Motivation

More in Motivation

What happens when relentless meets consistency? Your mentality and for all intents and purposes YOU become an unstoppable force.

_"All these little things have enabled me to train hard and progress EVERY SINGLE YEAR."

Shaun Clarida recognized his passion for weight lifting very early on and needless to say ran with it. Along the way, he learned the the finer details of training, hypertrophy and recovery and adapted himself and his regimen to level up his game. Flash forward to competitive bodybuilding, the continuous improvement train was actually speeding up with his proportions, symmetry and further adding to his recovery process.

Flash forward to 2020, Shaun has turned pro, has pro victories, made the biggest statement at the 2019 Olympia and for all intents and purposes (again) cannot be stopped.

Shaun never took "no" as an answer, Shaun never compromised, Shaun didn't slow down...

Video: 2020 Olympia "I'm Coming For It" - Shaun Clarida

Vintage Tank

_"Everybody focuses on their physique and their body. What they don't focus on is the mental game of it. That is the most important! If you're not mentally strong, you should NOT be in this game to begin with."

In this video we capture absolutely no training. The mental aspect of what it takes to push yourself through the pain of a set pales in comparison to the mental aspect needed to adhere to a plan, to be proactive with strategizing your next 5 - 10 moves in business, to listen to your LOGIC instead of your FEELINGS. The mentality before, during and way after a set is and always will be the most important aspect to your game in and out of the gym.

_"There is no quicker way to get to where you want to go than to focus and lock in and don't let distractions come in."

Video: Your Mental Game is EVERYTHING - Johnnie Jackson

Do what you can, where you are, with what you have!

GASP CEO Michael Johansson is fired up seeing all the uncompromising ways of training by everyone in the iron community! Times are tough but that has not stopped any of us.

In the spirit of everyone amping up the training and everyone keeping the energy at a new high, MJ wants to give back.

! To enter, post a video of you training wherever you have to under these circumstances and tag @officialgasp @officialbetterbodies and @destinationdallastexas

We will re-post your stories and you're eligible to win one of the $50 gift cards.

GASP Give Back with CEO Michael Johansson

_"Adapt, manipulate and come up with a way to challenge yourself, your will and your mind everyday. Find a way to make it happen."

We have all had to make huge changes, adaptations and find solutions through these times. History has proven that people, businesses and anything in general that cannot adapt to change WILL NOT LAST.

Johnnie Jackson takes us back to the days he was serving in the United States military half way across the world in Saudi Arabia.

_"Its freezing at night and by 9 am it is 110 degrees. Sand is everywhere. Nerves are always tense and you're always in tactical formation in case anything happens."

During this time, even with being thousands of miles away from home, in the heat of the desert and with dried up MRE meals Johnnie made the mission priority and still made lifting a priority among himself and the guys in his unit.

Wherever you are in the world, stay strong. We are getting through this!

Video: Adapt and Keep Challenging Yourself - Johnnie Jackson

What kind of household did Guy Cisternino grow up in? Meet the parents that fostered the work ethic, heart and ambition of the people's champ Guy Cisternino.

In times like these that really test people on so many levels, it is great to reflect and return to what is the most important.

Video: Community Camaraderie and Competition - Guy Cisternino's Parents Chime In

The Mr. Olympia is not canceled however the date is uncertain at the moment. News coming soon BUT in the mean time Derek Lunsford is fitting in training where and when he can as close to business as usual for the 2020 Olympia.

Here Derek hits some arm training and talks briefly about his typical, day-to-day meals.

 and DM him directly to pressure him for more updates!

Stay tuned for a great show down between Derek, Guy Cisternino and Shaun Clarida.

Video: Derek Lunsford Update - Olympia, Arms, Nutrition

You don't build limbs the size of Joe Mackey's arms without being able to hoist some heavy ass weights. Joe reminisces on when he was a book worm and then when his genetics hadn't hit yet.

Joe has some awesome growing up stories here. Check it out along with the raw training.

From Geek to Freak - Joe Mackey 

What got you here won't get you there... This is a throwback yes, but it is a valuable message for what it takes to compete and win at the national level from Johnnie Jackson and Lee Labrada.

Forward progress in general is based on proper stimulus, measuring and being very proactive and hungry.

Hunter Labrada won the NPC National Championships in 2018. He was the best amateur and won his professional status amongst many other local and regional champions. However, to make an impact at his pro debut, Hunters physique from Nationals most likely wont earn him his first win on the pro circuit.

This is a look back at the 2018 Nationals, some great interview excerpts from Johnnie Jackson and Lee Labrada and a few of the country's best amateur bodybuilders.

Stay tuned in 2020 for Hunters pro debut!

Winning the NPC Nationals - Hunter Labrada 

Today we are going to talk about Intensity. There is definitely different versions of what people perceive as intensity and then there is what Bryan and my definition of intensity along with the more of the advanced crowd's version of intensity.

What people generally perceive intensity is: You go in the gym. You never stop moving. You're killing it. You're taking all your sets to failure. You're screaming and flinging sweat everywhere. you're heart rate is super high the whole time. YOU'RE CLEARLY WORKING HARD. You're clearly expending a lot of energy and its clearly being internal spent. But that is not really intense to me in terms of actual training because it is clearly missing a big component. There is no focus or concentration. There is no execution or accuracy.

ITS LIKE SHOOTING SOMETHING WITH A SHOTGUN INSTEAD OF PUTTING A ROUND RIGHT WHERE YOU NEED IT.

Our version of intensity is going in the gym and using as heavy a weight as possible given the rep range we are going for which is typically 8-12, with perfect or near perfect form. We don't let our form go. Whenever our form is about to loosen if we want to extend the set we either use forced reps while keeping our form locked in or we do a drop set or a rest pause so we are able to keep the form and the intent on the muscle we are focusing on.

Intensity: Our Definition - Hunter Labrada and Bryan Troianello

Guy Cisternino is the definition of get knocked down and get back up again. Guy has fought and clawed and scratched his way for any success he had in his years of playing football, making it through the NPC amateur ranks AND as a champion IFBB Professional bodybuilder.

_"You're gonna have to try 2,3 or even 4 times. If you can keep knocking the adversity and keep coming back stronger YOU WILL SUCCEED."

Last year Guy was making a comeback from the skin condition and the double shoulder surgery that took him out of the running and competing in the IFBB for a solid 2 years. He attempted to qualify for the Olympia an astonishing 4 times before finally sealing the deal with a home run at the NIagra falls pro late last year.

_"I got the shit kicked out of me not 2 not even 3 but 4 times and finally came back and won."

_Perseverance and a next level work ethic are essential to succeeding in absolutely anything worth striving for.

Ultimate Guy Cisternino Motivation

Day of the Tampa pro and here we go with day prior prep and some footage from the morning of!

Take away lesson is to keep it simple, be relentless, dominate and WIN THE DAY. Do that over and over and over and there is no way you can lose.

In this video we get a raw glimpse of the training sessions with Hunter Labrada, Joe Mackey, Bryan Troianello and Jon Irizarry giving a legit effort to get the absolute best out of each other. Also is more very raw footage of the day prior getting a final look, final posing sessions and tweaks to ultimately peak for the Tampa pro.

Ultimate Bodybuilding Motivation - Joe Mackey & Hunter Labrada

Getting started in classic physique, Keone Pearson rapidly rose to be one of the best in the division before reaching the ceiling of his weight limit. Now he is training for the Boston Pro in the 212 division.

"Show these mother f...ers I mean business."

Keone clearly is training to win in Boston and looking to mix it up at whats turning out to become a vert climactic Olympia.

Here he is training back in Atlanta and is coming to Destination Dallas and the GASP home base along with photographer Hector Mendoza for a solid week.

Stay tuned for non stop updates this coming week from Keone, Hector Branch Warren, Johnnie Jackson and Hunter Labrada.