitsu . It's tough because you want to do both .

I want to do both , like I want to fucking do kettlebells , deadlifts , bench squat , but then I , but then doing jujitsu at the same time .

That's where you , that's where I would really have to like sit down and write down a list on my computer okay , I'm gonna do jujitsu this day , I'm gonna do um pushing , pushing legs tuesday and another jujitsu , whatever like that's something you have to really delegate and take care of yeah , yeah , yeah , I've had that .

Should I just go home ? I'm like , fuck it , I'm just gonna train . So I get there like we're going over moves and like I I'm already just fucking tired . You're white , I'm white , the fuck out yeah . So I'm like , all right , let me roll for a little bit . I rolled with this one blue belt uh , bigger dude , I felt pretty good against him .

And then I went up against , um , another blue belt , and then , um , yeah , I just I wasn't paying attention . I was like I'm just gonna hold this single leg . But then he fucking you know the guy , whatever he bulldozed into me or whatever the transition was . I don't remember what was he going for a heel hook ? No , no , it was .

Uh , I had him in a single leg and I forgot what happened . I forgot what the transition was . I think he tripped me or like he just kind of pushed all his weight into me and then I went down to the left and then my knee popped .

It was a weird position , but I'm like , fuck , I should just , I should just stayed home , like I should have just slept because I knew that I was over trained and I knew that I was tired . But my headspace is like , no , you're a bitch , go and do it . That's where . That's where , like the that was my entire last year .

I took a nap before I fucking came here . I uh took like an hour nap . I laid down , I chilled , I relaxed and I go back to work , get off your phone , get off my phone , put on , do not disturb , goodbye . And I make sure I get to bed at like nine o'clock , nine nine thirty every night and I wake up at 5 30 .

So that's where it's like I really deep dived and made sure I was good with my sleep and my recovery , because Cause that plays a big role . So that fucking go , go , go , shit it's good , like I like it , but then you have to turn off like well , it's funny , cause that's what people don't see on your Instagram .

bit . Yeah , you know , we got to talk about the oreo consumption , but we no more bro , stop hating on oreos .

Your metabolic rate is probably through the fucking roof because you train your dick off every single day . No diddy , quarter diddy quarter diddy .

When I'd say it , instead of saying pause , I'd be like oh , no ditty , that's what the children are saying . I'd like wait and see if there was a response .

Last night I just was feeling something different and I got three Wagyu steak tacos from IMC in town . Oh it's so good , we got to go . They do Okay . Shouts to IMC in town . Oh it's so good , we gotta go . They do Okay . Shouts to IMC . Don't send the check , Send the sponsorship .

. I got the steak tacos and I got a burger last night . I ate half the burger , ate some of the fries and like that was it . But I feel bloated today . So , like my body , with like the oils and all that stuff , it feels fucked up .

But if I eat normally which is what I do , which is just I'll eat white rice and meat or anything like that , and I just keep it very plain , I feel better and I look better , I look tighter .

And then enjoying training and having a good relationship with food . Before I started competing and bodybuilding , I should have kept it there . Now , who's to say that my life wouldn't have lined up the way it has since competing ?

Because , let's be honest , everything that we do experience-wise brings us to the point that we're at currently , where we're sitting across from each other talking . So if I didn't compete , who's to say that I wouldn't be here today ? So you have to take all these experiences and just kind of learn and grow from them .

But I had a much better relationship with food before I competed , where I was training really hard and I was able to have flexibility , not go off the rails , not blow out my physique , this and that , but then after the show , just that mentality of having to be super , super lean all the time , watching yourself gain weight .

What foods can I have I got to stick to the plan . I was under the impression that I could just do an hour on the stairs every day , along with my training , and eat plain fish and tilapia every single day , and I was like yo , I could do this forever .

If you're a guy Like it's really not sustainable and it's really not that fucking great to do , because I trained bodybuilding , I never did a show , but like I would do that too , do fucking 45 minutes on the stairs and then weight lift for two fucking hours , and I'm just like fuck , this sucks . Dude , I was doing 120 steps a minute . Yeah , that sucks .

I was cooking on the stairs and like it's very interesting because I look at bodybuilding as a very unhealthy lifestyle , like very unhealthy and some people will hate me for it .

Because I got into a conversation with somebody about it when I was saying stuff about bodybuilding training , how it's easy and how it's just not the shits when it comes to fitness , because I feel like that's the main portion that's being showed in regular commercial gyms .

He got offended because he was a bodybuilder , but then I was saying to him I was like bro , you got to understand that you're on drugs . Most bodybuilders are on drugs . You can't get a physique like that and be natural . I'm sorry , I don't care .

Anybody says maybe if like not that huge , but maybe like ripped and lean , yeah , if you I looked , I looked great for a natural athlete . Yeah , exactly , you look phenomenal , but like a fucking drug-induced athlete . No , there's no fucking way . But also their heart rate , right , how their heart is .

If they have hypertension , high blood pressure , what's going on internally ? Because you take steroids and you have to take a bunch of other shit to balance out your hormones and all this crap .

So there's a lot of , there's a lot of shit that happens with bodybuilding and like I've come to a point where I realized that , yeah , I like it , I I like watching it . It's cool , like I like the , the training style of it .

It is very interesting , but it's really just probably the most unhealthy way of fitness and I'm pretty adamant about that because of what it takes to get to that point . And everybody thinks that it's so glamorous or it's so amazing to be that lean and look like a Greek god , but it's really not . It sucks .

So that's and that's , and that's one of the funny things that I that I've noticed as I've gotten into jujitsu , as I've gotten into more functional fitness training with you training at og doing all this different shit .

it's like I've realized , whereas years ago I would look at bodybuilding as like the pinnacle of fitness and and the pinnacle of how you should look or what you should attain for , and then you realize , wow , it's a beauty contest . That's what it is .

It is it's a giant beauty contest , because if you ask most of those guys to perform any type of functional movement or anything like that at their leanest state while they're stepping on stage , 99% of they're like the fighters the day of weigh-ins .

They could barely stand up , some of these fucking guys and you know they're crabby , I've had low carb days and this and that it's like , bro , you chose this shit , you know , even when I was a grump to be around , when , when I had low carb days or not enough food and this , and that it's like if I could talk to my younger self , like all the bitching I

did in and out , bro , dog , you chose that

. You chose to do a show . No one else did . Don't take that out on anybody else . Don't be an asshole to mom . Don't be an asshole to grandma , just don't be a dick . You chose to do a show .

You chose to get super , super , super lean and and compete and this and that either follow through or fucking don't and stop bitching about it , because , at the end of the day , no one forced you to do this . No one put a gun to your head and said yo , compete in this show in 23 weeks and if you don't like , it's over for you .

No , no , bro , you decided you wanted to try to become a pro . You wanted to stay in the in the drug league as opposed to going to the natural league . These were all decisions that you myself made .

I hate that I'm competing in worlds in the two months , but that is what's pushing me to train harder and to get in that uncomfortable state . It's vulnerability because I'm going one . I'm going to another fucking country with my dad . Shout out to pops , shout out to pop . Shout out to Papa the jewels love them . And it's in a different fucking country .

I don't know anybody there , it's just me and my dad . I don't know the culture . I don't know where the fuck I'm going . Apparently , people drive on different sides of the fucking road .

I enjoy getting in those uncomfortable states because I know that's going to make me better . And being vulnerable . It's either going to make you or it's going to break you . Starting a fitness journey , starting a training session , if you're , it's going to break you . Starting a fitness journey , starting a training session if you're overweight ?

If you're , if you're overweight , dude , if you're a skinny like a girl and it's intimidating to you , you're like I can't place , it was crazy . Oh no , you're a skinny girl , okay , and you're getting into a state where you're becoming vulnerable in that sense because you're starting something new and you're giving your trust into somebody to guide you .

Right , it's either going to make you the person that you want to be You're going to become that person or you're just going to crap out and you're going to kind of dig yourself deeper into that hole . And that stems to being vulnerable in relationships , in friendships , and just admitting when you're wrong , like vulnerability . It makes everybody uncomfortable .

But we have to get vulnerable in certain times because then we really see what's wrong or what we have to work on . So you know , in competition , like yeah , like I'm terrified of it , it's going to be fucking insane and but it's going to be an experience , it's going to be fun .

I've never , I've never like pushed myself that much that I do now and it's it's terrifying , but it's exciting because you know doing shit you've never done . That's where you really see if you got it or not . You know .

Hoochie Daddy shorts . Yes , that's what I'm saying , hoochie .

I wasn't even competing and what I liked about that was , uh , like I don't do that type of training , but I still was like on it I was still able to , like , control my breath , make sure I'm good , like because there was running at the end was bro I was halfway through watching you run was nuts .

I was halfway through , I was like 15 minutes in and I'm like , fuck , how much do I have left ? And I'm like I'm with tyler , I'm just following him . I I'm like all right , I'm listening to Taylor , to Evan , to like what's going on and I'm just like I want this to be done . But it was good because I kept up , like I kept my pace .

For me , not like doing that type of training , I felt really good . The running , the running just sucks , oh my God , it fucking sucks , and it's and like I want to start running , like I was saying last time . But yeah , that that day was fun . That was a cool way to to test the endurance tank . That was good , I like that .

That's what I want to start doing , kind of going forward , like one day have like a 3-4 round warm up , 5-6 round workout and then one day do like a one time all around thing Like the ski , the bike swings , and then start doing blocks . We did blocks yesterday and this motherfucker ran four miles . I'm like son of a bitch .

I feel like such a pussy you he ran after after you ran with him fuck .

I could put 20 rounds on the hip , like okay , he's like what he literally said to me today . He's like what am I gonna say ? I'm here , he's like I'm not gonna say shit . I'm like this is why I fuck with you , because he gets it , he has that drive , he has that tenacity and he just it just clicks for him . But that's why he's a sick athlete .

He's a sick runner , sick weightlifter , and those are the type of guys and people that I like to be around , because I have that mentality , because he's right what he said today . It's like I'm here , like what ? Like what ? Am I gonna fucking bitch and moan that like you put this six round deadlift workout on ? No , I'm just , we're just gonna do it .

It sucks , but I always say that it's , it always seems bad till it's over .

out with dewey . Dewey's great shout out to dewey um , dewey is so funny because he gets it too . He's fucking almost 52 years old , but he moves like he's 25 years old now . He's killing it , and he's every time dewey goes outside . He's's just like this yeah , like dying . But then I look at him , he smiles . He's like this is what it is .

This is what I asked for . Yeah , cause they get it . And that new kid too . I like that new kid , uh , john .

Like just understand what you're getting yourself into , understand that , yes , you're gonna be vulnerable , you're gonna get murdered , like and just know that it's gonna be over , it's not gonna be that bad . And that's why I consistently do it every day and it's possible . If I could do the shit that I do every day , why can't anybody else ?

Why can't you do one day lifting and one day jujitsu ?

You know , speaking to vulnerability , I would assume that they would think that it makes them weaker , not necessarily because they won't get better at it , but because the current state that they're in doesn't equate to being a not professional but proficient in it , like during training or during training .

Think about how many people let's let's use jujitsu as an example , because , for since I've started there , it's so prevalent you see so many people start , but you see so many people drop out oh yeah insane the amount of people that I can't recognize in that white belt class versus six months ago , jujitsu is worse because you're getting fucked up .

I'm not doing this anymore , instead of going yo , I got to learn to get better , so I don't get my ass kicked .

He's like no , no , no , I get it this and that . So this is when I was literally got promoted to get out of the white belt class . So the professor's using me as an example , this and that . And then he go , all right , pair up . So this kid , he just started , maybe a week before he goes , you want to partner up ?

I said sure , and you could just tell he's a little bit edgy . He's like just relax , bro , it's going to be okay . So we start out doing side control and I was on top . So I had to wedge my knee between his elbow on the side that I was leaning across . So I go to do it and we're drilling . This is the first rep .

We're not we're , we're not rolling , we're drilling bro . Yeah , we're drilling bro , bro , that's so . He would not let me get my knee in into underneath his elbow . So I look at him and I go yo , I gotta get my knee in . Yeah , they think it's he goes , he goes . So fucking do it . So I those are fighting words .

So I literally stood up like I still had pressure on his stomach and his chest because I was across it . I just looked at him and I went we gonna be okay . He goes , I go , no , no , no , no , you're not listening to me . I said are you and I ? Are we cool ?

Yeah , let me know now , before we continue down this path , before you roll he goes like this he literally just goes . I'm sorry , I go , that's better , I go , let me get my fucking knee in there . It's not that serious .

But , whatever dude Look , give us a fuck .

So one day I walk in the gym and I you know we had words I think it was on social media , I was in in person and I go to him . I go yo , what's the problem ? He's ? And he said what he said am I all right ? Let's go ? It's open mat , right ? Yeah , we get after . I fucking slammed him , I darch , choked him .

Like there's just something about , like when a man or like somebody tries to one-up you on purpose , like I've had guys come into my gym and think that they're tough shit and they can outwork me and I feed off that shit . I love that shit . So that day I think we trained for like 30 , 40 minutes straight and I fucked him up and I lift him up .

I go , yeah , are we good ? He's like yeah , I was like all right , and that was it . It's fighting , bro , it's fucking fighting . Yeah , and that's where you get really vulnerable and that's where men need to get vulnerable , need to get their ass kicked .

I need to get my ass kicked at times because I thought it was some hot shot lifting weights and then you get fucked up by another dude . It's like , oh wow , I really ain't . I really ain't shit , I I really need to work on my shit .

You know , and that's what I love about jujitsu , because like it's instilled the mentality where it's training bro , you know , it is what it is like . Unless you're purposely being a dick , then yeah , you could smack somebody in the face , like in jiu-jitsu .

Like if somebody's really being an asshole to you or just like doing shit on purpose , then that to me that gives you the right to be like listen , I'm gonna fucking smack you in your fucking face if you don't stop . It's fighting dude . Yeah , like I said , it's not church , it's fighting .

Like I don't know what it was , but he was just a like a technical scientist and just strong as fuck and every single position that I was in I thought that I had he was like three steps ahead , yep , and he was just very nimble , very strong , very technical and I like that . He knows when to turn on and when to turn it up and when to not to .

When you talk to him , like if he's coaching , he's nice , like he'll teach everything as a coach should , but then when it's training , that switch flips . It's like now we're training , now we're getting after it .

And that's what I like about good coaches , good athletes like that , because I'm the same way when I'm teaching , when I'm training , when I'm teaching , when I'm showing people shit , okay , that's teaching . But then when I'm training , the mentality switches . It's like I don't give a fuck if your back hurts . I don't give a fuck if your knee hurts .

You know what this is . You know what's happening . If you know an alternative , do it . If you don't alternative , come up to me and I'll give it to you . But if not , leave me the fuck alone and just get your shit done . That's training . It's training , you know .

And being vulnerable , going back to it is just being able to be in those spots and to adapt Adapt to the stress , adapt to pain spots and to adapt adapt to the stress , adapt to pain , adapt to your heart rate and everything happening all at once and just taking a breath , being calm in the moment , and get through round by round .

If you're doing King of the Hill and you're in the middle and you keep tapping guys , you keep sweeping guys , you got to be in a certain mentality to keep that fire going . And then , if you get past or if you get too tired , okay cool , you count your wins , you count your losses and then you move on .

And especially in competition classes , do they do competition ? Okay ? So competition classes , jiu Jitsu it's just fucking straight matches for like an hour . Matches for like an hour yeah , toast , yeah . And I , we went to Essential in Hartsdale .

Shout out to JT he's another one too Brilliant , fucking jiu-jitsu guy , one of the best in the world , and that was probably the hardest training I've ever done in my life , bro . Wrestling guard retention 10-minute rounds . I always said that I never want to take a round off , ever round off ever , ever so .

So it's funny my cousin who uh shouts to dawson with the 3d printer , um , yeah , that thing is , it's , so I'm still , I'm still mind blown by that thing I'm gonna put one on before you leave , I could . I didn't want to put one on while we were talking because it's loud . Yeah , but I'll put one on before you leave .

I didn't want to put one on while we were talking because it's loud . Yeah , but I'll put one on before you leave . That thing is sick , man , that thing's mind-blowing . It's so dope , you can make everything from it . That scraper on the side was 3D printed . Yeah , that's crazy . That little orange scraper , that's nice , that's used to take shit off the plate .

But anyway , my cousin class and Finn always likes to fuck around and , like you know , make jokes and shit like that . Yes , I was drenched , I'm , I took , I'm sitting around . He goes how come , every time I look over here , you're sitting down , isn't that ? I go , bro , you come over here , I'm a fucking asshole . I go .

You come over here and roll with three black belts back to back . Let me know how you fare , because I am done . Right now they are beating the shit out of me for five-minute rounds , bro . That's 15 minutes of rolling . I am so tired . My grips , everything it was toast . So it's tough , man . It's tough for a lot of people to just shrink themselves .

It's tough for a lot of people to just swallow that pride and be able to just accept that somebody tapped you or this and that there are times where I go against people that I do not want them to tap me , but I just know I can't give 110% this role because I'm tired . So I'll do my best . But listen , if they get me in a better position , I'll tap .

There's a kid , the younger kid . He's a wrestler , he's a good athlete . He's a nice kid too . He partners up with me a lot since he got promoted to the advanced class , and when we partner up , usually right after you do rounds with the person that you were partnered up with to drill with .

And so I'll start very relaxed because if I really want to overpower him , I can , like it's pretty for a lot of people there it's not that hard for me to do because I am stronger in a lot of ways , because I do a lot of strength training . But I don't want to rely on that .

I want to be relaxed , I want to be nimble , I want to roll through when I can , like I don't want to just rely on all of that raw strength . So he gets me , he sat up . Everybody always fucking puts me in like a seated position where I have to , like hold my guard . So I don't know they would stand up on , on . Yeah , that's exactly what I do .

I just fucking , I sit there like this , and then , when they touch me motherfucker sometimes when they grab my geek collar , I just go , don't touch me , your fucking hands off me , just to fuck with them . Um , but he , I was sitting there and he starts doing some stuff whatever and I tap him . The first round .

And the second round he was really , really because I guess he was so irritated that I tapped him . He was really going for some shit . So I let you know not that I let him tap me , I just I let him get the position . I didn't want to like fight him on everything .

But then the next one , after after he tapped me on that one , the next one , I went hard on him and I was like all right , now I'm back , now we'll . Now we'll go back and forth , but it's it's , it's push and pull . You have to be able to accept those taps , those little quick ego defeats , and then get right back to it .

And I never gave a shit Like I think the first time I , the only time I gave a shit that I got tapped , was just my first day , like literally just being emasculated . And then after that I'm I'm like all right , this is the process whatever , I don't give a fuck . Like all right , cool , you tapped me . Good , that's training , bro .

Like it's not competition , it's not getting filmed , it's not like a big fucking deal , but a lot of ego and a lot of pride is in that and to me it's like who gives a fuck ? They're gonna forget about it .

It was just me and him today , just like it was just me and him today , just in the workout . And I cherished him because , like , if I didn't have him , yeah , I would have sucked . Like , just doing that shit by myself is brutal , but when you have somebody to train with , it makes it better .

I used to hate training with people , but now I enjoy it being having my gym . But in-jitsu , yeah , it doesn't make sense for you to try to hurt your training partners . If you get hurt , if you got hurt and you have a blue belt training partner and he taps you and he hurts your fucking arm , that guy's out of a training partner . All right , cool .

Now you got to go roll with another guy that you don't know you can trust , or you got to roll with the purple belt in class . He's going to fuck you up . So , in general , in the gym , in martial arts , in jiu-jitsu , you got to cherish your fucking training partners . You got to cherish your brothers .

I think I don't know if I talked about it last time , but I'm big into brotherhood . I love that , like . I love having guys that I can really work with and I can really push paces with or even just talk about or just like just have like uplifting conversations .

I need guys that you can count on , yeah , guys that you can trust , and in training you need that . Having an ego and having pride is good , but you're fucking up the whole fucking training cycle with that shit . Just shut the fuck up and stop being a little bitch , stop being a little girl . Just deal with it .

You got tapped , okay , you couldn't lift a weight , all right , you ripped your fucking hand , you did this , you did that , whatever . Just enjoy the training cycle , because then you do something stupid . It fucks everybody else's fucking rhythm up , yep . So you got to have good training partners .

And now I've been very particular with who I roll with . There are definitely people that I refuse to roll with over there and I just won't do it . It's not because they're bad people . When are you ?

I'm not even worried about losing my thing is , I'm worried about getting injured . Yeah , that is the number one thing , because there's so much riding on my back when it comes to my business , the podcast , kenji , everything .

That's why I stopped and it it gets very nerve wracking to like have somebody that's going to go crazy , snap my fucking ankle , and then it's like wow , yay , now you're out . For how long you can't even stand . Yeah , so that's what I get nervous about . I don't give a fuck . I could go oh and 20 . It doesn't even matter to me .

Like great , I showed up , I did my thing , dude . When I competed in bodybuilding I came in 20 something out of 40 guys . I like it's still good . I was still good because I went against , you know , in a league that's not tested , but still it's like okay , cool , like whatever . And I still .

And I showed up the next year and I did it once more and I came out of . I came in fourth out of four .

But it's cool because you could really go out there and show what you know and how you do things to somebody else and if you win , it's a cool thing . I think everybody should compete in jujitsu or in general . You should compete at least once because you never know , you might fall in love with it .

And then , after my first competition , I was like , oh , I like this , I think I got bronze . But I was like , oh , I like this , this is dope . And then I continue to compete in jujitsu and now I'm doing strongman . I did the landmine , the Sandbag Games , all that stuff .

Yeah , um fuck , what was I gonna say ? I forgot , I fucked you up . It's okay , all right , what were we talking about ? We're talking about competition .

But if I were to compete again in jujitsu , I would just do four or five days of just jujitsu and then maybe one or two days of probably just sandbag work . Honestly , like iso holds some movement , um , definitely like sandbag squats over shoulder , maybe I would throw in some kettlebell stuff , but you would just have to prepare for it .

And I feel like that's where a lot of fighters , like that's where they fuck up because they don't strength train properly . Like you got to strength train with the mentality that you're just having strictly injury prevention . You're not trying to focus on your max rep deadlift , you're not trying to focus on your max rep bench practice . That doesn't mean shit .

You want to strength train , whether it's barbells , kettlebell or sandbag , just literally to prevent injury .

Whether it's barbells , kettlebell or sandbag , just literally to prevent injury Because you could be in a vulnerable spot in competition , because your nervous system , your heart rate goes up , comes back down , goes up , comes back down , because you could have hours and hours before your next match .

So you have to be ready in that sense , but also be aware of the certain aspects in jiu-jitsu , like your heart rate , certain positions , if you explode , if you're invulnerable . Movement patterns yeah , breathing patterns Breathing patterns yep , huge , huge .

But that's where a lot of fighters I think that's why they get injured a lot , especially like a lot of the skinny guys , like the fucking Gumby guys , because they'll fucking pop their knees and their shoulders all day long and that's not good . That's how you fuck yourself up for the years on end .

So when you compete that's how you keep causing friction in those areas . Yeah , and even young athletes , like 14 , 15-year-old kids that are playing football , doing wrestling , they fucking destroy their bodies . These fucking kids Not even fully developed yet , bro . These kids are getting surgery on their fucking knees and they're not even training right .

It's different if you're playing football , like if you get tackled and your fucking knee explodes , that's different .

But like if you're getting injured just off , like wear and tear and , uh , certain movements , it's like something's got to happen or you got to switch it up in your training protocol so you don't fucking get injured because if you're you're a young kid , you're getting surgery on your body already , like that's fucked up , like you're gonna , that's never gonna be the

fucking same . No , it's , you know the same .

Yes , meek , meek , I haven't seen me in a while , but him , he , he fucking got strong . This kid was like uh , two years ago he was like 14 , 15 years old . He was like fucking 140 pounds . He deadlifted . How do you feel when you're on the field Like training is whatever , who gives a fuck in the weight room . How do you feel on the field ?

I felt so much better , I felt stronger , my cardio was up . I was just bulldozing through these guys and that's great , because the style of training that I do it involves like benching , squatting and deadlifting , but it involves the explosiveness of the sandbags , the landmines . Meek picked up landmines like that .

He did really good with that and that's something that I want to pursue in my career . Next , that's where I want to take my gym's protocols . That's why I'm reinventing . I want to kind of steer away from the regular fitness , pop fitness because I was talking to one of my friends today about it and people this is something that I have a problem with .

I have to realize that not everybody is built like me or built like the people that I'm around .

They're just not like people , do not have the work ethic that people did back then or they ever , or they ever would , because you have to understand that working hard and getting into those realms of fitness and savage training , that's what's going to make you the elite level athlete or person that you want to be .

But unfortunately , these days , with social media , with everybody's fucking feelings , these days , they're not like that . So that's something I have to realize . But that's the type of

people .

Fuck it , I'm not waiting anymore .

It could be that it could be just like jealousy and envy , so stressed entrepreneurship .

Who the fuck can do that ? Who can do that ? That on Instagram ? Nobody fucking can . And I love seeing the 10-minute ab routines and if you're a person that does that I think I had somebody come into my gym like two weeks ago that does that and I'm just going to say that Fit for duty , fit for duty .

My man is I can't even fucking do that .

On the on the algorithm . Yeah , fuck tommy richmond . Okay , I'm so tired of hearing his bullshit . Anyway , yeah , it's uh , you know . Then again , tom , I do have to play devil's advocate . I have seen you uh flip kettlebells around . Oh , no , kettlebell juggling , defying all laws of gravity , and physics no .

He'll go behind the legs and catching a lot of stuff .

We could always tell when tom has a thumbprint on somebody . That's great miss . Why are you flipping that kettlebell like that ? The julie ? Oh , okay , factory factory the jewels .

That really pissed me off , because they're not fucking doing that . Like Colin and all of them , they'll practice kettlebell juggling for three , four hours at a time . They actually really do it ?

When you sit there and nothing's happening , right , nothing's happening . It sucks , but then eventually it started to build from there . But it it's . It's hard trying to find people who want to actually work , that actually want to get after it , and it's not every day . Like I have my client , oscar .

Again , he's 55 years old , he looks fucking great and he only trains with me three times a week . That's it . It's three hours out of your fucking week , that's it . You have 168 hours in a week I think that's how much it is and you just need to put in work for three to five hours a week . That's it .

Yeah , but it's very and it's very hard to find those people and sometimes I feel bad because I can't relate to most regular people , because , like I'd be , I would be talking to them and like I just don't relate to you . I'm sorry , it has nothing to do with you as a person . Maybe it's me being , I don't know , not conceited , but I don't think conceited .

No , like cocky , I wouldn't say like , oh , I'm above these people , but it's just like I just don't relate to them , I just don't get it .

It's not , yeah , so everyone's got their own flow , their own style and you know , you eventually wind up with people that you mesh with and that are cool and shit like that , and then you're good and then it's , then it's all good vibes . But you know , the second that you're with somebody that you don't mesh with you , the vibes are off . You feel it .

Yeah , no , we , we hit it off . The second we met a good , similar vibes . Oh , my god it might be blush . How did we meet ? How did we meet ? I forgot . Okay , so we met , because I was , ironically , I had heard about you from Dylan Phallix . Dylan Phallix Used to work with him at your mother's house .

We moved there because we were waiting for our apartment , our condo , to be built in Plainview . It's only supposed to be like six months . It wound up being three years for them . Yeah , shouts to the builders . So tax dollars , yeah , awesome . So I .

I I was only supposed to go to dix hill school district for six months , but I wound up going there for three years and I made friends there and then I had to move again and go to plain view . Long story short . Dylan was living in avalon court and we were friends . I used to bully the shit out of dylan .

I used to bully shit out of him like we're talking kick the scooter into the shins type of bullying . Steal his pokemon cards and trade him shitty . You stole his fucking pokemon . I gave him other cards .

I said yeah , I said I'm moving , I said my mom and I are moving , and he was just like oh , me and my mom too . I was like oh , never see you again , peace , and I leave , bro . He moved into the same development as my mom and I , around the corner right . So I was like what the fuck are you doing here ? He goes meant to be what . That was it .

We were just like nice , anybody fuck with dylan in high school . I like that's my little brother , don't fuck with dylan .

I'd love to do some filming with you . And then you said , yo , let's work out and this and that , and then that was it cool . Then I brought my two little special children with me , my two special children . Oh god , just a touch of the tism with all of them .

. And now look at us just hanging out fucking talking jujitsu , I gotta get to you three times a week . I have to yeah I'm telling you , man , I did sunday with you and that's the last time we trained , so it's like it's thursday , nick , what the fuck . You said twice a week what you , you . You said three times . I said twice a week , I said three .

You know like , you know how , like when you're giving somebody a workout , it's like all right , I want you to get at least four rounds in , like three to four , whatever you're saying three times a week I gotta be at you if I say two to three , I mean three , I really mean three , all right , well , I'm fucking up , so I'm behind schedule for this week , so

I guess I'm coming tomorrow morning . But I think I think it would be really good because it , like , you don't have to go crazy , you know , I mean , I mean you want , you want to work out with me , and so it's . You know , it's just , it's just fucking insane , but , um , a glutton for suffering .

I feel that , yeah , and that's where that's hey , that's a but that's what I want , that's what I ask for , is people like you who are a glutton for that type of stuff . So , but I think it'll be really good for you . You'll see yourself increase your strength in certain senses and your gas tank , but also you'll be less injury prone . I think .

I think it'll help you in that sense , because you're gonna be in those like weird positions if you're doing the landmine , if you're doing the sandbag , if you're doing , you know , your grip strength with kettlebells , it'll be cool . See how it is in the next three months , and you can go from there .

If you want to do jiu Just throwing it like just examples you want to do the drilling class in the morning and then you want to do the rolling class at night , like regular classes at night , and then the next day you could do strength training . So you can come to me on Tuesday and that's it .

You take the rest of the day off and then Sunday you could do jiu-jitsu . You can kind of balance it out like that like two or three days strength training , three or four days Jiu Jitsu , or three to four days strength training , three to four , two to three days Jiu Jitsu . But you don't ever want to focus too much on the strength training .

You want to just do the Jiu Jitsu , because that's I always tell guys I'm like . That's why I mean like I love weightlifting and I love doing my thing . Now , if I were to get back into Jiu J , I would just put all my focus in that and this would just be on the back burner . But this back burner is my business . That's how I make money .

You know what I mean . So that's where it kind of I'm a strong man , I would have to really delegate and figure out what I want to do business-wise . So that's why I really stopped jujitsu in the first place too , because I just put all my time and energy into training and into my gym .

But then it's funny because I have , like I'll be putting some weird positions and that ankle injury that ankle injury should have been way worse than it was , dude With the way that ankle snapped underneath me and I had no bruising , no , nothing . And then eight and a half , nine weeks later I was totally fine again , nothing .

I mean , that was crazy that it healed like that . Yeah , that's good though . Yeah , yeah , that's good though . Yeah , I recover pretty well to some extent , but I just have nagging little injuries , little weird things .

And people may disagree with me , but , like everybody says , all time you're gonna get hurt . Working out like that every day , all right , cool , I got hurt and I continued to do what I did and I was fine in like a month . Because what'd you hurt ? Uh , my lower back , my si joint . I pulled 600 for seven on the last rep .

I like tilted this way and then you felt the pop , right , yeah , that shit hurt . I couldn't walk after that . So how long were you out for ?

And when I continued to work out and get treated , that's where I started to feel better and that's what taught me . I was like , oh so if I get hurt and I still train the muscle , as people think , as stupid as it is , even though it's not , that actually got me stronger . And I PR'd my deadlift last year at 100 pounds .

I did this 700 on the trap bar , you know .

And movement is medicine man yeah , and , and that's where , like when people tell me oh no , like you should take , you should rest , you should do all this crap , it's like , no , like , like if you can , if you like can move and you have both your arms , both your legs , you're , you get injured , you don't need surgery , you don't need anything like that , you

can still move , then you should fucking move .

No , you have to keep fucking moving and people can disagree with me , but if I can injure my back right , if I can injure my back and I can PR my deadlift the same year over 100 pounds , then I don't care what you have to say . My methods work in that sense and they have worked for all my clients . I've had my clients like one of my clients .

He's an overweight guy . He had worked for all my clients . I've had my clients like my . One of my clients is an overweight guy . He had fucking knee pain just walking because he all that weight was just like on top of him and all that strain was on his joints .

But then as he started strength training not even losing the weight as he started strength training he noticed that he wasn't getting out of breath when he walked and also his pain was away . He's like I didn't realize that , like strength training actually gets rid of your pain .

I go , yeah , because your body is weak and it needs to adapt , it needs to get stronger . That's what I've been trying to tell my mom .

You know , my mom's been having trouble with her arms because she's on this medicine , this cholesterol medicine , and I , like yesterday , I focused on like rubbing out her arm a little bit of a lotion and just like getting blood flow into her fucking forearm and she can move her arm better .

And I'm telling her I'm like you have , like I understand , you're 65 years old , could she use your massage gun ? Uh yeah , but it's she . I think she has one .

feel so much better . So strength is medicine . Movement is medicine , but really strength is is the elixir . You need to be strong , you're all is the elixir . You need to be strong . All your pain will go away .

But you need to have those moments you need , you need to let the emotions out , because you feel a lot better afterwards . You realize your torment , you realize your shit and it's like , oh okay , this is what I need to work on , this is what I need to do .

So , yeah , be vulnerable men , be vulnerable dudes like you don't need to be macho all the fucking time . I try to be , and even me like , there are times where I , I I crack under the pressure and I need I have my moments and whatever you just move , you move on from it , you move forward .

So , be vulnerable , it's it's it's good for you yeah , can't bottle that shit up .

Be vulnerable , be soft , it's okay , it's okay . But then be strong when you're training and you know you have to protect other people . The sheepdog be the sheepdog , sheepdog , the sheepdog , the black sheep yeah black sheep of the family yeah , they're different . That's me awesome .

And follow Tom , follow the gym , follow Ros Resology . Subscribe to the YouTube channel

. We're going to be shooting a mini doc for Tom getting ready for Natural World's Strongest man . Coming next week we're going to start filming . First episode will probably I think I'll do a Friday release so we can film earlier in the week .

Gives me the week to edit , get everything together , whoever the sponsor is going to be if there are any and then we'll put the video out . Perfect , do all that and then we'll just get that raw realness that you always provide rolling into world's strongest man terrifying natural .