I've been inside wrestling and Jiu-Jitsu gyms since I was 14 years old...35 years total.

My mom got me started.

She was a single-parent and said skateboarding and cigarettes weren't going to help my future...but somehow wrestling would.

She was both a mom and a dad all-in-one.

She handled the typical mom stuff, but also the homework and discipline.

Discipline was #1 courtesy of ass whoopings...I started getting spanked at 4 yo. At 6 yo, she would man-handle me and choke me with a bar of soap for cussing and whatever else she didn't like me doing.

My mom grew up near Tombstone, AZ. That hard life resonated with her and became her life ethos. My grandfather started The Tombstone Epitaph Newspaper.

So naturally, during my Freshman year of high school, she insisted I go out for wrestling. I was hooked.

Every day I insisted on more live rounds...I never stopped.

Then tendonitis kicked in, the flu, skin infections, you name it.

I'm 48 yo now...and I've seen this trend play out at every gym I've ever trained at.

Nobody can beat overtraining. In time, people quit, blame age, die or go get some fuckin' surgery.

The problem is OVERTRAINING! (And steroids)

Watching the ones who stuck around, I've noticed a trend over the decades that has kept them training.

These are summed up in my 10 Habits for Training Smart:

1. Water, water and more water throughout the day (Purified or Mountain Spring)

2. Daily sunshine, 30 minutes on 80% of the body

3. REM sleep daily (naps help)

4. More drilling, less live

5. Weight lifting (30-45 minutes of squats, dips and pull-ups)

6. Replace sugar with honey

7. Ditch all meds, replace with plant-based medicine

8. No surgeries, steroid (cortisone) shots or medical procedures

9. Never compare yourself to your training partners

10. See #4

Adding to this, showering before and after practice is absolutely standard protocol using real soap.

LIMITED SUPPLY: August soaps are almost ready!

Train smart!

A Filthy Animal