Mark Bell's Power Project - Career Ending Injury to Squat World Record: Joe Sullivan's Incredible Comeback || MBPP Ep. 918

Episode Date: April 12, 2023

In this Podcast Episode, Joe Sullivan, Mark Bell, Nsima Inyang, and Andrew Zaragoza talk about how Joe was able to set a new Powerlifitn World Record, beat his own personal best Powerlifting Total after coming back from a devastating injury. Follow Joe on IG: https://www.instagram.com/joesullivan_aod/   New Power Project Website: https://powerproject.live Join The Power Project Discord: https://discord.gg/yYzthQX5qN Subscribe to the new Power Project Clips Channel: https://youtube.com/channel/UC5Df31rlDXm0EJAcKsq1SUw   Special perks for our listeners below! ➢Better Fed Beef: https://betterfedbeef.com/pages/powerproject   ➢https://hostagetape.com/powerproject Free shipping and free bedside tin!   ➢https://thecoldplunge.com/ Code POWERPROJECT to save $150!!   ➢Enlarging Pumps (This really works): https://bit.ly/powerproject1 Pumps explained: https://youtu.be/qPG9JXjlhpM   ➢https://www.vivobarefoot.com/us/powerproject to save 15% off Vivo Barefoot shoes!   ➢https://markbellslingshot.com/ Code POWERPROJECT10 for 10% off site wide including Within You supplements!   ➢https://mindbullet.com/ Code POWERPROJECT for 20% off!   ➢https://bubsnaturals.com Use code POWERPROJECT for 20% of your next order!   ➢https://vuoriclothing.com/powerproject to automatically save 20% off your first order at Vuori!   ➢https://www.eightsleep.com/powerproject to automatically save $150 off the Pod Pro at 8 Sleep!   ➢https://marekhealth.com Use code POWERPROJECT10 for 10% off ALL LABS at Marek Health! Also check out the Power Project Panel: https://marekhealth.com/powerproject Use code POWERPROJECT for $101 off!   ➢Piedmontese Beef: https://www.piedmontese.com/ Use Code POWER at checkout for 25% off your order plus FREE 2-Day Shipping on orders of $150   Follow Mark Bell's Power Project Podcast ➢ https://www.PowerProject.live ➢ https://lnk.to/PowerProjectPodcast ➢ Insta: https://www.instagram.com/markbellspowerproject ➢ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/markbellspowerproject   FOLLOW Mark Bell ➢ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marksmellybell ➢https://www.tiktok.com/@marksmellybell ➢ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarkBellSuperTraining ➢ Twitter: https://twitter.com/marksmellybell   Follow Nsima Inyang ➢ https://www.breakthebar.com/learn-more ➢YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/NsimaInyang ➢Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nsimainyang/?hl=en ➢TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nsimayinyang?lang=en    Follow Andrew Zaragoza on all platforms ➢ https://direct.me/iamandrewz   #PowerProject #Podcast #MarkBell #FitnessPodcast #markbellspowerproject

So you went over the physical part of how you got through your injury. What is some of the chemistry behind some of it? So using psilocybin as a performance aid. Meathead to meathead. How do people get big? You're 313 years old. I think you said when you graduated you were 169. How?

Are you always excited to work out? No. So that makes doing the stuff that isn't exactly the most fun a million times worth it. Sleep. You know, it's great to talk to you today. I'm enjoying my time with you. How are you doing, honey? That's one step removed from pornography.

It really is. It's porn you can put on YouTube. It reminds me of an old CD from adam sandler where he's like are we are we working out are we having sex and it's just the audio that you're hearing and the girl's like we're definitely having sex and the guy can't like pick up it's like no it sounds like maybe doing sets of squats or something you're like no we're definitely fucking what is this from uh it's just from old adam sandler adam sandler used to be all about like the cd releases like the holiday specials and the songs

and whatnot do you know about that no dude oh my god you fuck me in my goat ass yeah so good the the hanukkah song and all that of course like yeah i like i must not know because we're around the same age. I'm surprised. I don't know. Dude, you need, after the podcast,

you need to check out some old Adam Sandler songs. They're hilarious. Super, probably all of them completely not politically correct at this point. Yeah. Funny. Very funny. The Hanukkah song does ring a bell though.

I know it's probably an elementary school thing. It rings a bell. Well, yeah, you probably maybe saw probably maybe didn't watch it, but you've seen an ad for Eight Crazy Nights, the cartoon. Yeah. Yeah. That was Adam Sandler.

He wrote all the songs. Yeah. So the Hanukkah song, because in the song he's like, we don't have one night. We had eight crazy nights. So he's talking about Hanukkah. Okay. Very cool. Yeah. Anyway, there's your Adam Sandler history for the day.

Joe and Andy and Jake, they came to my house last night and we had some, ate some meat and stuff like that. Oh, yeah. But these guys walked in and they looked at the slingshot, like the first slingshot ever. And they're like, that came out when I was a kid. It did. I was like, and they're like, that came out when I was a kid. It did. And I was like, damn. What year was that?

I don't know. It was like 12 years ago, 13 years ago. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Almost half your life ago. We were literally like high school. It's crazy. We were old as fuck. Did you have boobs back then?

Hey. They started coming in yeah you know even now they're a bit thin but i mean it is what it is i'm you gotta do what you got you need to believe that and. You need to believe that. Maybe I can have you do a voiceover saying something else. Just bleep it. Just bleep it. We don't even want them to know what the fuck I said.

Bleep the bleep part two. Just bleep both parts. I fucked up. I'm not trying to cancel myself, dog. That's what I was going to say. I'm like, oh no. His microphone doesn't work anymore. That's so strange. myself dog 10 second period we had some audio difficulties during this period time pay no mind to the laughter now we're bleeping that shit oh my god oh

yes start over where were we we were nowhere well no cuz we're you you brought up about how you were, like, just all the old websites and, like, all that. And it was so nostalgic because, like, Andy mentioned it. And I was like, holy shit, I didn't even think about it. I haven't thought about that in a decade. And it's like, oh, my God, it's amazing. Yeah, I've been around for a long-ass time, I guess. So you're just coming off of a world record squat. You've set world records before.

How many times have you broken the all-time world record squat? This is the fourth competition in a row in which I've broken the squat record. So fourth time in three years because I broke it six months ago at the end of September at the competition I did. And then it's been about six, seven months since then and broke it again. Just chipped it. So it was only like a one kilo increase, so like 2.2 pounds. But like we were talking about, this meat was just kind of like a trial run, test the waters thing. So super happy about it, and it's setting me up for an even better one down in the future. You were injured pretty badly like I guess several months ago or maybe like a year or two ago. happy about it and it's setting me up for uh even better one down in the future so you were uh you

were injured pretty badly like um i guess several months ago or maybe like a year or two ago something like that and um did did that start to uh bring about the the inability to bench press because you're i believe your neck was jacked up right did that kind of bring about some depression anxiety did that um kind of lead you to kind of think man i fuck man i don't know like this might be over absolutely absolutely and it wasn't a year ago that it happened it actually happened in uh 2018 when that that viral video of the barbell bending around my neck that was the actual onset of the injury like people people see this video and they see me manage to like get out of the position and they're like oh the guy's fine

he's just an idiot he used a shitty barbell but what you don't see is when i punch my way out of it i twist well yeah that's the next part but i i twist a little bit and i end up like what i did was i herniated my c6 and c7 uh vertebra in my neck because like it was – it didn't bend as if it was like a buffalo bar or a duffalo bar. It bent to a singular point. Like a triangle. Yeah, the triangle and that singular point. See if you can find it on YouTube. Yeah.

It put a lot of pressure on my neck and I ended up just – I hurt myself pretty badly. I didn't even realize that I did on that day, but it caused a compression injury to occur to my thoracodorsal and dorsalscapular nerves, which ended up causing almost complete atrophy of my left tricep, left pec, and left lat. And I dealt – It's crazy that you could hurt that neck. I mean that's a big-ass neck with giant traps. Yeah, 12 years of wrestling, man. It'll do it. But it really kind of like caused some pretty shitty things to come about from it.

And I wasn't expecting it to happen. And I couldn't really put my finger on like what the actual cause was until like later after the symptoms started to come about and it was presenting itself as an actual nerve injury. But by that point, I didn't know what to do. And I really like over the course since like 2018 up until 2020, I spent tens of thousands of dollars, tried so many different modalities of therapy, tried to fix it in just the best ways that i possibly can you see how it came like came together to one point um and i just i it would get better and then it would get worse and it would get better it would get worse and i struggled to get my bench but there was a period of time like andrew pulled up the video after where i couldn't i literally couldn't lock out anything more than 185 pounds like it was a there was no pain there was no like actual like thing

that i could feel i just literally could not extend my left arm i would literally go to grab a water bottle and it would just fall out of my hands complete disconnect from the actual like squeeze my hand use my muscles to the actual action of doing so. And when I got to the first time I broke that raw squat record in 2020, I was honestly thinking that that was going to be like my final act in powerlifting. And I was going to retire afterwards because I started competing in 2007. I've been doing it for a long, long time, and I wanted to hang my hat on something, and I really kind of got to the point where it was like, I'm the squat guy. I can't hit a total anymore because I've hurt myself to this degree.

But it was one of those things. Like we spoke about it yesterday where it's like you get to a point where you walk away on your own terms like you you get to a point where uh you walk away on your own terms or you're forced to walk away and i felt as though i was kind of being forced to walk away so it was like i'm just gonna do it before i push myself deeper into a hole and hurt myself either through the lifting or through the emotional distress that is causing me or that is being caused to me because I can't do what I wanted to do. So that's where I was in 2020. But then I, like we talked about on the podcast yesterday, I met Jake and he convinced, I was so desperate

for help or I was out and he convinced me, he was like, I think that I can fix you. I think that we can do it. And I was like, okay, one more shot. You know, it's, I'm either a hundred percent in on something or I'm out. And I told him like, I'm a hundred percent in, tell me what to do. Diet, lifestyle training, whatever. We did it. It was some of the hardest training I've ever done. I had to really take a step back. But at this meet, I benched 496 pounds. At the meet I did six months ago, I benched 523. And I feel like I'm back. So it feels like a second chance, but it's awesome. What did some of that rehab look like? I know there's a lot of things involved, but let's maybe start on the physical end. So I was talking to Graham, the barefoot sprinter, out front about it, just detailing it a little bit. And it's really atypical when it comes to powerlifting.

It was very much not powerlifting training, but it was very energy systems-based based and very like in the sense of like strength training and like power lifting and just like the education or literature behind strength training, you know, the specific adaptations to impose demands like the said principle. But if you peel that back and think about how, okay, I need to relearn how to use my arm. How do I put myself in a position where those are the adaptations that I need to make? The way that we structured training, I essentially depleted, I was essentially like low carbohydrate prior to training in order to like have not a lot of muscle or liver glycogen or blood sugar.

not a lot of muscle or liver glycogen or blood sugar. And when I would go to train, I would literally start off damn near every day with multiple rounds of like two minutes to three minutes of assault bike sprinting, which two minutes and three minutes, that's not a long time, but to sprint for that period of time, incredibly difficult. I was,

I felt like I was going to puke every goddamn session. Cause then after that, after I would deplete all of my muscle glycogen, all of my liver glycogen, all of my blood sugar, then I would go into a position where I was very focused and the perp, the movements I were doing was very oriented towards like physical therapy rehab for people with spinal cord injuries. So pushups on kettlebell handles, uh, the kettlebell upside down presses, like things that are demanding a lot of stability and a lot of like coordination. Because if I deplete all of my muscle, muscle glycogen and all of that stored energy system, all I can rely on is the neurological aspect to move the weight in that manner. So I'm specific.

I it's, I'm specifically adapting to those demands that I've placed on my body by setting up the environment, which is my body where that's the only option that I can do. And we did six months of stuff like that. I didn't squat. I didn't bench press. And after, after six months, Jake like that i didn't squat i didn't bench press and after after six months

jake was like okay we're gonna have a day where we do close grip incline and i was like because of uh it affected the long head of my tricep which is predominantly like overhead work and i was like i haven't been able to do that in six years. I'm really unsure about this. And he's like, well, okay, we've done all these things that are setting you up to be able to utilize that tricep. I've been getting a bit more activation. I can feel it better. So let's just see. on close grip incline and it worked put a plate in a quarter put two plates two plates in a quarter put three plates and i hit 315 for three reps damn the first time i came back to that movement and i

cried my goddamn eyes out in the gym yeah and from then on it was like i how could i not buy it even further because i was was like, oh my God, I felt like it was as if I, I was relearning how to walk. And then you have that one, the Forrest Gump moment where the braces fly off my legs and I'm like, wait a minute, I'm good. I can do this. And it's like, shit, I can do this.

And we started incorporating more actual like um like power lifting based training and getting back to actual getting my pressing strength developing my pressing strength again and that's exactly what we're doing now because like we put a lot of emphasis in my deadlift and my grip in this particular off season but now that that is back because grip was a big issue for me but i've been able to quench this hand and keep it closed. Now we're really kind of doubling down on not just getting my bench back to where it was, but actually regaining and like going past my tricep strength that was there in the, in the past. So hopefully having a second chance and feeling as though I am a new lifter again, feeling as though I am a new lifter again, I'm hopeful I can get even better than I was before,

which is a crazy, crazy feeling to have as someone who had their like athletic peak and then fell off due to injury. And it's like, I feel as though I'm there again. And it's crazy. It's the most unique thing I've ever experienced, but it's awesome.

It's like, how could I not be pumped up or excited about this stuff? Yeah. So it's crazy. It's the most unique thing I've ever experienced, but it's awesome. It's like, how could I not be pumped up or excited about this stuff? It's really pretty amazing that you were able to meet Jake at that time. You guys are, he's your coach, but you guys are also friends now. And we've done multiple podcasts with you and Jake. But you here alone, what is so special about Jake? What makes him, because like from the water cut thing that he helped you out with to this thing where you had multiple people that tried to help you out and they couldn't figure it out. Then Jake comes in and he has this idea of how you're going to do it and you guys

execute and now you're where you are. What is so special about Jake from what you've seen? Dude, you guys can tell on the podcast when we were talking about it, he's talking about, oh, this company does this. He's horrible horrible at selling himself but that's what makes him so unique and so special and why i think i love the guy as much as i do because he's just one of the most genuine individuals on the planet but on top of being genuine he's one of the most intellectual and and most inquisitive people on the planet. Like his hobbies and his like enjoyment activities, like the things he likes to do are reading textbooks and uncovering new information and figuring out how to connect the dots where a lot of other people, we have this information over here and this information over here, but we don't know how to bring it together.

Jake is the most skilled individual I've ever met who can mesh different topics and integrate them with one another and make them work and make them cohesive and build on top of things. He's the type of guy – I honestly don't know. type of guy he had he i honestly don't know this is i forgot i always forget to ask him but i don't think he actually has a college degree but he had he's taken enough classes to have i believe like two and a half separate phds but he just won't do the normal route because he's like this is a waste of time but he does he's he's the type of guy that will like have a conversation with a doctor, a physician, a professional sports player, a professional powerlifter, incredible businessman and just make these like connections. And it's like, man, that was so simple. Like I already knew that, but I didn't have his particular approach to connect the dots and he's the master at connecting those dots and i think that's why he's so good at what he does because it's a combination of

curiosity but also inspiration in himself to continually better everything and gain more knowledge because it's not just about knowing stuff it's knowing how to apply it and when to apply it and why it may be beneficial here but not here and maybe here and maybe there that's he's just he's honestly one of the most special dudes on the planet and it's why it's always a pleasure just having a conversation with him or making him because he's not a social guy but it's like forcing him get in front of a goddamn microphone or record a video because someone is going to find some value in this. So it's awesome. Having a Jake in your corner kind of seems like – the way he talks about Jake is kind of how I hear people talk about John Donaher, who's been able to coach.

You know who John Donaher is? I'm familiar. Yeah. All he does is think about jiu-jitsu. All he's watching is wrestling and random grappling videos from random tournaments. And then he helps his guys figure out how to implement these things from this other martial art into jiu-jitsu. And these guys are going ahead of the pack versus everybody else. And it kind of seems like that's Jake.

It's why I'm so lucky. I consider myself so fortunate to be in the circle with people like Jake and like Andy. fortunate to be in the circle with people like Jake and like Andy because they're the one like I genuinely believe those are the guys who are on like the cusp of pushing professional sports to the next level and being someone who like I'm the type of guy that has like been doing this at the high level but it's I'm I'm in that middle ground where it's like I'm still – I gladly call myself a stupid meathead. I'm a dumb meathead. But I'm the dumb meathead who recognizes I'm a dumb meathead and I want to elevate myself as much as I can to be able to hang with those guys. And I know how intelligent and how pragmatic they both are.

So when they give me information and they explain something to me i'm like okay this is how i connect the dots and make it happen and it's it's just a really really unique combination with like jake and i and jake and i and andy because it's like when i have guys like that in my corner and i'm as willing to learn and do things differently because i did the water cut differently after doing the same thing for 15 years but jake had an idea and i'm like sure let's fucking try it man let's see what happens i'm willing enough to listen and willing enough to understand and like take those risks that it's like with those guys in my corner with this team that we have

how could i lose even if i even if i fail and even if I fall short, seeing that I had seven years with no PR, seven years with desperation and hopeless situation where I just kept grinding my face against a wall for one pound PRs, whatever. Even if I fall short this time, cool. We just learned a little bit more and we can make it better for the next one. Yeah. There's no losing here. And it's such a cool situation to be in. So you went over the physical part of how you got through your injury. What are some of the chemistry behind some of it? We've, we talked about it before, but like the carnitines and cholines,

basically just up regulating my own like neurology and my basically putting me in a position to make those neurological adaptations as quickly as I can and learn how to it's it's neuroplasticity it's the the phenomenon of like basically not it's both regrowing nerve pathways but also like relearning and re re-patterning how the nervous system connects to the actual musculature and how it works. So I would, like we talked about NuPept, that was one of the biggest keys in relearning how to use my arm. I would take pre-workout NuPept paired with a carnitine and cholineoline but with more emphasis on the choline because of its interaction with the with the nervous system and it will essentially make you

able to recruit more motor units at a greater rate so in doing so it's like okay i can learn quicker and then even uh some implementation of uh like psilocybin because if you – there's some research like I'm sure you guys have seen it where it's like psilocybin will increase like the rate at which neuroplasticity can occur and you can open up different neural pathways and think differently. If you can think differently with the use of an ergogenic aid like that, if you think differently, that inherently means you should be able to learn and experience things differently, right?

So pairing that with a carnitine and choline and a Nupept, it puts you in the best position to learn a new skill. And even if I'm not like learning how to play chess or like play the guitar or whatever, I'm relearning how to use this arm. And if you look at it as an actual skill acquisition thing, it only makes 100 to 200 milligrams, like a true micro dose. Because with bench and squat, you want to kind of emphasize focal vision to a degree. You need to focus on something. And psilocybin is a drug that's going to like basically prevent focal vision from happening, where it's like you, if you've ever taken a higher dose, you get the little, the wavies over here and the color fluctuations because it

amplifies your peripheral vision and takes away from the focal vision in the center of your eyes. Not very great for squat or bench. So you don't want to go too high on that. You just want to use like the minimal dose to encourage that learning. But when it comes to my deadlift and relearning how to grip zero, almost zero focal vision is required for a deadlift because the bar isn't – it's not connected to you. It's not directly loading your spine. It's literally just hanging here. You could theoretically do a deadlift with your eyes closed and not really have much of a performance drop. So using psilocybin as a performance aid in that context for me – and this is not me recommending this is

what people do because it gets a little weird but i would use 600 to 800 milligrams on my on my high priority deadlift days wow and you can see it in like if we went back and like looked at the uh my instagram post from my last heavy deadlifts going into the meet, I'm incredibly like flowy and loosey-goosey and I'm listening to music and like just doing these little wavy things because that's what I was leaning into. It was essentially me learning how to be a different athlete in that context and learning how to pull in a completely opposite way than how I've approached my squat and bench in the past. Here, this video. It wasn't on meat day, right?

It was before meat day? You did it on meat day? It was meat day. Oh, shit. 800 milligrams on meat day. Wow. And there's a reason why. We've talked about my keratoconus and like my degenerative eye disease.

There's a reason that i wear the the red glasses when i deadlift to help reduce that focal vision in a way as well oh no i don't think have we talked about your eye disease i don't i personally i think we might have off off off air or whatever it it's nothing crazy it's literally i just have really poor vision i have uh my my dad had to have cornea transplants a couple of years ago. I'm basically going to need the same thing at some point. It's keratoconus, it's a thinning of the corneas, like that front layer of your eye and it causes like scar tissue to occur. And then the scar tissue will basically just like block your vision a little bit. So I just have really, really,

really poor vision in the left eye, right eye is better, but I'm probably going to need cornea transplants at some point. It's just a hereditary thing that's just kind of a bitch, but whatever. Do the glasses make you a little bit stronger? I think so. They make me look a little bit cooler, so I feel stronger. Somebody said I looked like a Bond villain, and I'm like, yeah, good. That's what I was going for. Exactly.

Or Doc Ock from Spider-Man. So we asked Jake and Andy about strength and about getting big, and they basically nerded us to death and gave us the runaround. So I need some straight answers, meathead to meathead, and our meathead fans need this as well. How do people get big? Structure a training structure a training plan in a way that you are going to buy in in in the most way that you can so something that you're going to enjoy something that is sustainable for you something that is going to push you

enough but not too much and do that for a long long time and eat well whole food sources we talked about it last night like most of the time whole food sources uh adequate protein intake pairing or like peri-workout nutrition like carbs around your workout fat and protein everywhere else if you're really trying struggling with gaining weight put some carbs elsewhere if you're really struggling to gain weight don't be afraid to eat eat to get big big sometimes there we all go through those phases where it's like i remember when i was trying to uh we talked about it i was like i was a big kid i was like 300 pounds at like 13 14 years old lost over 100 pounds uh and then i get to a point where i'm trying to gain weight trying to gain muscle and we all go through that phase where it's like man i don't want to eat but i'm staring at this big

bowl of rice with a cut up steak in it and all this stuff and i'm doing shots of olive oil and shit like that and sometimes you have to be a little bit uncomfortable to achieve some goals that you want but just something in which you can buy into progressively overload, have fun and stay consistent for a long, long period of time and progress in some way and just eat well. And you're going to be hard pressed not to succeed. Yeah. So pepper project family, we talk about meat all the time on the podcast because protein is essential

for your health. That's why I partnered with P Montees and it gets to their website. They have such so much different types of beef. They have beef sticks, beef jerky, tons of different cuts of meat. You should go check them out. Andrew, how can they learn more? You guys got to head over to piedmontese.com. That's P-I-E-D-M-O-N-T-E-S-E.com. And at checkout, enter promo code POWER to save 25% off your entire order. And if your order is over $150 or more, you get free two-day shipping. Links to them down in the description as well as the podcast show notes.

You talked about it a bit, but you were 313 years old. And I think you said when you graduated, you were 178. 169. 169. Dude, how? I'm really curious. What did you do? How did you change your lifestyle at that point?

See, this is not recommended at all because this was not like done in a smart manner this was me being a kid who did not know how to eat and did not like look into it or research it i was like i just am going to listen to my wrestling coaches and other wrestling friends and do what they do, which is why I still struggle with some like emotional connectivity to eating and like – I have like a tendency to binge. I've never been like diagnosed with anything, but I – there's a period – I wrestled in college, a period of time where I would make myself vomit after eating and like do some crazy shit like that that's not good for you. But in high school, there was periods of time where for wrestling, ask any high school wrestler, anybody watching this, you know the stupid shit that people would do, where it's like, oh, you only eat a head of lettuce for lunch and a tuna packet for dinner, and you get a three-mile run for dessert.

That was the type of shit that I did to lose the weight. And there's a reason I didn't lose the weight in one year. I would do the thing where I would lose a bunch of weight during wrestling season, gain a bit of it back, lose a bunch of weight, gain, lose,

gain, lose. And only until I got to that one 69, like that lower, low, low, low mark where that, that was the way that I walked, like that lower, low, low, low mark where that was the weight I walked into the state wrestling championships. And I was a good wrestler, but I was skinny.

And it's like I didn't know anything about like nutritional science. I didn't know anything about like strength training. I just followed the powerlifting club at my school. I did what the other wrestlers did. I did what all my buddies would tell me to do and it achieved the goal. But getting out of high school, I was like, I need to do something differently because I need to start building some muscle. And literally I was one of those guys that was on the bodybuilding.com forums back in the day. Like that's where I got a lot of my information when I was like 17, 18 and just started applying stuff like that as best I could. Where do you get your information from nowadays? Just like – I mean there's so many great resources out there.

Like it's about finding valuable pieces and taking the value from it and then just being like, ah, maybe not that all the way bought in. Like there's Renaissance Periodization. There's the guys that you have on your podcast. There's Jake. There's Andy. There's such a wealth of information, Joel Jameson. I could list a bunch of people, but like there's so – that's one of the greatest things about social media and I don't want to be one of those guys

where it's like I get all my info from social media but social media makes the world incredibly smaller so you can gain access to all of these people who have degrees, do research they're the pioneers of their particular avenue and if you just pay attention and understand that all these guys are, like, we're just people with smartphones. If you maybe shoot somebody an email, pay someone for a consultation,

do that, just put a little bit of your skin in the game, there's no telling what you could learn. Or just shoot somebody a message. So just, honestly, social media and just talking to other people and then kind of it's on you as an individual to delineate the information, what is actually valuable and then what might be, okay, this is just someone trying to either sell something or the thing that they're into now, you know, and that's not even bad. It's just like, what is something that I am going to benefit from here? And then maybe leave the rest behind, but don't completely discount it. I've never been one of

those guys to be like, oh, that's complete bullshit or that's complete, like that's stupid. I don't do the carnivore diet, but I know there's an, in certain contexts, there's an incredible value to the carnivore diet. I don't do keto, but there's an incredible value in certain contexts for the keto diet. Same thing could be applied to any training methodology, any approach to nutrition, any approach to drug use or drug implementation. And it's just on the individual, on the consumer to delineate which one is valuable and what might not be. Yeah. Your diet probably doesn't have a name, right? No,

no, it's just eating well and timing, timing, cert, like timing, certain nutrient intake for certain things that I want to have happen. So before we get too far away from it, cause on the previous podcast you had mentioned that you had,

I forgot the exact words you put it, but you had some setbacks growing up. You even said that you had tried I forgot the exact words you put it, but you had some setbacks growing up. You even said that you had tried to commit suicide. And then fast-forwarding to more recent with, like, the neck issue and not being able to use your arm, what makes you keep going? Like, why didn't you, like, how come you didn't give up even when you were a kid? I got to credit my dad, you know, like my dad's my best friend. Um, and he, he's been one of the biggest reasons that like, he's been, he's taught me how much value there is in just continuing on no matter the odds.

Uh, because he's had many instances where he's had to do the same thing and it's just so a big as stupid as it is and it's like this I'm not I was raised Roman Catholic I went to Jesuit college I'm not I don't practice religion currently but I believe there is like something there's we're too we're too interesting and unique to be here just not for a reason. I think there's something out there. I don't know what the fuck it is. I'm not, I never will know until I die. And I probably won't know after because I'm not going to know I'm dead, you know.

But there's, when I tried to commit suicide, I actually used my dad's M1 9-11 uh which is a pistol and the gun jammed i i pulled the trigger and it just didn't go and i was like click click click click what the fuck and went like that and it shot a hole through the ceiling the fuck so i don't know. Could be coincidence. But having that happen, I was like as pissed off and angry as I was because it was just rage. It here for something. I gotta be here for something, you know, and no matter how hard things have gotten, cause I've, I've been divorced, I've lost jobs, I've to react to it and handle myself and get through it. Because my dad always said, like, as stupid as it is, it's going to be okay. And if it's not okay, it's not the end. You just got to get there. And the only way to make it okay is you getting there. So I just keep getting there.

And I keep going. Because I don keep getting there and I keep going because I don't know, I don't know how to do anything else. And it's, it's interesting to talk about because it's, it's just interesting timing because a week ago I did something that I didn't think I would ever do again. I hit a total PR. And as stupid and small and inconsequential as something as dumb as a power, you look at it and you're like, okay, who cares? But that right there is just the epitome of just hard work and perseverance and determination and a direct output for me individually that I didn't give up and I'm still here and I, and the efforts that I give still matter. So that is just so rewarding to me. And I, and if I did give up, I would have never been able to feel that I wouldn't be who I am today. And that's one of the reasons I'm so fortunate. So power project, how's it going? Now we talk about sleep all the time on the podcast, because it's one of the biggest things that helps you with your health and fitness, your recovery, your muscle gain, your fat

loss, everything. That's how I've partnered with Eight Sleep for such a long time now because the technology behind the mattress allows you to track your heart rate, the amount of times it takes you to fall asleep, your tosses and turns, your heart rate variability. It changes its temperature through the night based off how you sleep, but not only yourself, but maybe your partner on the other side of the bed. It is an amazing mattress. Andrew, how can they learn more?

Yes, head over to 8sleep.com slash powerproject. That's 8 spelled out, E-I-G-H-T, sleep.com slash powerproject. Along with more information, you guys will actually save $150 off of your entire order automatically. Links to them down in the description as well as the podcast show notes.

That's it. There's nothing better than a good comeback. Seriously. So when things are rough, you know, you can, I mean, it's not easy. Like when things are tough for you, that's just the way it feels and that's your perception of things

and things suck and things are hard and things are rough. But sometimes it's like the making of a superhero. I was listening to a thing about eminem the other day and um there were stories that i never even heard of about him he got some guy hit him in the head with a uh with a snowball and the snowball had like something in it that knocked him unconscious the guy did it like in the bathroom at school and he was knocked out he's unconscious he had a concussion and I guess he went to the hospital.

He was there for like 10 days. They just like went through like all this stuff. He had to like relearn how to walk. It took him years, I guess, to learn how to do a bunch of different stuff, learn how to talk. And then it's like,

and think about who that is. Right. That's what I'm saying. Like, you know, maybe that fucking snowball did. Maybe that snowball is like kind of the making of a superhero or making of a superstar rapper, you know? Just his lifestyle growing up, he was, you know, very poor and most people know this story and then the eight mile and all that stuff. When someone's going through all that, it would be nearly impossible to like think of yourself like one day, like all this shit that's happening to me, that's bad.

It's going to make me so fucking strong. It's going to be unbelievable. And while that would be a cool mantra to have, it's hard when you're in those times. Absolutely. And that's the part where it is a struggle, you know, because like even being where I am now, like it's given me such an amazing perspective because like even if I have this big meet coming up at the end of October and even if like let's say I bomb out, you know, it would suck. But it's like I've been in worse positions and I've been at the bottom. So it's like I know that I can come back someone who hasn't been there before and they find their bottom it's so hard to reassure them that like you can get out of it but the only way that they can figure out that they can get out of it just like the only way that someone can figure out like what works for them in

training or what they can buy into it's for them to do it and i think it's one of i think it's one of the reasons i'm so like transparent or i talk so much about this shit and i talk about going to therapy i talk about like just being a human not just a power lifter on on instagram and all that stuff it shows people that that that it's okay to be that and it's okay to feel your shit and like be in the shit for a while but you just have to keep moving because you can't stay there if you stay there it will kill you a hundred percent but getting out of it the only way to get out of it is to keep going no matter how hard it feels y'all remember uh we had ben alderman on

remember what he was talking about about like what makes like a great athlete is injury and when he said that i was like do you have to have like does that have to happen and for you do you think that this experience is something that will wasn't potentially necessary for you to be able to reach the levels that you're currently at and maybe that you're trying to get to i would agree a hundred percent because like mark talked about yesterday, the first time we met or the first time like we saw one another in person was at Reebok Record Breakers in 2016. And I was not the same person. I may have been very strong, but I was not the same man. I was a kid.

I was an immature asshole who thought his shit didn't stink and thought he was a badass and if i continued on that track and didn't you were you were very nice but i did think all the things you just said yes yeah i was i was very very polite i was like i respect my elders but everybody gets the fuck out of my way fuck you uh that type of thing but but it that that's what i meant by it gave me perspective like it made me not only become a better athlete but it made me it demanded of me to become a better person and a better a better individual in both the way that i approach my athletics but the way that i approach my emotional health my my mental health, and the value that I place on myself as an individual because I – like my Instagram handle was Joe Sullivan Powerlifter

at some point. And it's like I remember doing that. I literally just copied Dan Green because it was Dan Green Powerlifter and it's like I'm going to be that fucking guy. That's me. And I did. But then having an injury like this or coming to a point where you have to adapt and change, you realize you are not just what you are able to do. You're not just your athletic achievements or like your job title or your business or whatever.

You are an individual as well. or your business or whatever, you are an individual as well. And the injury itself really, really made me figure out who the fuck I am. So as horrible as it was and as depressed I got and the amount of therapy that I had to do to get through it, I am grateful for that too because I wouldn't be who I am and I wouldn't be as like – I don't want to say I'm like a good person. But I wouldn't have the perspective to be as good or attempt to put out as much good as I can without having experienced that – experiencing that bad for myself. I think it's also pretty kind of amazing that it happened to you and that you were able to team up with Jake and Andy, because like the,

the, the, the things that you guys did to get you through this injury, I don't know shit about it, but it sounds pretty novel. It sounds like Jake put a lot of like the new pep to these things. And then the, the fatiguing yourself before,

you know, you do certain workouts. It seems like the pieces you guys put together can then be applied to other people that are dealing with something somewhat similar. And that's the whole purpose of like what we're trying to do with this like book we're writing. Because how – so many people – like you talked about some of your guys like talking about their necks jacked up and it's like you just can't use can't use your upper body or like something causes this to lock up so many individuals and experience stuff like this and while the the approach that i use specifically may not be applicable to everybody the fact that this is a common occurrence not a common occurrence but common common enough to be talked about.

If we can kind of put people in a position to understand why it's happening and how they could either avoid it or how they could rectify it through approaching training, not just as a power lifter but understanding the basics of biology and physiology and adaptations. and physiology and adaptations that puts the power in the hands of those people and will potentially put them in a position where they won't have like the level of change and adaptation that i had to go through as an individual they may not be demanded that same thing and that could like that could change lives because how many people how many people go through something like this and they're not as stubborn as I am? Oh, yeah. And they're just like, I can't fucking do it anymore because I was so goddamn close so many times walking away. And if we and I could be in a position to help somebody not experience that, you're goddamn right.

I'm going to put all of my effort into doing that because I know what it feels like. Are you always excited to work out? No, not at, not at all. Who is besides, besides beginners, you know, like think about the stuff that I was doing. I, I am, I am, or was Joe Sullivan power lifter. Do you think Joe Sullivan power lififter enjoyed going to the gym and doing like five rounds of three-minute assault bikes followed by five sets of 60-second constant tension machine press into push-ups with a kettle on top of kettlebell handles with five-second negatives and five-second concentrics? Like, no, not at all. I like lifting heavy. I like squatting heavy i like being big strong blast heavy metal fuck yeah let's do this shit type of guy but i love the process and i love

the outcomes and i love knowing that everything that what i put into it is what i am going to get out of so that makes doing the stuff that isn't exactly the most fun a million times worth it for me. And what? It's the contrived posts everybody loves to share on Instagram where it's like discipline trumps motivation. And it's – you have fucking – everybody shares that shit. And it's like you fucking skipped the gym last week.

Shut the fuck up. Why are you doing that? But it's true because if you know that this is a direct what you get out of it is a direct output from what you put into it it makes it a lot and by understanding the base level of like why this is happening it makes it so easy to do what you need to do and and it's enjoyable even if it's not the most fun sometimes. The outcome is the point. Have you ever gone to the gym and done like one rep?

And just left? Yeah. Yeah. I've had days like that. I feel like everybody's had. Or like you've walked on the treadmill and been like, nah, I'm fine. Well, most recently, like I have the Dragon's Lair t-shirt on.

It's Flex Lewis' gym in Las Vegas. Around the Olympia time, I literally went there, walked for 10 minutes on the treadmill, and was like, fuck this. Uh-uh. No way. There was a camera here, ass cheeks out here, camera here, like three dudes with their shirts off, four TikTok kids all with the same haircut and the cross-earring,'m like i'm out i'm hitting the same fucking icarus pose like for 40 fucking minutes in the mirror and i'm like guys go do a bicep curl and it would look better what the fuck god damn dude but i've had

days we've all had days like that i feel feel like. Aren't they called broccoli heads? Am I correct in that? Because they got the same haircut? Yeah. I think the cool thing about that is even if you only did go to the gym and did something really minimal, you still fucking made it there. Yeah, absolutely. And I have – like all the clients that I talk to who are like, oh, man, it was a shit session today, but like I did what I could. It's like that's so much better than any of the alternative. Like you're not always, you're not always pumped up to like go to work. You're not always, I'm sure you're not always pumped up to do a podcast. Like

sometimes like you have argument, you get like a stressful, stressful, like business phone call or something like that. And it's like, fuck, I don't want to do this today. But that's where the discipline comes in. And it's like's like if you if you approach training or approach your lifestyle or like your betterment as an individual as just as like this is what you do it only makes sense to get it done because you don't like we don't always have to get hyped up or take 200 milligrams of caffeine to brush our teeth but we do it every morning right if you or wipe your ass it's like if you approach training as a minimum and this is a requirement for me to do something. I don't have that much motivation to wipe my ass.

Me either. That would be horrible. Yeah, bidet is great. Bidet is nice. But what a horrible habit that would be to sink into, to not have the motivation to wipe your ass. Did you experience his bidet at his place? No, I didn't. Do you actually have a bidet?

You guys missed out the best part. That's awesome. I used the Squatty Potty today in the bathroom. That was the first time I used one. I'm surprised you don't have one. I'm probably going to buy one after this. There's just so many gadgets here. It's just like this is all I'm standing on this mat.

How are you liking that mat, by the way? I love it, man. I don't know who these guys are, but I'm bought in. I love them. I don't know who they are. What's the brand? What's it called? Wild Gym. We'll do we'll do something but wildgym.com we got these uh these nature matte things underneath our feet stretch that out toes and shit yeah foot health foot health something we're gonna get into that but i do want to ask you you

know you were mentioning how like you you you're not married into doing one thing one diet one type of workout but one thing that like we've been seeing on like your socials, we've been seeing some stuff from David Weck and some of those concepts. So what are some of those things that you've been adding into your trading? Why? And has it been helpful for you? So working backwards? Absolutely.

It's been helpful. I feel like a fucking badass like after seven years of not hitting a PR because of all this integration of like new and innovative stuff uh and i like i don't remember the second one but it's like yes it has helped me and i love the integration of all this new stuff because like we were talking about earlier it's finding what is valuable in my context and applying it for myself and maybe understanding like why it could be useful elsewhere but not applying all of it to me but taking what what is going to be beneficial and

then putting it into my own stuff like i met uh david at uh a landmine u uh certification course i went to uh man alex's place yeah uh no it was a pacific beach training in uh in san diego and uh it was like a three-day landmine course uh alex invited me out just because i was i talked to him periodically on instagram he's like just come take it and i'm like hell yeah dude i did and i thought it was amazing because it's it's basically we so many people get brought up in powerlifting and strength training in the way that like we want to resist rotation. And when you're squatting, benching and deadlifting, obviously you want to resist rotation. You don't want any like spinal movement. We talked about it today.

It's like it's bad news pretty, pretty quickly when you have something on your back and your spine wants to move like this. When you have something on your back and your spine wants to move like this. But if you kind of just step back and understand like, okay, if we want to resist rotation, how do you develop a conscious control of certain musculature in that range of motion? You actually train that range of motion. my approach and my integration with David Weck's principles and Landmine U's principles, where if I want to resist this rotation when I'm squatting, benching, or deadlifting, then in theory, I should be proficient at the actual process of rotating and training that range of motion so that I know how to resist it and I know how to prevent it from occurring when I don't want it to occur because I know how to make it happen when I do want it to occur. So super valuable. And it just teaches you honestly like how much more you

can get out of certain ranges of motion in certain positions because like you shot me a message when I was doing those, the twist lunges or whatever, and was like, slow it down a little bit. And that's kind of a combination because I know if you slow it down and understand, okay, just like basic anatomical knowledge, the lat is big muscle on your back. Where does the, where's the lowest portion that the lat inserts on? It's on the superior iliac spine of the pelvis. So it crosses the hip. So any joint that a muscle crosses, it's going to act upon. So that's one of the reasons why anybody who shrugs when they breathe in, when they squat, it's not the greatest because if you flex your traps and lift your shoulders,

your lats have to relax. And if your lats cross the pelvis, do you want an unstable pelvis when you're squatting? No, it's bad. Bad news bears. But if you understand, okay, this is like the anatomical knowledge that I have. The lat gets plugged into my pelvis. If I incorporate these David Weck principles and I hike this side of my pelvis up, flex my glute a little bit, and try to connect the landmark of my lat and my elbow into this side, I can get just a little bit more muscular engagement

than I would otherwise. And when you're someone who is trying to squat 850 pounds, you want to maximize every little bit that you can get because those little bits add up cumulatively. One percent better may not be much in one training session, but if you make one percent improvement or one percent better each training session for the course of five years, incredible improvement. That's compounding interest just in the context of training. So that's why I love that

stuff. It's, it's the only way, the only way to get better. And the only way to do things that have either never been done or you've never been able to do is to do stuff that you've never done before and be willing to try things that you've never done before. At least in my opinion. Yeah. And what's it, what's it hurt? You know, you try it and you're like, that was crap. Right. Or like, maybe I didn't have, try it and you're like, that was crap. Right. Or like maybe I didn't have – maybe I don't remember exactly what they showed me, so let me try it again. Yeah. You just experiment.

Yep, exactly. And that goes back to what we were talking about, about like figuring out what you can do in training and what you're going to get the most out of. of because it may not be optimal in the sense of like pulling this in the scapular plane with this particular range of motion across the line of pull, yada, yada, biomechanic stuff. Maybe I say, okay, tilt the pelvis a little bit and squeeze a little bit harder. If you can just make that mental connection, training and sports performance in the context of like lifting weights as a sport, it's not just about muscular stimulus or proper technique. There's an aspect of neuromotor control, the motor cortex activation,

and that neuromuscular connection, and then the expression of all of that when you get to the platform or the stage or whatever. So just by kind of narrowing your focus on just one thing and not being willing to think outside the box, so many people who are deemed as like intellectuals these days are really pigeonholing themselves and limiting, limiting their forward potential and the forward potential for the people that they're educating because they're not willing to think outside the box, in my opinion. Dude, I want to ask. I'm really curious about this. Because you mentioned when you met Mark at that record breakers meet, how you were kind of an asshole in a way. But I would assume also because I had a stage where when I was younger, I felt like I knew it all.

I felt like I knew. I didn't know it all. I knew I had more to learn. But I felt like I got most of this shit handled right. I didn't know it all I knew I had more to learn but I felt like I got most of this shit handled right and then very quickly I something I think just learning more on the podcast and being exposed to more people I got out of the mindset that I've got this shit handled and more so put myself in a place where I'm just like I want to improve I want to learn I want to apply new things so I can get better and you're particularly dangerous because you have a world record squad

already you're an elite level athlete but you're someone who's continuously turning stones over and trying new things and applying new things. What shifted your mindset towards having the openness to do that? Because most people that have gotten to like that are at somewhat of a high level or they're young, they think that new things are just fads or things that are going to be non-consequential towards their success. And you're the exact opposite of that. Well, thank you, first off, because I think that's high praise. But also, honestly, it's less of a, it's not a very positive answer that I have for that one. It was honestly the desperation it was honestly the desperation that I got to because I very much fit that bill of thinking like I'm the shit. I know what I'm talking about.

I have like two degrees in this. I know what I'm talking about. How dare anybody else think like this fucking works? That's stupid hack shit. Fuck that. Like are you kidding me? You know? But getting to the point where it's like, okay, I know all these things. I'm applying all these things. But then I'm like, why am I a reason that my coaching title, like my coaching business, the name is Adapt or Die because that was the very same feeling that I felt myself get into or situation that I felt myself get into where it was I need to be open enough to adapt and change the way that I approach this or else I may as well be fucking dead you know so it wasn't some like inspirational moment it was like I I fucking suck I keep getting

like I was really good and I blew up and I'm like I'm just gonna keep fucking getting better every goddamn year it's fucking total PR total PR fuck you fuck you fuck you i'm gonna keep coming you know and i get to the point where it's like i keep getting beat what the fuck is going on because i'm doing everything that i can and it's just not fucking working holy shit and i just got to a point where it's like i need to approach this differently and it's growing up because i mean i've i got divorced the like business stuff. Like just you learn eventually. Basically life demands change from you and you either decide to change because it's demanded of you or you maybe get – it's demanded of you and then you take initiative from it and keep going. And that's what I feel like the position that I'm in now because I was forced to realize that I know nothing. It's the Dunning-Kruger effect where you think the less you know, the more you think you know.

And then the more you know, the more you realize that there is so much out there that is left to be uncovered. So, yeah. It's scary. There's a lot to learn, right? Well, that's why I'm so – and I've said it a million times this weekend already, but I have no idea the landscape of what any of this is going to look like in five or ten years. Honestly, the new knowledge, the new application, the new drugs, the new training, the new approaches, the new gadgets.

Who knows? There's so much out there, not the in the realm of like strength training or sports performance but just life in general so it's nuts it's exciting how has your uh social media uh fans how have they received some of your exploration into some new stuff uh they're they like honestly people are big fans of it you know they see how how well uh like i have i have pretty like a pretty dedicated like following jake jokes and he's like you have like a little cult yeah because it's like i do it's an amazing thing when you meet a fan or something they flip the fuck out yeah dude and it's like but it's it's another thing that i'm super grateful for and i really think the

the reason that that's the case is because i hate this word but it's like i'm so real on social media but it's like i just portray myself people like oh man you're exactly like you are on the internet it's like that's because i just post on my fucking phone it's i'm just hanging out dude yeah you know like i'm i'm just here and it really resonates down to earth oh yeah but it just resonates with people when you like lead with yourself and you don't try to be anybody else. And like I express myself – when I'm frustrated, I post about being frustrated. When I'm happy, I post about being happy. And I kind of – I really just – part of growing up, I really just kind of lead with this – Jesus, this rhymes.

I feel like this is a phrase is a phrase an attitude of gratitude I don't know where the fuck that came from I cringed but it's good it's good it's still a thing I'm gonna write that down every morning I lead with an attitude oh my fucking god who the fuck am I let's make that a shirt yeah boom I've said fuck too little i'm like fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck you got a lot of protein leveraging right with the f word you gotta my protein folding is all fucked up jake's gonna appear and throw a rock at me i don't know but but but seriously it's like there's a there's a reason that I'm so grateful and that I speak as if I'm so fortunate because I am really fortunate to have the amount of support that i got from people and people asking me just saying like dude thank you so much for what you're doing that that lets me know that i'm

making the right decisions you know and then when i when i succeed and hit like last week i hit hit the record hit the total pr every time i compete i even even if i don't do well i come out feeling so much more loved than i went in going into it because people are so vocal in their support for me. And it applies to the same thing when I do do different stuff and I'm like, hey, I'm trying this out. People I've had people be like, dude, it's so cool to see you so willing to try new things and think outside the box. And I appreciate it because like sometimes it looks goofy sometimes it doesn't work you know but sometimes it does and the only way that we can find out what is valuable and what isn't valuable is to apply it for ourselves and fucking see so

yeah people are into it and i i'm i'm happy about it because I'm going to fucking do it whether they like it or not. So, I don't know. Do you know what your testosterone levels are at? How about your estrogen? How about your prolactin? How about your cholesterol? If the answer is, I don't know what they're at. Well, we've been talking about blood work for a long time now.

That's why we partnered with Merrick Health, a company owned by Derek from More Plates, More Dates. Now, with Merrick, you can get yourself something called the Power Project Panel, which will give you 26 different labs that will help you understand what's going on underneath the hood. After that, you'll be able to be partnered with one of their patient care coordinators, which will give you interventions that range from lifestyle supplements to potential hormonal health treatments that can help move you in the right direction. But it all starts with knowing on what's going on down here. So get your blood work done. And Andrew, how can they get it? Yes, we have two options for you guys. Head over right direction. But it all starts with knowing on what's going on down here. So get your blood work done. And Andrew, how can they get it? Yes, we have two options for you guys. Head over to

MerrickHealth.com slash PowerProject. That's M-A-R-E-K Health.com slash PowerProject. There you guys will see the PowerProject panel that Nsema was just talking about. And at checkout, enter promo code PowerProject to save $101 off of that panel. Now, if you want to custom select your own panel, you guys can use promo code PowerProject10 to save 10% off of that panel. Now, if you want to custom select your own panel, you guys can use promo code PowerProject10 to save 10% off all labs. Again, that's at MerrickHealth.com slash PowerProject. Links to them down in the description as well as the podcast show notes. What about stuff with your girlfriend? Does things ever get weird via social media with both you guys being like in the limelight a bit? Kind of. Like sometimes, but not really.

Like the biggest obstacle or the biggest like the biggest hurdle that we have to face or that we encounter. And like I wish she was here to give her perspective because she's hilarious. But like people, she hates it sometimes because people will like look at her and be like oh you're you're joe sullivan's wife right like oh you're joe sullivan's girlfriend she's like i am also brianni terry i have broken three all-time world records fuck you you know so it's just stuff like that but it's but then there are instances where like she has such a die-hard following she's the same way because she because she just leads with her best foot

and is like a good person on social media. Pull her up. You need to see how jacked she is. She's also incredibly jacked and strong. She hit a 1388 total at 167, squatted 507, benched like 292 and deadlifted 606. Jesus, those are crazy numbers numbers pull up that last spread right there at the pink neesleys because the fuck what is up with her legs dog i don't know dude

she's her waist is so small she should have been she's gonna blush she hears you um but no dude she is one of the most gifted athletes i've ever fucking met. Like she is incredible when it comes to her own athletic ability and like her ability, not only her ability to build muscle as a female, but also her ability to express that strength. Like she annoy you sometimes. So you're like, what the fuck? Dude, you have no fucking idea. Because like I went seven years without hitting the PR and she goes like six months. She's like, this is fucking bullshit. This is stupid. I'm going to go do yoga. And I'm like, you hitting a PR, and she goes like six months. She's like, that's just fucking bullshit. This is stupid.

I'm going to go do yoga. And I'm like, you're a fucking idiot, dude. But she's like, I only got a 30-pound PR. You're like, what? And look, she hits like 100s on the dumbbell bench or whatever. Really? I don't know. They might be 80s.

I can't remember. These are 85s. 85s. It's just dumb. What's her bench? Best ever is like 303, I think. Yeah, it's crazy. They're just chucking those weights around like nothing.

She's incredible. She's one of the most gifted athletes on the planet, and she's also an incredible coach. She's one of the best coaches that i've ever seen just in her in her ability to uh basically like just not dumb stuff down but make it understandable for uh her athletes she is also in a uh women's physique prep currently uh either physique oh so she doesn't do wellness. She does physique. Yeah, physique. Okay. Yeah. So a little bit more muscularity than wellness, and you can tell by her back. But, yeah, if you go to her stage shots a little bit down, I think.

A little older. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because she did NPC USAs last year, and she got fourth. In her first bodybuilding season season she got fourth at USA's whoa which is like phenomenal like people don't do that so she's she's in another prep she's going to be doing uh either junior nats which is end of June or USA's again which is end of July kind of leaning towards USA's because it's in Vegas, and it would just be super easy.

So, yeah, she kicks ass, dude. She's good at what she does. She's a little jealous of Jake, though. Yeah, a little bit, yeah. Well, Jake coaches her, too, and we actually had a discussion a while back where she's like, Hey, if you're going to talk about my prep,

talk about it with me. Cause it's my coach too. And I'm like, well, he's, he's my best friend. And then I'm like, Oh yeah,

I get it though. And I'm like, okay. Yeah. So it's just, that's the only thing like that's the obstacle where it's just kind of like, because we're all so integrated with one another it's like okay what it like she's gonna talk about my stuff with jake but then i'm like

out of the loop and i'm like wait i didn't know you knew that and then i'm gonna talk with jake about like her stuff and then she's like wait i didn't know i was doing that and i'm like oh my sorry i don't know but that's the only thing but it's it's a really awesome cohesive relationship honestly because we like we fly the flag for one another when we need to like basically being like more supportive when like i'm deep into a prep she'll like pick up the slack a little bit when she's deep in a prep i'll pick up the slack a little bit have a little bit more patience and it just it really we both understand because we're both athletes, but we're also both like relatively emotionally intelligent people. It works really, really well because it all comes back to communication and like expectations on like this is my focus right now.

I'm going to have to pull back a little bit in some context. And then that's your focus right now and you're going to pull back a little bit in some context. And then that's your focus right now. And you're going to pull back a little bit in some context. And then normal relationship stuff. Because we're booking an all-inclusive trip to Mexico after my meet in November. Because it's like, okay, we're going to have a week where it's like we're not athletes. We're going to be like blacking out on a beach.

Smoking some weed. It's going to be good. So just making stuff like that where it's like, okay, we're going to portion off some time where it's like we're not athlete Joe or athlete Bree or coach Joe or coach Bree. It's like we're just hanging out in a relationship being cool. Do you train together or go to the gym together or is it like separate cars and separate times and shit like that? Both. We do both. together or is it like separate cars and separate times and shit like that both we we do both it depends on the session and like where either one of us are at in training because like going into

my meet it would be like we would drive separate because you're gonna be there for four hours exactly you know and she's in bodybuilding prep so she can get it done in like an hour you know but now that i'm in uh more of like a developmental block and like an off season, if you will, Jake and I actually structured my training so that there are going to be like two or three days that I actually do with her. And it's we're not doing the same movements, but it's like similar and complimentary enough that we can like train together because that's when we started dating. That was a huge thing that we did. We always train together because it's when we started dating that was a huge thing that we did we always train together because uh it was just fun and it's like we both enjoy spending time with one another in the gym as athletes because we kind of feed off of one another but at the same time it's sometimes

she's got her blinders on and i'm like i'm not gonna fucking talk to her today and then there's other times where it's i have my headphones in and she's like, you can go over there. And I'm like, got it. Okay. We're just going to avoid that. So it just depends.

And it's like, it depends on the timing of the year depends on the training session. And it depends on whether or not we're pissed at one another outside the gym, you know, because we're both very, very like not domineering personalities, but we're both like alpha type people. So it's like when it fits, it's great.

And then it's very easy to be like, hey, what are you doing today? And I just say it a little bit like an asshole, a little bit blunt. She's like, what the fuck do you mean by that? And I'm like, I don't know what the fuck I meant by that. What do you mean by that? And then it's just like, okay, go to the gym. And that's when she goes to Dragon's Lair and we go to the gym and that's when she goes to dragon's lair and i go to sin city that's how it goes but it works man it's really cool it's i'm

another thing i'm really fortunate for because like i've she inspired with her dedication to bodybuilding yeah and like the adherence to that degree i i tell her like when she's in it but she inspires me every day because like struggling with like food and having like the relationship that i did with it and still like i'm in a great position now i do everything i'm supposed to but there's still the desire to like binge or cheat or be like i fucking i missed the meal i'm just gonna door dash bullshit like that type of thing seeing her yeah dude yeah seeing her go through the same thing but not but resist it i'm like damn you know like she can do it i can fucking do it it's an inspirational thing it's a powerful

powerful pairing that we have it's really cool what you just said right there that specific scenario is the same shit that my girl does like she does bikini competitions but she's so diligent nutrition and i am diligent i don't know but like i'll be the one to be like hey you want a door to have some sushi and she's like i gotta stick to this i'll be like you're such an adult i'll stick to it today too it's the same thing because it's because what you're like 250 pounds like six foot something it's like i can fit it in i'm still gonna have abs it's all right and it's like i got a heavy squat tomorrow. I'm going to be cool. It'll be – the burger is fine. It'll be all right.

Oh, man. But yeah. No, it legitimately – it inspires you. It's cool because it's like someone who is going through the same stuff that you are. They deal with the damn near same emotional stress that you do, demands of life, all that stuff. But they choose to do it. Yeah. And when you look at it and you're like that's just a choice that

they're making it's like god i'm a fucking bitch yep jesus christ how soft am i and i'm like fuck okay all right i gotta do this so oh that's real dude you walked around i saw you walking around in some vibrams right so like what got you how deep are you into that stuff and like how has it helped you if it has? So we kind of had this conversation the other day. Like it's another one of those where it's like what is valuable to me and then what is kind of like just a little extra that I may not necessarily need to focus on. And I genuinely think like rooting in your ability to like feel your feet and maintain even pressure on the ground, huge, huge deal when it comes to squatting, benching, and deadlifting. Like that's – those are our points of contact. That's where we put force into the ground. But that – not old school approach but the like – when I was coming up like 2015, 2016, 2017, that emphasis on rooting, it's one of those things

that kind of gets lost in the sauce a little bit. And that because people think about just grabbing and gripping. And when you think about just grabbing and screwing and gripping and feeling the ground with your feet, you forget about one of the most important parts, which is putting force through the ground. It's still an exchange of energy and a push no matter how you think about it. So like Mark and I were talking like yesterday in the gym and it's like when you – obviously you want to try to keep your arch and maintain your arch health. But if you unrack 800 pounds, you're not going to keep your arch. Your foot is going to flatten out and widen out. And think about it.

When you cut like with Wex principles and like cutting on the inside of the foot and twisting and rotating, it's the same thing but just in a different context. You need to be both proficient at feeling and rooting and gripping the ground but then also understanding when it comes to the exchange of energy and the output of force. I'm not going to focus on my big toe, my pinky toe, and my heel. I'm going to drive as much fucking power as I can through the middle of my foot and try to keep balance and whatever happens upstream, cool. I'm good. It's just – I'm big on it because I never leave the house without my toe spacers. I'm always digging in my feet.

Like I'm legitimately going to buy one of these mats because I have a standing desk and I'm literally just going to be like this all day because it's fantastic. But it's also one of those things. or fixate on lifting barefoot, walking barefoot, doing all of this because it's one of Duffin's old saying, or I don't know if it's his saying, but I got it from him because it resonated with me. He always used to say in the first Kabuki movement seminars, once you know the rules, you know how to break them. So that's the thing. When you know the rules and you understand the principles behind rooting and even foot pressure, then you can understand, okay, I can still apply these principles, but I'm going to tweak it to the way that it's going to make the most advantage for me in the context of my sports performance, because I squat in heels. If I was a true barefoot guy,

I'd be like, just work on your ankle mobility, you lazy piece of shit. What the fuck, man? But I'm a power lifter. Heels give me a slight advantage on achieving depth and staying a little bit more upright. I can still create lateral heel tension and pressure through my heels, pressure through the midfoot and root with a bigger shoe because I wear a half size larger to give me a little bit more space. And I can still apply those principles while I'm while I'm actually breaking the rules. But it's ultimately setting me up for better success because it's in the context of my sports performance and my particular situation. Andrew, take us on out of here, buddy.

That doesn't matter. Thank you, everybody, for checking out today's episode. We got a bunch more content coming your way. So check on the previous episodes we just did. And then also what we got upcoming. Make sure you guys don't miss that. So hit that subscribe button and hit the like button and follow the podcast at MB Power Project all over the place. My Instagram is at I am Andrew Z and SEMA. Where are you at? Discord's down below. If you have any questions for Joe or questions in general, comment down below. At NsemaYinYang on Instagram and YouTube. At NsemaYinYang on TikTok and Twitter.

Joe, where can people find you? On Instagram at JoeSullivan underscore AOD. And my website is TheAODCollective.com. You can send me an email there or send me a DM. I may not get back to your DM very quickly, but I will get back to it at some point. I'm just on Instagram. Les, if you want to get to me, hit me up on my website and it's way more reliable to get to me there.

I'm at Mark Smelly Bell. Strength is never weakness. Weakness is never strength. Catch you guys later. Bye. Okay.