Community

More in Motivation

"If you've been following the training, I busted my ass. I gave it my all for sure!"

"What we are doing here is bigger than any 1 contest. The Arnold was a stacked line-up for a comeback. In one hand its an accomplishment to being invited and busting my ass and making it to stage. On the other hand its a disappointment with a feeling of failure and shame."

In any case the Arnold came and went and "it is what it is." Johnnie is still getting back in the groove and growing into his new focus of the Chicago Pro. "I literally went from sitting on the couch to training for the Arnold Classic."

Be sure you guys stay tuned because we are just getting started!

Video: I'm Just Getting Started - Johnnie Jackson

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

More in Training

Goal attainment, PR's, diet adherence and difficult times all require mind power PERIOD.

Whether being faced with academics, diet, deadlines or an 800lb barbell, the obstacle/challenge/goal is ALWAYS won in the mind first.

_"When you go up to 800 from 765, you feel it. I have to channel all that animosity, all the anger. You have to take your mind to a certain spot when you're trying to lift some heavy shit like that."

Here Joe Mackey is still tentatively preparing for the 2020 IFBB competitive season. With a bunch of un-knowns he is currently doubling up on training efforts with two a days.

What does someone the size of Joe Mackey preparing for the IFBB pro competitive circuit eat?

Video: All Mental - Joe Mackey Deadlifting

Josh Bryant has a masters degree in science, is a leading expert on strength and conditioning with the ISSA International Sports Sciences Association and holds world records in both powerlifting and strongman. He is co author of best selling book Jailhouse Strong highlighting bodyweight training.

Prisons no longer have weights but still house scores of Jailhouse denizens that could easily win a natural bodybuilding show—all built with nothing more than bodyweight training.

“The Great Gama” built a 56-inch chest during his 50-year undefeated wrestling career and was considered to be one of the strongest men in the world in his prime and trained solely with his bodyweight.

You are never too strong for bodyweight training—the following five strategies are aimed at how advanced strength trainees can make bodyweight movements more challenging.

As you lower yourself on a bodyweight movement, do it with control and feel the muscle fibers you are targeting. Concentration on the negative of a bodyweight movement’s increases intensity because of prolonged time under tension and a greater mind-muscle connection. For example, if a set of six pull-ups is easy, try doing a set of five with a five-second negative.

The greater the distance between the muscles you are targeting and what you are trying to lift, the less your mechanical advantage. When deadlifting, if the bar drifts away from you, it is harder to lift. For push-ups, place your hands on the floor in front of your head, they instantly become more difficult.

Pause at the bottom of the movement for one second, and nearly half of all assisting elastic-like energy stored on the negative is gone; after five seconds, it’s pretty much annihilated. A one-second pause is going to force your body to recruit new muscle fibers.

A larger range of motion forces you to do more work. Some examples are doing lunges from off a step or doing a push-up between two boxes and while emphasizing the stretch.

So push-ups are easy? Go ahead and do them one handed. Besides having to lift a lot more weight, this will require and build better balance and core stability and exploit the bilateral deficit.

 Bodyweight Movements - The Guide to Increasing Intensity by Josh Bryant

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

Tough times make great leaders. Great leaders lead by example.

Currently the situation is different with respect to where people are located and how densely the area is populated. Henrik Lindh was born in Sweden and is living in Marbella, Spain which is locked down at the moment.

More or less having some aspect of freedom taken away can really weigh heavy on anyone mentally. This is one instance where daily physical training can keep you sane, keep you on track and for some stay motivated and pay the motivation and energy forward.

 for sending in this video. Lets follow suit and keep it going.

Tag @GASPOfficial and we will repost on our instagram page and you could be featured here too!

Video: Train Anywhere - Henrik Lindh 

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

Joe Mackey has always had a great work ethic. He has not however always had a clear vision and direction in life with a fully developed plan to execute.

_"Life can be hard. Things are always going to happen. You cant stress about things too much that you cannot control. I just applied that energy into something else that would help me decrease that stress i.e bodybuilding, lifting etc."

Hard work mentality and work ethic transcends the gym. It will always lead to larger things.

_"If you would've asked me 10 years ago where I'd be today I couldn't have told you. Things are going to happen in life, KEEP WORKING YOUR ASS OFF! The word hustler is not a bad thing. It means you work your ass off. So what ever you are doing right now. Keep hustling!"

Video: Keep Hustling No Matter What - Joe Mackey

_"Almost every generation has some challenge they have to get through."

Every time previously a nation has had to come together, sacrifice or get through something has proven to strengthen community ties, bonds and mental aspect knowing what everyone has over come.

For Branch, the majority of his adult life has been dominated with his bodybuilding pursuit. Having said that he made it a priority for bodybuilding to compliment his lifestyle outside of bodybuilding, ie hunting which involves hiking at elevation, slaughtering a kill and hauling 100lbs back to camp.

_"There's a lot of big strong guys out there that cant keep up because their cardiovascular endurance is shit. In times like this, do something out of your comfort zone and go out for cardio and you'll benefit when it is time for the gyms to open back up."

Video: Tough Times Don't Last - Branch Warren 

If you want to get economy cranking, give people some money. You want to grow some skeletal muscle - stimulate it! This is the same concept in both areas which is evoking a specific functional reaction.

Bernardo Costa is an IFBB Pro classic physique competitor preparing for the New York Pro now rescheduled for August 8th. His approach to stimulating growth is more methodical and akin to lifters such as Hunter Labrada and James Hollingshead than the opposite end of the spectrum of Branch Warren and Johnnie Jackson.

_"There's working out and there's training. Training is intentional, it's systemic it's a process. Working out is what most people do. They don't log their workouts they don't look for the progressive over load they don't have any system behind it. How do you compare the progress with no system behind it?"

Check out what Bernardo has to say about stimulus and training vs working out.

Video: Hypertrophy Stimulus - Bernardo Costa

_"Leg day is always the hardest day no matter what. A lot of people will find out that they don't want to win quite as bad as they thought they did."

Johnnie Jackson and Branch Warren recall some of the most wrenching leg sessions they have had. Leg days according to Branch and Johnnie are gut checks that really test your why.

_"Its going to require a gut check and you giving it everything you got to survive. then do it again, and again and again."

Branch and Johnnie are extremely conditioned given their training history on top of years of workouts in the heat of the Original Metroflex in Arlington, Texas. Trying the leg workout Branch talks about in this video isn't recommended.

Video: 'Til The Wheels Fall Off - Branch Warren & Johnnie Jackson Leg Training 

How do you get the best chest training research done? How about analyzing 2 generations of champion bodybuilders for starts?

It's 2020 and Hunter Labrada with Bryan Troianello have access to PRIME variable load pressing machines along with an understanding of biomechanics and muscular hypertrophy that would impress any anatomy/physiology professor. Hunter is preparing for the 2020 New York Pro and a qualification at this years Mr. Olympia.

Pause and flashback to "40 years ago." Lee Labrada would train push and pull similar to what Hunter does today. "Typically I would do chest shoulders and triceps on one workout, back and biceps another workout and legs on a different day."

Hunter, Lee and Bryan train set for set here and discuss similarities and differences between their own generations. Check out what worked for Lee in his prime and for Hunter now.