Читать книгу The Fighter Within - Christopher Olech - Страница 10

Chapter Four

GOT CAVEMAN TRAINING?

“‘Shit...Fuck’... is my barometer for when I have reached the perfect level of strength and conditioning for groups.... I also like, ‘I’d cheer for you but I can’t breathe!’”

—Matt Olson API Owner/Instructor

At the border, we chatted about MMA with the border cop, which was a clear indicator of the quick rise in popularity of MMA. Once in the United States, we were met with many toll plazas, which to us Canadians was a new experience given our pay highways are express highways that can be taken by choice. For the direction we were headed, Wisconsin and then Minnesota, we took the toll routes for some reason. Illinois had over a dozen tolls, and after we paid the first two, we figured it would be fun to just blow through them. That’s exactly what we did, and every time we drove through one without paying, we made comical faces toward the cameras like seven-year-olds. It was fresh and fun to act like goofballs, especially after escaping the drudgery of life’s responsibilities back in Canada.

The trip was tiring for all of us, as we had barely slept the day before. The entire trip was 830 miles, which took us just over fourteen hours to travel. Along the way, we stocked up on energy drinks to help us keep our eyes on the prize.

Once we arrived in Wisconsin, the flat plains consisted of farmland as far as the eye could see. Unfortunately, it was the only thing we could see. It was really dull to watch, so we discussed MMA as the testosterone level increased in the car, helping us stay alert. Once in Minnesota, we were reinvigorated; we knew we were almost there. Had we known then what was lurking for us, I’m not sure we would have been so giddy.

Our hotel was literally minutes from the famed Athletic Performance Inc. (API) Training Center and the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy, which are next door to each other. As we approached the building, the huge, and I mean gigantic, industrial complex loomed in front of us. The buildings were connected, looked very new, and were at least forty feet tall. The area was very well-maintained and honestly did not look like your typical gym. It was an honor to pass through the doors into such an elite fitness gym.

API was established by Scott Ramsdell and Matt Olson. Scott is the one you see sporting the long goatee in the UFC All Access shows yelling to motivate Sean Sherk and Brock Lesnar. It is one of the premier strength and conditioning gyms in the world, catering to the best athletes in several different sports. They are known for their “pain is weakness leaving the body” attitude and pushing their athletes into the red zone.

API includes 150 to 300 students/practitioners depending on the time of the year. Including high school programs, classes, specialized specific groups, fighters, and personal training clients, there are about 200 members at the Minnesota location. As for schools affiliated around the world, Matt Olson put it best when he said that “We have a shit ton! A metric shit ton.” [laughing] “I think by the time this comes to print, we will have over twenty API affiliates worldwide!”

Their caveman routines are tough, with exercises hand-picked for maximum results and that make the practitioners stronger, faster and more agile, like well-oiled machines that do not let up! With specimens like Sean Sherk and Brock Lesnar to tout in their company profile, it says a lot. Matt Hughes was known to frequent the gym as well. The routines are endless and are constructed with specific goals to achieve faster and better results. Caveman training came from the philosophy of going back to the basics with clean natural food and functional training that can be transmitted directly into the cage. The concepts are derived from the actions of cavemen, such as throwing, picking up, and flipping rocks.

The second benefit to training with API is the brotherhood formed from working with such intensity, similar to that in the military. The mind gets tougher, too, as you work through many points of exhaustion and fatigue; you want to stop, but you keep going, with everyone helping to motivate you. Once you step into the ring or cage to fight, you know you did all that you could to prepare. The fight would probably be easier than the grueling training, and that edge alone could prove to be the deciding factor between getting a Win or Loss on a fighter’s record.

API’s Matt Olson grew up in Hopkins, Minnesota after being adopted from South Korea along with his two older sisters. He also has a younger brother from his adoptive parents, regarding whom Matt added, “Poor Adam; he grew up thinking he was Korean until he started the first grade.” Matt had the typical upbringing playing many different sports, but it was weightlifting that always played an important role in his life. He was also actively involved in the Catholic Church and the Boy Scouts of America.

Matt’s wife, Candice, keeps him in check and in line with both API and the Minnesota Police Department. They have four dogs that help round out their loving family.

Matt was a silent investor in an already established mobile business that Scott began in 2004. They became coworkers while working for the Police Department before becoming partners on the Community Response Team, a plain-clothes vice unit. Matt wanted to invest some money he made from a home sale into a long-term business that would eventually allow him a second career or a long-term investment. They conversed more about the prospect of API while arresting drug dealers and raiding drug homes.

Scott eventually told Matt his business plan. Matt put his money down, and the two decided to go into business together to centralize the mobile training business into an actual training center. Their timing could not have been better, and the location was a good fit with the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy. “I remember busting my ass for two weeks straight to get the gym up and running because the UFC All Access show was coming to film Sean Sherk’s workouts.”

Things haven’t always been peachy, as Matt laughingly explained: “When I first met Scott thirteen years ago and after transferring to the CRT team, I hated Scott. I thought he was brash, arrogant, blunt, and irritating. I came to realize that he was going to become one of my best friends—that he was going to push me past my limitations to become involved with something that brings me a sense of joy and satisfaction. But I still hate him!” Having seen them in action, they are like two feuding brothers with A-type personalities. They make fun of each other and beat each other up, but they would go to war at the drop of a hat for one another; they truly are family.

API is the most edgy and gut-wrenching strength and conditioning program around, and Matt gave me his thoughts on how they made their program distinct from others. “What people are experiencing is the methodology and training style of Scott Ramsdell and the emotion, the kind of ‘chip on the shoulder’ attitude we both bring into the way we live, especially in our profession and the way I live life. Scott is definitely the ‘good cop’ to my ‘bad cop.’ I think this analogy aptly illustrates the differing views Scott and I bring to API and to MMA strength and conditioning in general. I will always defer to Scott for the technical and professional aspect of fitness because he has the experience and education. I bring the outsider’s viewpoint, the person who sees things ‘outside’ the fitness box and the traditional way of thinking.”

Matt explained their approach, “The basics must be established before an athlete can progress to advanced levels. You would be amazed at how many pro athletes have so many basic physical issues. In my experience, MMA fighters have the worst agility and hand strength issues when weights don’t come with handles. Even high school athletes to college athletes have some of the worst forms in the most basic of lifts, including squats, cleans, dead lifts, etc. The basics establish the API method regarding every athlete prior to increasing speed and weight.”

An average Joe should do Caveman training about three to four days a week at most and incorporate both cardio and strength days. That means that the average Joe would be in a beginner’s or intermediate class and could pull off doing that many training sessions per week.

Pro fighters should be doing a periodical schedule of at least two days per week. And, more importantly, they should listen to the strength and conditioning instructor when it comes to tapering and stopping rather than listening to their technical coaches. Matt elaborated: “That is one of the sore spots that Scott and I have had to deal with—technical coaches overriding a periodical schedule for professional fights. I can’t think of us going to an MMA or grappling class and telling the athlete, ‘you don’t have to work on your strikes because we’ll take it from here up to your fight’ Are you fucking kidding me! It’s a passionate topic that is still pretty raw to both Scott and I.”

Their slogan adorned the walls inside the famed institution, reading “Commit... No Excuses.” It was a simple slogan, but direct and to the point. It came to fruition when both Matt and Scott were training a group while chatting about part-time clients and athletes who had been asking them to train. They kept saying that they would come in but never did, just bullshitting and talking a good game. Matt recollected, “We were both fed up with it, and Scott said, ‘Matt, I want to paint “Commit... No Excuses!” on the wall because I’m tired of these pussies telling us what they were gonna do. Either you commit to it or don’t. The other slogan that we’ve been thinking of and that we like to use a lot is, ‘Don’t fucking tell me what you’re gonna do.... Show me.’ Scott was always the more diplomatic one. But that slogan is the epitome of how Scott and I have looked at training and how to approach all aspects of life. You can talk a big fucking game, but talk is cheap. Run your mouth somewhere else. We don’t care about shit that you may or may not wanna do.”

Scott and Matt came from an inherently dangerous profession. The attacks and ever-changing world of vice, drug dealers, duplicitous informants, bullshit administrative backstabbing, and the pressures that go with it required a real, solid approach toward how to live and how to do a job. How does this translate to training? They go in, set a goal they want to achieve, and they get it done. This is how they want all of their athletes to look at training, a great principle that their students can take with them to their professions and the real world.

API is known to be hard on their athletes, and for good reason, as I asked Matt whether they would baby their athletes. I received the expected response: “Hell no. Life is hard. Training is hard. Sometimes you will get shit on, sometimes you will fail or embarrass yourself, but if you can have the right frame of mind in place from the very beginning, from the very first time you step into API, anywhere around the world, then you are already ahead of the game. When that cage door closes behind you, the only person you can rely on is the man in the mirror. Your coaches and teammates can yell all they want, but the person who either survives or attacks is up to you. Train like the way you fight. Train your brain to push past all that bullshit.”

It takes a really different type of human to make a career out of fighting, and the prima donnas need not apply. People need to be able to push past their perceived limitations to mentally step on the accelerator when everyone else presses the brake; that’s what it took to be the best, and that is the type of athlete Matt was looking for.

“I have personally kicked paying clients out of our Training Center and gave them directions to Crossfit because they don’t have the heart. If you don’t have the competitive juices to push yourself or don’t want to learn, then go somewhere else because I do not want to be held responsible when you quit on yourself.”

Another drastic approach API uses is that if you attend advanced classes and you quit a routine, you leave and do not come back. This seems harsh but it’s proactive, instilling team loyalty in all of their athletes. They did not push people past their physical limitations to the extent that it appeared. All API certified instructors would taper weights for students, and Matt put it best: “Yes, you will suck ass, you will look like shit the first time, but if you quit, then you really don’t want to get better. I would rather have an athlete who sucks ass and chokes but keeps pushing forward than a top athlete who quits because they don’t feel it. It’s pretty simple, it goes back to Scott and I being work partners. We bang down a door on a narcotics search warrant and I’m going through that door first, Scott is right over my right shoulder. We are not going to quit in the middle of the breach; lives are at stake! It’s the same here at API. Your life of being better, your commitment to yourself is at stake. You wanted to come to Advanced? Then prove to us you belong here. Or keep working at Intermediate or Basic. If you commit, there’s no going back.”

Sean Sherk, who was known as one of the hardest training athletes in the world, only had positive things to say about Matt and Scott. “I love those guys. You know I’m really good friends with both those guys. So I think that Scott brought something really great to the table for me, and when he did I grabbed onto it and we both ran with it, you know? I mean, anyone who has seen my UFC All Access, you know.... So you know I think they’ve helped me immensely.”

We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into as we drove up to the monstrous complex and became giddy as we saw the API sign above the doors. We had finally made it, buzzing off junk food and energy drinks, not knowing what was in store for us past those doors.

Once inside, we were greeted at the front desk by Dan Piper, one of the head instructors, and we were then taken on a tour of the facility. We marched through the corridor with rooms on both sides as we were introduced to the massive facility. The inside of the building was just as impressive as the exterior, with a 2,000-square-foot multi-purpose area and 1,000 square feet of strength and conditioning gear. All together, with the adjoined Minnesota Martial Arts Academy, there was a combined 11,000 square feet of fun.

Once I walked into the open area, I quickly noticed tires probably weighing in excess of 300 pounds, the different sizes of sledge hammers, bars hanging off the walls, ropes off the ceiling and on the walls, dumbbells, machines, gas masks, Airdyne bikes, and wheelbarrows, all creating the space known only as “API.” I whispered to my pals, “Wow, definitely not your typical weight room” as we slowly made our way in. I immediately felt a surge of adrenaline as my eyes widened even though we had not slept all night.

A familiar face approached us with a kind smile and a firm handshake. “Hey guys, I’m Scott. I hear you came down all the way from Canada?” I recognized him from the Sean Sherk and Brock Lesnar UFC All Access show, although now he was missing the crazy goatee. He had a warm face and stocky frame with slightly rounded cheeks, with a darkness I could not put my finger on. He was very friendly with a bright demeanor, which was quite the opposite of his image, as he looked like a very tough guy, rugged with a helping of “I will kick your ass!”

There were others present for class who were more punctual than we were, but I noticed that there were no tables at which to sit, and stations were set up along the gym. It started to dawn on me that we had a hell of a night in store for us, and we weren’t going to be burying our noses in the books that night!

During the warm-up, we did dynamic stretches and a little cardio to get the heart pumping, but the truth was that all eight of us were working hard and dripping with sweat, with our hard breathing indicating as much. After a good twenty-minute warm-up, the instructors started preparing the circuit. While we waited, we learned about proper warm-ups and that training cold was a recipe for disaster that could lead to muscle cramps, strains, or worse, injuries. Even small injuries meant time away from the gym, preventing you from reaching your goals in a major way. We were also shown the puke buckets and their locations in case we would need them; we thought it was more for show than anything else.

As we saw the gauntlet of pain set up for us, I felt sluggish from the lack of sleep and sitting in one position in the car for so long, but I was stubborn by nature and pushed on. We had to do the activities at each station for one minute straight, working as quickly as possible. There were three exercises per station followed by a one-minute break before proceeding to the next station.

The entire routine was a Muscle Power Cardio Power circuit.

• Jump Push-Ups on Twelve-Inch Steps

• Jump Clap Push-Ups

• Airdyne Bike with Hands Only

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• Push-Ups on the Ball

• Push-Ups Side-to-Side Over the Ball

• Push Tractor Tire Across Gym

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• Throw Ball on Wall and Sprawl

• Sit-Ups with Medicine Ball

• Run on Incline Treadmill

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• One-Legged Squat with Olympic Bar

• Squat Jumps with Olympic Bar

• Bike

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• Switch Lunges with Olympic Bar

• Thirty-Pound Ball Jump Over Punching Bag

• Skipping

Now, when I write this, I have the same feeling as most of you probably do, it really seems easier than it is. Believe me, or give it a try for yourself, after speaking with your health physician of course, working as hard as possible over and over is anything but easy. At first, I was doing very well, and I even grunted a few times as I was exerting my muscular system to the max. It felt good! I was training where the pros trained with the best instructors in the world, and I was going to give it my all.

Halfway through the routine after I blew through the stations, I made it to the inclined treadmill. After positioning my fee on either side of the deck, I jumped onto the belt and into a full-out run, and it was going so fast that it was a little tricky for me to stay on the treadmill; I was pumping my hands and legs for dear life. It took a lot out of me, and I felt my insides ready to come out, as I started getting the vomit burps. It was a good thing that afterward, I had a minute of rest until the next circuit.

I started the one-legged squat with the Olympic bar, and I felt worse and worse from the inside out. I was having difficulty containing my insides, until my body finally had enough. I ran toward the designated puke bucket, remembering the flight attendant-sounding instructions that had been given earlier, grabbing the bucket for dear life and running out the door for fresh air. My head was spinning; I really did not want to be the one to throw up. With an effort, I forced back down most of what had attempted come up; don’t ask me why, but I was not thinking right at the moment, and I was running with the bucket instead of stopping to spit into it. I think my mind was so fatigued and set on the goal of getting outside that the rest was not computing.

Once outside, the smell hit me, and I realized I should have just thrown up into the bucket without reservation; that’s what it was for! I knelt down outside to catch my breath and just spit into the bucket to get the taste out of my mouth. I needed that cool breeze on my face, something that a millionaire would give their fortune for at that point. After a good thirty seconds, I heard Scott inside asking “Where’s Chris? Did anyone see Chris?” followed by muffled sounds.

Seconds later, Scott came out to check on me. I told him I threw up a little but was coming right back in. Just like triage, once he comprehended that I was okay, he then asked, “Let me see it” and I met him with a bewildered look, “See what?” “The puke; let’s see it. How much did you puke?” It took me a few seconds to realize he was serious, and I explained what had happened, and he chuckled and told me to take my time.

I ran in almost right after him to my next station which involved squat jumps with the Olympic bar. I found my groove again and went hard at it, surprisingly almost fully charged to keep going. I put the vomiting incident out of my mind and figured that I had some making up to do.

All of us were breathing hard with our mouths open, slowing down tremendously toward the end. But we all had the fight in us to keep going, even though none of us were used to this pace in our workouts. I think the fact that we were all here for the same reason and that we were all motivating each other and training at a premier gym made us work much harder than usual.

We had all done it, soaked in our sweat, with small chips on our shoulders; we had completed a notorious Caveman routine! We were like explorers that had just reached the top of the mountain, pushing past adversity, the bitter cold breath of mountain air being no match for us. Matt quickly brought us back down to Earth. “Alright, so tomorrow we have a lot more training and many exercises that we have to do for perfect form!”

I must admit that I was very happy being there that afternoon, so far away from my comfort zone. Life brings many opportunities, and when it works, it works. I believed that I was meant to be there at that point in my life and that I had a lot to experience, learn, and grow with, as a person.

As we all clutched our knees while trying to get our heart rates down, Scott mentioned, “Not sure if everyone saw, but Chris did use the puke bucket, but then quickly came back in and went right back at it, and that is exactly the attitude we are looking for.”

I was feeling good before this, but I was floating on clouds after a compliment from Scott. Life is funny that way, too! I would not want to be anywhere else in the world at that point. All that was missing was Beata, my second half, and I wished she could be there to see me.

We chatted a bit with everyone, got changed, and made our way back to the hotel room to our beds as we were practically sleepwalking at that point. We first stopped off at the gas station and bought over twenty vitamin-infused waters to keep us hydrated and then crashed for the night. I could not remember when I had slept so well; I started snoring the minute my head hit the pillow.

In the morning, we were all aching and sore to the point that it was hard to walk straight, as the lactic acid invaded our muscles. Our legs were as stiff as wood as we tried to bend them to walk. We learned another lesson about what most of us take for granted: simply walking! One of the guys decided not to go for breakfast in order to remain in bed, but I was hungry and I knew my body needed fuel for another day, only this time it was going to be an entire day of fun that awaited us.

At the gym we found that everyone else was hurting too, even the tough muscle guys. Day two started off with anatomy work, which was good, as I had not brushed up on my anatomy knowledge since my school years. We learned about the skeletal system, tendons, ligaments, articular cartilage, and articular fibrocartilage and their functions. We then moved on to neurological anatomy and the nervous system, which was more up my alley. I could shine at this, as I had studied it extensively for my Abnormal Psychology Degree and the other classes I had taken in college. It really is fascinating how our bodies are built and how every aspect of the body is linked to everything else. Have you ever asked yourself how is it that your body tells you that your joint is bent in a way it shouldn’t be? Well, that would be your kinesthetic receptors in the joint capsules, which respond to mechanical forces such as pressure or overextension, letting you know where your limbs are. So, next time you are tapping in class due to an arm bar, you can thank your kinesthetic receptors for letting you know to tap before you end up with a broken arm to nurse.

To keep us on our toes after learning some theory, we did some physical training and took breaks. I thought it was brilliant since it made the day move by faster and was more exciting. We proceeded to our dead lifts and their variations in the weights section of the gym. I never knew there were so many different variations of doing squats. We meticulously went over proper technique to prevent injury and learned what we should look out for in others while watching over them. Scott hammered into us that “Perfect form and perfect training makes for perfect results.”

I had seen the sumo squat before but never tried it, and it ended up being my favorite type of squat. It is similar to a regular squat but your stance is not shoulder width apart; it is much wider, making you look like a sumo wrestler when squatting. The second difference is that you have the dumbbell or kettle bell in-between your legs rather than above on your shoulders.

For the shoulders, there was a lot to cover, as they house so many strands of muscles and as their organization makes it a very complex part of the body. We learned that on the bench press and shoulder press, maintaining a narrow grip will help build the cuff and make you stronger in the wrestling “shrimp” defensive maneuver.

We then received exercise instruction in “cleans.” I only knew the regular power cleans before my API experience, but yet again we covered many variations. I enjoyed the cleans from the lap, as that way only my upper body was working twice as hard, instead of receiving help from my legs.

That day, Scott and Matt actually took us all out for lunch, which I thought was a really generous gesture. After lunch, we moved onto the physiology of training, which really intrigued me. We went over the motor units and muscle fiber types: slow twitch and fast twitch. We went into great detail, and I must admit a lot of what we learned was directly applicable to my workout routines. I really took to heart that it is possible to use lactic acid for energy more efficiently when the body adapts to resistance and cardiovascular training. This was important to me, as I was known to have unbelievable lactic acid build-ups that brought agony to my muscles and anguish to my brain.

I even learned why I threw up the day before, which had never happened to me before. The lactic acid is toxic, so if it accumulates, the body gets rid of it. Hard training can increase the lactic acid threshold, meaning less pain and higher capabilities. We finished the lesson by learning about biomechanics such as force, torque, weight, mass, inertia, acceleration, center of gravity, strength, power, and endurance.

It was again time for the exercise instruction portion, and we learned about the “snatch.” I had seen Sean Sherk doing this on television and thought it was great, as it uses your entire body to explode with power. The weight, whether it be a dumbbell or a kettle bell, starts on the floor and gets shot up straight into the air above your head. I really liked this as it taxed me after the first couple of repetitions and I was feeling my legs and shoulders pumping blood as I exploded each rep.

The nutrition portion was next, and I followed it closely as we dove into short and long chains of glucose, simple sugars, complex carbs, glycogen, and what to look out for. For your information, stay away from high-fructose corn syrup, trans fats, and alcohol!

We also covered vitamins, of which athletes need a surplus to sustain good health and optimum performance. The best sources are brightly colored fruits and vegetables accompanied by a good multi-vitamin supplement. Vitamin B and C are water-soluble, meaning that if you take in too much, the body will excrete the excess in your urine. The fad now is for exotic berries that have antioxidants such as acai (“asaee”) and goji berries. They are really healthy and pumped full of goodness, but finding them is a little harder than looking in your local grocery store since they are usually shipped from Brazil. Green vegetables should be the staple in everyone’s diet.

The need for water is no big secret, but many athletes neglect the fact that they need a lot of it each day. Our body is comprised of sixty-five to seventy-five percent water, while our muscles are compromised of seventy percent water, bones twenty-five to thirty percent, and blood at ninety percent. We lose water through sweat, urination, and breathing, but as an athlete we lose a lot through sweat. So what does this mean to you as an athlete? If dehydration exceeds two percent body weight, physical performance is limited, which has been evident in many UFC fights to date. The last one I can remember was Jake Shields against Martin Kampann, as even though Jake Shields won that fight, he really slowed down throughout the fight and later admitted that the weight cut and water deprivation affected his performance.

Going back to antioxidants, an important note is that through emotional stress, environmental stress, and training, we produce free radicals that attack our muscles. Our antioxidants eliminate them, which is a good thing. So, the more we train, the more free radicals we produce, and thus the more antioxidants we need to stay healthy.

We learned about the digestive system and meal planning. Eating balanced foods and eating a variety of foods that offer amino acids, vitamins, etc., is key. Our metabolism is like a fire, and if we dump a lot of food at once and then wait six hours to eat again, it responds like a rollercoaster. By eating six to eight smaller portions each day, metabolism burns on a straight line, and, under the right circumstances, your body can burn fat without you doing anything—a win-win situation.

The time had finally come; we had to take a written exam covering a lot of what we had learned, followed by the notorious circuit test during which we would be pushed to our physical limits, which would conclude the test. No one from class knew what to expect, and that was enough to bring butterflies to our stomachs. I did not bother asking Scott or Matt about what they called the “final test circuit,” as it would add to the nerves. I was sure it was something along the lines of “The Death Gauntlet” or “Dungeon of Doom.” You get the idea—the less I knew the better. All I could do was to prepare my body with an adequate night’s sleep and mentally get myself into the zone, and I did just that.

The written test went well; I’ve trained my mind to relax during tests through a lifetime of testing in schools. It was easier to absorb the information, as it was fun and actually useful to learn about body mechanics, anatomy, and exercises; it was a passion. After the exam, we found that the API gym had been fully transformed into a super-circuit with pro fighters at some stations to determine whether we had proper form; each station had a set amount of either time or repetitions; if a rep was done incorrectly, it did not count. My jaw dropped as I noticed that there were so many stations for us, ranging from heavy weights to body exercises to cardio. And, yes, the inclined treadmill was on the list, the same station that treated me so well the first night. But things were different now. I was stronger, faster, and mentally stronger, thanks to everyone at API, and I was going to make them proud. I psyched myself up before we started. I told myself that I was doing this for Beata and everyone at API.

The API facility was a buzzing nest of giddy students as we walked through the stations, guided by Scott. As he explained each station, it seemed that each one was progressively harder than the next, and it was intense. When we had progressed around the gym, Scott walked us outside and said “Then you will run out,” he paused with a menacing smile, “and run around the entire complex where you will conclude the test right back here!” My jaw not only lowered, but my eyes must have popped out like Homer Simpson’s, as it was a really large complex. It was a killer long run that we had to do after the biggest, baddest circuit we had yet to be put through.

At that moment, I had mixed emotions, as I knew I had a tough road ahead of me, but I was going to go all-out to prove to everyone that I had it in me and most of all to prove myself that I was indeed a warrior. I was paired with a U.S. military soldier who was built like Arnold Schwarzenegger, which is why we had nicknamed him “Arny.” He was one of the most conditioned in our class, aside from an ex-navy seal. I thought it was great that I would pace myself with him, as we would bring the best out in each other. We were paired together because some of the exercises such as dead lifts were determined based on our body weight, and because we were the two heaviest guys in the class, we were paired together to lift the heaviest weights ... lucky us!

The time had finally arrived for us to dig deep, block out any pain, and go to war. Throughout the long circuit, I was pacing myself at a high rate. I knew I had to maintain that rate throughout and all would be good. I remember blasting through the pull-ups with ease, as each station had an instructor or pro fighter counting our reps. I blanked everything out, I just kept pushing and pushing without a distracting thought, which helped.

My muscles were aching and my lungs felt like they would pop, but I took no notice. Arny and I were neck-and-neck throughout the circuit; it was a see-saw battle of wills. I would get a small lead at one station, then he would get the same at another. The last station before the run consisted of twenty squat jumps, and I was behind, my body staggered to the station as I wiped the sweat out of my eyes, to see Arny slowing down. Some weird jolt of energy came over me as I popped off twenty consecutive squat jumps like it was a walk in the park, then to run out first through the API doors, only to be assailed by the scorching sun on my face.

I must have looked like Big Bird running at that point, because my legs were behaving like Jell-O as I heaved to raise my knees with each step, but at least I was jogging fairly quickly. My hips wobbled side-to-side and my ears kept popping, so I experienced a weird muffled sensation in which the sound of my heartbeat was pronounced. Every time my sneakers hit the hard pavement, I could hear the impact from my joints through the muffled noise, which was an eerie sensation.

I think I had an epiphany shortly after, a realization of something bigger. It was my life I had just re-enacted, every part of my body at that point was telling me to start walking, take a small break at least, that I was not a machine and had just put myself through twenty hard minutes straight of taxing myself. My life has thrown me curve balls on a regular basis, but no matter how beat up I got I had to dig deep, have heart, and trudge forward. The prize was within my grasp, and in my typical self-talk I started with, “If I were to simply stop....” But, in mid-thought, I said “Fuck that!” I instantaneously got mad, thinking “If this shit doesn’t kill me, I am going to make it, and I will make it in life, damn it!”

I looked back and saw that my friend Arny was a long way back and that I was actually catching up to another pair in front of us. I closed my eyes as my zombie-like movements propelled me forward, saying to myself over and over, “I am never going back to the factory. I will succeed. I am never going back to the factory. I will succeed!” I turned the last corner as the distance to Scott, who was holding the stop watch, shortened. I tried to sprint the last few yards but my body honestly could not do it, and it was a strange feeling as I passed the finish line with a stagger. I made it, I did not stop once. I was hurting from my toes to the top of my head, and I could barely get my breath, but I was in sheer ecstasy. Life is fucked up that way isn’t it? True happiness comes through adversity, pain, and accomplishment, and as I learned, a lot of hurting muscles.

I owe a lot to Matt and Scott. They are excellent at what they do, but more importantly, they are amazing human beings who bring out the best in others. I really like their hardass persona, and they will kill me for writing this, but they are like big teddy bears once you break that wall down. They are good, genuine, hard-working people who look out for their families and friends. The best part was that everyone at API is family. Recently, they changed the name of the gym to Fitness Solutions, but it boasts the same atmosphere as before.

We stayed an extra couple of days after finishing the classes, as Matt and Scott had extended some extra routines for us on which they had been meticulously working. We were not going to deny the invite and would have been crazy not to stay.

We did some really fun routines that took us back to being in the great outdoors. We were running with heavy wheelbarrows, sprinting with parachutes, and pushing/pulling Scott’s pickup truck like strongman competitors with some of the newly inducted instructors and pro fighters. It was a blast, and I was still surprised at how strong I was. I never really realized it until I started doing the functional exercises. We took a full arsenal of knowledge with us, but we learned more than that while there; we took kernels of life experience and new building blocks to become better versions of ourselves in all aspects of our lives.

We also went next door to Minnesota Martial Arts Academy, which was the MMA home base for Brock Lesnar and Sean Sherk. The training center was part of the industrial complex and seemed to be even bigger than API. It had all the necessities of a world-class gym, the grappling mats, punching bags of various sizes, pads, gloves, contraptions, and a lot of eager students. Nick “The Goat” Thompson was preparing for his mid-day training session when Sean “The Muscle Shark” Sherk walked in. The two were about to start their training session when I asked for a picture and introduced myself. Sean was really personable, and I got the impression that he was genuinely a good guy.

I had to watch as Sean trained with Thompson and as they started grappling after some warm-ups. I was amazed at how quick and explosive he was in real-time. I managed to train a little while down there and picked up a great takedown technique. The double leg with a small variation added to it, when you shoot in bring your back leg in once you grab the back of the knees and explode through them to take down your opponent. GSP used it in his fights, as it adds an explosive element to the takedown.

By then, my body was taking such a hard beating that it started to feel good. Not sure how that worked, but I think my body was adjusting to the heavy workload. It’s amazing how our bodies work, isn’t it? I was like a kid in a candy store between API (Fitness Solutions) and the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy.

I must admit, lying on the benches at the famed MMA institution, similarly to how Sean Sherk and Brock Lesnar spent their downtime, made me feel great. Living the life of a fighter for those few days was enough to make my blood flow faster. At the same time, I could see how unrewarding and stagnant that lifestyle could get for some. You put your body through hell day in and day out, you become mentally and physically exhausted, and then you wait until your body recuperates just enough before the next session to do it all over again, getting punched in the face while doing it. There are no cheerleaders or people applauding you along the way, and it is all done for such a minuscule amount of time in the spotlight: the cage.

Similarly to how Olympians feel after training for so long, for only a short amount of time on the world stage, if they had an off day at the event it seemed as if all of that tedious work was for nothing. As documented throughout history, a fighter’s life can get lonesome at times, yet for a young pup like me in the sport every little training session was a godsend in my eyes.

Life was good at that point. I was out of a job, far away from home, with not many future prospects in the career department, and with a mortgage and bills to pay, but none of that mattered. Life was good, just lying there with a sense of pride, being the newest inductee into the API family. Time seemed to stand still as I lay grounded and at peace for the first time in a long time....