As WWE makes its way through England as part of the ‘Road to Royal Rumble’ tour, I packed my gym bag and headed to meet boxing legend, BXR Gym 9 by Anthony Joshuaa state-of-the-art gym in Marylebone, London. It was here that I would be greeted by the current WWE Undisputed Champion, Drew McIntyre, who looked more than happy to test me.
Now I have to explain that I have known Drew for over 25 years. I’ve seen him wrestle in dimly lit bingo halls and make his way all the way to the massive stadiums of WrestleMania, but if I thought the big Scot was going to go easy on me, I would have been sorely mistaken. The day’s workout was a full-body circuit, which made perfect sense as it tested both strength and endurance and placed similar demands on the body as a major fight in WWE. “Pain is pleasure, pain is beauty,” said the champion as I sputtered through my reps. I knew we were in for a long day!
Inside Drew McIntyre’s Not-So-EMOM Full Body Circuit
The workout was presented as an EMOM, i.e. Every Minute On The Minute, so each exercise had to be performed for 30 seconds, followed by 30 seconds of rest. Then continue to the next station and repeat. These were the moves, but of course anything can happen in WWE, so it didn’t go as expected.
- Biceps curls
- Lying dumbbell chest press
- Goblet squats
- Plank
- TRX low row
- Dumbbell Bulgarian Split Squat
- Dumbbell seated shoulder press
- Weighing board Russian Twists
How McIntyre trains like a competition has no time limit
Apparently, when the WWE Champion is coaching you, time and reps become a vague concept. “There’s no such thing as time,” McIntyre scoffed as I tried to find the quickest way to the showers. “I’m Father Time, and I say move your ass,” commanded the man who not only eliminated Brock Lesnar from a Royal Rumble but also pinned his shoulders to the mat at WrestleMania 36. Of course, there’s no set time for a professional wrestling match, and no limit to the number of times you have to lift a hefty opponent, so why should gym sessions have to be any more civilized?
Things started off intimidating when McIntyre started “motivating” me during biceps curls. “More, more,” demanded the Scottish fighter, who recently dethroned ‘The American Nightmare’, Cody Rhodes. But right now I was experiencing my own British nightmare. “Look at those arms,” an unimpressed Drew McIntyre joked, taking the opportunity to show me his own bulging biceps. Wanting to grow my own weapons to the same monstrous level, I asked the champion how many more curls I needed to complete to compete. “About 50,000,” he replied. “So let’s get started now.”
By the time I hit the TRX (Total Resistance eXercise) suspension trainer, I was pouring sweat. Now that time is no longer a concept in this so-called EMOM, every time I completed an additional requested set of reps, more would follow. “If you can do two, you can do three,” challenged WWE’s undisputed champion. If only you could get some training! Still, undaunted, I sucked it up. “You’re not maxed out!?” McIntyre asked as I walked to the next station. But I would be soon.
During the plate-weighted Russian Twists, 30 seconds of training would have felt like heaven compared to what McIntyre had in store. “I’m timing it for you, you have about five minutes left,” said the harbinger of bad news. “I don’t do reps, I do time, and it’s time you shut up and do the reps,” he protested. At the time, I wasn’t sure that my famous coaches’ claim that pain is pleasure and beauty was strictly correct. And to prove it, I collapsed in pain… in a very ugly way. “I didn’t say stop,” roared the unsympathetic WWE Superstar.
Of course, the petting of a fitness writer and an old friend was all in good fun, and although I questioned our friendship while lying on my stomach, just like his hapless opponents, I did understand the point of the exercise. Trying to train for the rigors of WWE requires you to push yourself to and beyond your own perceived limits. There’s no consideration for reps or time when you’re in the ring with the likes of Randy Orton, Roman Reigns or WWE’s undisputed champion, Drew McIntyre.
WWE Raw streams on Netflix in the US In Canada, the UK and Ireland, you can also watch SmackDown, NXT and premium live events like Royal Rumble on Saturday, January 31, while US viewers can watch Royal Rumble via ESPN.
To follow Drew McIntyre on Instagram, click here.
#Drew #McIntyres #WWE #Workout #Undisputed #Champion #Trains #Strength #Muscle #Fitness