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Derek Lunsford was the 2018 runner-up at the 212 Olympia. He’s preparing to take the title this year. Check out what he says about the preparations and his mental strategies to get it done no matter what!

**"No one will train back or legs harder than me"

**This is something I have lived by throughout my bodybuilding career from the beginning to now preparing for the 2019 Olympia. It’s a frequently repeated fact that shows are won from the back. The most dominating Olympia champions have had leg and back development that was clearly on another lever than the rest of the pack.

Hard work is always part of the equation of accomplishing anything worth while. When it comes to world class accomplishments however, hard work isn’t enough. You have to be smart and efficient in addition to hard working.

**How do you ensure that you train harder than everyone else?

**I’m well aware of the way others train whether it be heavy and looser form sometimes or near totally void of momentum sometimes. I ensure that I train harder by continually improving the way I connect with by back and legs to get maximum stimulation 100% of the time.

**“First and foremost I connect with the muscle”

**After you have built up a mind muscle connection on another level, the heavy weights and form follow suite to help me, once again, train harder, more efficiently and effectively than anyone else.

**The 2019 Olympia title is up for grabs. How do you feel about this?

**For sure I check my emotions constantly. I only get excited when it’s time to train and do cardio. As calories get lower I need to be able to tap into excitement only when necessary.

When it comes to attention to the details that separate 1st from the rest, stress management plays a very important role. Every day I wake up and focus 100% on bodybuilding. A big stress relief for me is knowing that 100% of every single task I need to get done WILL GET DONE NO MATTER WHAT. When I wake up it is a foregone conclusion that the day is won, and that eliminates stress right off the bat!

Derek Lunsford – The Day is Won

More in Iron World Tour

The GASP crew CEO Michael Johansson, Branch Warren, Johnnie Jackson and Nick Del Toro boarded the plane in Dallas yesterday and landed 14 hours later in Beijing.

We were all greeted upon arrival by a very enthusiastic group consisting of Yang Liu, "The Beast" Yue Yang and the crew from the Beast Limit Power Gym.

After loading up into a caravan of three vehicles we went straight to a restaurant where we were served customary lamb.

“It is customary to serve very high profile guests this type of lamb. This restaurant specializes in this dish. How we eat it is: first we barbecue it and then we eat the first layer, then we put it back on the barbecue and eat the meat and then we put it back on the barbecue again and then we eat the bones.” - Yang Liu

We were served the largest lamb that was available and it took the whole crew 2 hours to finish the meal. Full and exhausted from the trip we planned the next day and went to check in at the hotel near Beast Limit Power gym to rest up for training, seminars, more food and meeting the Chinese fans.

Branch and Johnnie are both excited to be on this trip and they are getting ready for some real #NoCompromise workouts together.

It’s been a while since you’ve seen us together but get ready!”

"You’ve heard me say it before and I’ll say it again, it don’t get no better than this.”

Welcomed By Chinese Traditions

More in Behind the Seams

In our 6th year ...destination, Dallas, Texas is upgrading the location to accommodate for a bigger performance area, more equipment, improved lifestyle area and more dedicated creative office space!

Get ready to see and experience a whole new ...destination Phase 2 with grand opening November 16, 2019!

Check out the virtual tour of the new facilities above.

A Bigger and Better …destination

The team is enjoying China and everything from sights to food and hardcore gyms.

The first full day in Beijing started with breakfast at the hotel restaurant at 7AM. Roasted chicken, waffles and eggs were among the favorites before the team took off to go to The Beast Limit Power Gym.

**The Beast Limit Power Gym is in the village of Fang Shan, southwest of Beijing. It is a gym that reminds of the original Metroflex gym in Arlington, TX. It looks and smells like hardcore training.

Johnnie, Branch and The Beast Limit Power Gym were hitting back today. This was in the middle of a packed crowd of fans who came out to meet us. Metallica was playing in the background while Johnnie and Branch hit the weights like only they can.

After training Johnnie and Branch spent time with fans answering questions, signing posters and taking pictures.

Lunch was eaten at Yanyi Yuan, a beautiful ancient Chinese style restaurant with trees, plants and ponds. Branch and Johnnie had sashimi, and tasted traditional food of Beijing like douzhier and jiaoquan. And “chou doufu" (smelly tofu), it smells funny and taste “bad”!

Visiting The Beast Limit Power Gym was an incredible experience. Right when you enter the gym you have 2 Harley's parked. No doubt that this is a "I don't give a F*ck"type of gym - a serious destination that doesn't care about following the norm. My impression from owning a destination for the most dedicated myself is that they have divided this gym in 2 parts; one for serious bodybuilding and the other for strongman training.

In the very back of the gym they have about 25 bunk beds where people come in from all over China and get a 30 day no compromise training regime under Mr Beast Yue Yangs guidance. The focus is on learning everything about training. During these 30 days they also get their own chef cooking food and they learn how to eat to get the best gains possible. I believe that when you have a training camp for 30 days while living on site with your own chef and are getting trained by the best - then you have a pretty badass destination for the iron community. Talk about transformation galore! Closest that come to mind is like being in a Siberian work camp LOL.

Talk about food coma! The Peking duck was a great dinner experience doing kind of your own wraps with the meat. 2nd serving was on the bones of the duck. 3rd serving was a soup made on the bones. I am impressed how they eat everything on an animal here. Everything comes to use - a no compromise food game is my conclusion.

A No Compromise Gym For The Iron Community

Beasting It Up In Beijing

If you make the trek to London you visit parliament and the Royal Palace. In Stockholm you visit Old Town and the Vasa Museum. In our first city for the China Iron World Tour some must visits were Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City in central Beijing and of course the Great Wall of China.

Central Beijing is what you think of when you think China. From cuisine to architecture to history, central Beijing definitely is a culture shock and education for the GASP crew.

Together with Yang Liu our local tour guide, GASP CEO Michael Johansson, Branch Warren and Johnnie Jackson along with videographer Nick Del Toro get to see and go thorough a history lesson on the National Museum of China, the Monument to the People's Heroes, the Forbidden City, the Imperial Palace of China during the Ming and Qing dynasties and the Zhengyangmen (the gate that once guarded the southern entry to the inner city).

Local culture, which encompasses architecture, cuisine, language and customs is a huge part of the Iron World Tour's mission. We definitely want to identify and appreciate the differences so that we can appreciate what brings us all together at the end of the day for the iron community despite differences.

For Branch Warren and Johnnie Jackson the Great Wall of China was an epic and favorite stop of the tour. The wall is extremely deceptive when viewed from a photograph. Perception is that the Great Wall offers a pleasant hike in the picturesque country side on top of the mountains of outer Beijing. Reality is that the wall is in fact on top of THE MOUNTAINS OF OUTER BEIJING. The hike that you perceived is actually more akin to doing HIIT cardio on the stairmaster with uneven steps at varying heights with your view actually being several hundred feet of a climb and what feels like endless Bulgarian split squats to get to the next outpost.

The view, however, was a huge payoff for the GASP crew and the local saying is that 

if you successfully climbed the wall then you are considered to be a hero

"It's amazing that a civilization could build this without the use of the machinery we have today."

"Back then, this wall was necessary to save one civilization from another. They did what you had to do to survive." - Branch Warren

Having kicked off the tour with Beijing and what people view as classic China we allow a great contrast for what the rapidly growing and extremely modern city of Shanghai has to offer on our next stop. The Iron World Tour is 24/7 so stay tuned to gaspofficial.com as we continue to document the tour from China!

We Are All Heroes Of The Great Wall

We took the high-speed train from Beijing to Shanghai. The contrast from the classic and political capital of Beijing to the modern high-tech city of Shanghai was super evident and impressive.

At arrival the GASP crew made its way through an ultra crowded train station to make it to sushi before attending A 400+ attendee seminar at Saipu Personal Training Academy.

The attention to detail and planning from Yang Liu Made a very bad ass seminar at Saipu with Branch Warren and Johnnie Jackson possible for all of the students here.

After a 16 hour day we hit the sack and in anticipation of a full day of sightseeing in modern Shanghai, partner meetings and work out at Mutant Nation Gym.

Day two in Shanghai kicks off with breakfast and making it to the observation deck of the second tallest building in the world at 642 meters. Johnny Jackson is ultra afraid of heights but conquered his fear and we were able to capture some awesome shots.

We visited old town with all of the businesses and restaurants in classic Chinese architecture.

After that we got a 45 minute rest before linking up with Marco from Shanghai for an arm workout at Mutant Nation Gym.

Check out the video soon on gaspofficial.com for the full work out and everything that Johnny and Branch have to offer to Marco.

At New Heights In Shanghai

"Last year was my first time on that big of a stage like the Olympia so it felt surreal. I don't want to say I am going for the experience this time. It is definitely a business trip."

Courage Opara is an IFBB Classic Physique Pro and going into his sophomore year in 2019. His first year on the Olympia stage he broke his way into the top 10 with a 9th place finish out of 25 top professionals.

Courage started competing in 2016 while still in school and "got bit by the competitive bug." Here, Kevin Ofurum and Courage discuss growing up in their specific households a certain level of success and a very respectable profession is expected from the get go.

"When I first got into competing, the Olympia is what I saw so it is what i expected from myself and felt like where i was supposed to be. I am definitely not looking at the Olympia as a fan now, but something that I am trying to win."

Stay tuned for more from Courage Opara as he prepares for the 2019 Olympia.

Courage Opara – The Olympia Is A Business Trip

In college when I used to train by myself, it was literally by myself. I had few and far between anyone who liked to train or could actually train after a long football practice but my mentality was that I wanted to be a bodybuilder so I didn't give a fuck what it meant or care what it took. If it meant 2 hours of practice and 2 hours of lifting thats what I would do.

I never trained with a group of guys. I was more of a loner when it came to training in the gym. Ten years ago I would have never thought that people would be asking for my autograph or that I would be doing a photo shoot with Per Bernal downtown Dallas on a motorcycle. I never thought I could do it but I put everything I had into it.

I count my blessings and thank God everyday that I am given the opportunity to do what I do and be an inspiration to people. But that's where we are today. Anyone who thinks they can't do it or thinks it's not obtainable, it fuckin' bullshit. One of the first one liners I learned and used after I turned pro, somebody once asked me what do you tell people if someones family or friends said you cant do something was to "go fuck themselves."

Guy Cisternino – Go F**k Themselves

Bust your ass hard enough and long enough until you cant be denied and your reputation precedes you!

"Each city we went to heard rumors before we got there. So people had expectations by the time we got to the next city because they heard how hard we are training and wanted to see the show."

Watch the video as Johnnie Jackson and Branch Warren deliver in the final leg of the China Iron World Tour driving through Jiaxing and on to Hangzhou for 2 nights and finally flying on to Shenzhen.

One of the aspects of culture is cuisine. Branch, Johnnie and Josh Bryant were game initially to try local cuisine to be good sports and we capture their sentiments on that and how they had to adapt here in China. Josh had no issues. He ate everything in true spirit or the Iron World Tour.

GASP is synonymous with hard work, no compromises and attention to detail. Here in this last leg of the tour, days are getting longer, traffic seems to be getting worse and patience is dwindling. That being said, Branch, and Johnnie, Michael Johansson, Nick Del Toro and Yang Liu keep the intensity high during training, meetings, appearances and seminars without EVER missing a beat.

"We have been blessed to become bodybuilders, professionals and have had successful careers. now its time to give back."

"That's one of the benefits when doing these tours. Yeah you are busting your ass in the gym and meeting and greeting tons of fans, but you also get to experience so many different countries, cultures and fans. Without the fans there is no bodybuilding, there is no GASP and there is no Iron World Tour."

Intensity Until The End – Johnnie and Branch Wrap Up China Tour

We all love the classic Rocky Story of the athlete who has all the heart for his chosen sport and busts his ass to get his just deserts. Shaun Clarida has built his bodybuilding career on being such an athlete.

How does IFBB 212 Pro and Olympia contender Shaun Clarida continue to defy critics and naysayers, maintain unwavering self belief and still continue to bring up weaker body parts even now on his 5th Mr. Olympia appearance?

Find out here and continue to follow GASP's official Instagram account to ask the top athletes of the iron sport anything you need to know from training and nutrition to recovery and supplementation.

Q&A With Shaun Clarida

"Holistic muscle development. You will have to do heavy and light weight, high and low reps, fast tempo and slow tempo, eccentric overloads, isometric emphasis ALL these different techniques to holistically develop the muscle. That is why Fred Hatfield was the greatest bodybuilding trainer even though he was known for his power-lifting."

Josh Bryant has been programming Ed Brown's training for years now. Ed, being a competitive bodybuilder, has benefited from Josh's programming evidenced by a strong and densely muscled physique. Josh has programmed in lifts, rep ranges and tempos to complement Ed's base level of strength and added in time under tension techniques to work around existing injuries.

Check out what you can learn here from Josh Bryant and Ed Brown on base strength and holistically developing your own physique.

(Using Prime Fitness cable station) 3 second concentric, 1 second pause, 5 second eccentric

3 x 10 reps with 1 second isometric squeeze each rep

3 reps followed by a 10 second rest for 5 minutes