Yes, that's yours truly busting out a double bicep in front of four-time Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler. And, yes, he's grinning for a reason (aside from the sweet shirt I'm wearing). Here's the story: When I heard Jay was making an appearance at a nearby gym, I thought to myself, "Self, if anyone knows anything about bodybuilding, it'd be those who have won the Sandow trophy. Since there's not a ton of Mr. Olympias running around (there have only been 13, 11 of whom are still alive), it'd be foolish not to stop by and pick his brain." So I did. |
However, I first had to make sure Jay knew what he was talking about. So . . . since the proof is in the pudding when it comes to bodybuilding, I struck a deal with him: Whoever had the biggest biceps would be allowed to take the other guy to school. As you can see, Cutler gave me a few seconds of false hope before bringing out the big guns. I swear the doors rattled from the vacuum that was created when he popped those bad boys out. Alright, so I lost. Let's just ignore the fact that his upper arms are as big as my head! |
Once we'd determined who was the student and who was the teacher, I got busy taking notes. No surprise, Mr. Olympia is a wealth of knowledge.
I told him about The Thor Challenge. He took a quick look at me and asked "You doing cardio?" to which I replied that I was jogging three times a week. "Stop it," he said, while grinning ear-to-ear because he knew I'd be alarmed by what he was telling me, and he was right. He quickly explained why. "You're bulking. If you keep your breaks between sets down to 45 seconds or less, that will be all the endurance training you'll need." |
Amazing. I'd given him a few brief words about my workouts and he quickly, accurately deduced my problem areas without batting an eye. I had incorporated jogging into my routine to not only get into shape faster, but increase my stamina as well. I was aware that I was losing traction with these aerobic, calorie-burning jaunts down the road, yet saw no alternative. By calibrating my perspective just a smidge, Cutler explained how I can accomplish my goal more efficiently, thereby saving me a ton of time and energy.
We discussed diet and social media. I shook his hand and thanked him for his time. The next day, as I made my way through my back routine while thinking about Jay's advice, I received a notification: It was none other than Mr. O himself, who'd given a shout-out to The Thor Challenge on Twitter!
Talk about motivation! I returned to my workout, but not before adding another ten pounds to my lat pull-down.
We discussed diet and social media. I shook his hand and thanked him for his time. The next day, as I made my way through my back routine while thinking about Jay's advice, I received a notification: It was none other than Mr. O himself, who'd given a shout-out to The Thor Challenge on Twitter!
Talk about motivation! I returned to my workout, but not before adding another ten pounds to my lat pull-down.
#ThorChallenge #BeYourOwnSuperhero #Motivation #Bodybuilding #SwoleMonkey #MrOlympia #JayCutler
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