Motivation

More in Motivation

It's been said before, "Everything that has happened to me came from helping someone else."

We catch back up with Johnnie Jackson (and perfect timing being the first week of the new year) and he tells us a story of when he competed with his brother and the valuable lesson he learned of the bodybuilding mentality and how to help others at the same time that you're trying to help yourself.

Great lesson to learn from one of our OG's when there are a ton of newbies trying to navigate the gym. Help someone out...

Become a Gasp Ambassador: gaspofficial.com/page/collab

Become a Better Bodies Ambassador: betterbodies.com/page/collab

Lift Yourself Up! | Johnnie Jackson

Shaun Clarida has no plan B. He is winning his title back PERIOD.

Shaun has added at least 10 lbs of muscle pushing him over the 180lb mark before eating up and filling out. Everything is improved and ready to do the thing!

Here he is joined by Matt Jansen and Charles Griffen as they hit their last training session before the Olympia.

Shaun Clarida - Winning The Title Back

We are back at Hunter's office aka Labrada Nutrition HQ with training partner Jordan Vanderflier and Ben Chow. Ben is in town to keep a closer eye on Hunter's progress as we creep in on the 6 weeks out mark and the time to really dig in to condition and "strip all the fat away."

Here Hunter explains how he is still pushes each exercise with his usual top sets and a forced rep but now is incorporating "pause drop sets" as a way to develop the mind muscle connection and get some more metabolic work in.

At this point in prep Hunter is around 280lbs. We will link back up with Hunter in 2 weeks to see a drastic change in condition.

Hunter Labrada: Push Session | 6.5 Weeks Out Mr. Olympia

"A car with a bigger engine is going to be a more powerful car ie. one of the best ways to increase strength is to add muscle."

"When we can marry these two together this produces a synergy of strength."

Josh Bryant visits Destination and watches Joe Mackey during his deadlift session. Joe works up to a top set of 820 lbs for 2 reps followed by submit sets of 625 for sets of 3.

Josh explains a lot of the technique of building strength and setting smaller goals before reaching for the long term goal, specifically in this case, Joe Mackey deadlifting 1000 lbs.

Converting A Bodybuilder To A Powerlifter | Joe Mackey & Josh Bryant

IFBB Pro Jason Hebert is on the cusp of breaking through the 212 ranks to his first pro win with his CONSTANT progression due to his relentless attention to detail. Here, Jason is in town at destination for the 40th anniversary and links up with Chase Cummings for a chest training session.

They perform 6 exercises with a variety of equipment, taking advantage of the visit to destination and discuss details such as weight, top sets, back off sets and exercise selection. The partner dynamic, training volume along with the chest stretch for time at the end make this worth the watch.

Check out Jason on social at jh_training_systems for more info on his methodic way of training.

Jason and Chase Chest Day

We link back up with Joe Mackey for chest training.

This time he has his nephew Alex training with him going set for set and rep for rep with him.

Big Joe Mackey is in his offseason and talks us through how he structures his chest training routine.

"I always have at least one exercise where I try to go as heavy as possible. That sets the tone for the rest of the training session."

Joe uses a variety of exercises and rep schemes to totally "fill the chest with blood" which is his goal with every workout.

Alex talks about training with "Uncle Joe" to get bigger and stronger in route to a body weight goal of 200lbs and his first competition coming up next year.

Stay tuned for the next time we link up with Joe showing his progress with his programming with Josh Bryant on the way to a 1000lb deadlift.

Big Mack | Chest Training with Joe Mackey

Branch Warren gives us a brief, one-take account of Joe Weider and the creation of the Mr. Olympia competition.

From 1965 and Larry Scott to 2021 with Big Ramy along with the growth of the sport and the industry. This is a cool albeit brief look at what was and is to come for the bodybuilding and fitness community.

Branch Warren | Brief History of the Mr. Olympia

"Its not about how heavy you can lift. It's about how hard you can contract the muscle." -Ed Brown via Nick Walker

Ed Brown is training back in preparation for his professional debut in Pittsburgh in 5 weeks. He takes us through his training here, exercise by exercise:

Ed explains his exercise order and his training philosophy by placing very heavy rows in the beginning of his workout and chin-ups towards the end.

As his bodyweight comes down nearing his competition, Ed implements very high rep drop sets for several of his exercises.

Ed admits he is a fan of the younger generation of top professionals such as Nick Walker and Hunter Labrada which goes to show he loves his old school training and mentality BUT he's not too proud to pick up some new training knowledge.

Heavy Weight & Muscle Contraction with Ed Brown

We catch a weekend with Liv Roth, a push & pull session in the gym, her modeling the new GASP tank for ladies and some words that she lives by. Pun OF COURSE intended!

In this video Liv talks about choices and how they shape into habits and how habits decide your future.

"Wether you decide to go off your plan or to stick to it, its always your own fault."

Liv is a huge fan of "full-send" training and, as you can see, is back to where she can do what she loves.

Liv with No Excuses | Liv Roth

"Sometimes what you are going through sucks, but you are going through it with your lifting partners and just embrace it!"

The inner TEAM here at Destination linked up for a leg training session. They discuss how they cultivate the drive to put out 100% effort during LEG DAY.

"I like lifting with stronger dudes because it gives me something to chase."

"At the end of the day, when the lights fade out, you have to look in the mirror and be happy with what you're putting out." - Josh Smith

James Mottu is often the first face you see as you visit destination and has a background in powerlifting and bodybuilding. He and Josh Smith, a powerlifter and trainer at destination, have been training to prepare James to compete at the Phil Heath coming up in 5 weeks. Here, they link up with videographer Nick Del Toro because he wanted to learn the proper mechanics and cues for a quad focused leg day with the pendulum squat and hip press along with building some mental fortitude with a f.ck ton of reps on the leg extension.

Moral of the story with showing this session is to, "find what you like (in the gym) stick with it and dig in with like minded gym buds."

Embrace The Suck - Leg Training Camaraderie

Fresh off his Arnold Classic debut, Brett Wilkin hits the road for Destination.

We show you all here a typical day in the life while traveling for Brett and any serious bodybuilders at any level.

Brett flys in here and has meetings with Michael Johansson and the team followed by training, a very fast grocery run followed by dinner with fellow traveler Calum Raistrick who is in town for a training collaboration with Luke Miller.

As mentioned in his post Arnold Classic interview, Brett is keen on hitting the ground running with his ease back into training and jump starting his rebound and grow phases.

Traveling Bodybuilder | A Day In The Life With Brett Wilkin

"I am always going to have fun and smile but now its going to get serious."

At this point of prep there is literally nothin to it but the do it.

Brett and Matt are just executing on what they already have mapped out.

"I truly believe the trajectory of Brett's career is going to change this weekend."

Ivana is here in full support and the both of them are soaking up the moment and "just having fun."

Ben Chow joins in on Wednesday for their back session and posing check ins with Matt.

Overall it is an awesome TEAM vibe here in Columbus getting ready to do thing!

Best of luck to Brett on these final day and hours before prejudging.