100 MAY 2017
EIGHT MEN CRANKEDon the machines
at a suicidal pace. Sweat streamed down
their tattooed backs. Spurring them on was
one of the largest human beings I had ever
seen. “What’s causing you to slow down?”
he hollered. “Your mind or your body?”
The man had the calm confidence of a star
athlete and the brick-shithouse physique of
someone who fights in a cage. Which, I later
learned, he used to do in the UFC.
I first heard of Robert “Bobby Maximus”
MacDonald while reporting a story for this
magazine. In a mass email to some of the
best and brightest people I knew in fitness,
I’d asked a simple question: who are the
fittest men in the world? Each respondent
named three or four people, most of whom
were pro athletes. But the name that popped
up most frequently was unfamiliar to me:
Bobby Maximus, training director of Gym
Jones in Salt Lake City.
This impossibly large Canadian was not
only breaking world records but also helping
pro athletes win championships, teaching
Special Forces soldiers to attain elite fitness
and turning average guys into superheroes.
So I went to Gym Jones and soon found
myself sitting on a rower as Maximus
programmed 2000 metres into its computer.
“Try to finish in seven minutes,” he said.
“If you don’t want to quit halfway through,
you’re not going hard enough. Go!” I’ve been
covering fitness for a decade. I’ve finished
in the top 3 per cent of half marathons,
completed 24-hour endurance challenges
and trained at the best facilities in the world.
But nothing prepared me for this.
In the final 500 metres, with Maximus
reminding me that fatigue is more mental
than physical, I reached a new level of
intensity. This was not a workout. It was a
revelation. I’ve followed his methods ever
since. They’ve changed me physically and
mentally. As a result, I can detach from the
pain and gain an edge.
Maximus has helped countless people
shatter their notion of what their “best”
could be. That’s why we wroteMaximus
Bodytogether. To give you a taste, I asked
him to reveal what’s most important to
reach peak fitness.The building in Salt Lake City was all black with no
signage. It felt like stepping into an underground
club, one where the laws of gods and men don’t
apply. Once inside,
I was immediately
overpowered by the
smell of sweat and
bleach, the screech and
thump of punk music
and the whirring of
Concept2 rowers.
Step 1:Get Your Mind Right
People who become supremely fit don’t do
secret one-of-a-kind exercises, eat “super-
foods” or take magic supplements. They just
work harder. They don’t quit or make excuses
or take shortcuts. That kind of discipline
comes from the organ between your ears, not
the muscles below them. Try these two mind-
hardening exercises.Go Green
Self-doubt poisons performance; “green-
light thoughts” are the antidote. If you catch
yourself thinking “I’m too tired” or “I need
to slow down,” reverse it by saying, “I’ve got
this” or “This is easy” or “I feel great”.
You can take it a step further. When I
was in the UFC, my sports psychologist,
Brian Cain, had me put little green stickers
over the places I frequented the most – my
car’s steering wheel, the bathroom mirror,
the fridge, the weight rack. Every time I saw
a green dot, I told myself one reason I was
going to succeed. The very next fight, I won
Submission of the Night. You can buy the
green dots at an office-supply store. Every
time you see one, tell yourself why you’ll
reach your goal.Understand the Maximus 130-Hour Rule
Fitness can seem like a journey with no end.
Here’s a different take on it: 130 hours. In my
experience, that’s all it takes to get yourself into
shape. Train hard for an hour a day, five days a
week, and you’re there in six months.Step 2:Dream Big
People often come to me with goals that are
far too easy. Their ceiling should actually be
their floor – the least they expect to achieve.
For example, if a guy tells me his goal is to
do a marathon, I tell him about Terry Fox. In
1977 Fox was diagnosed with osteosarcoma,
a rare cancer, and doctors amputated his leg.
Even with one leg, Fox wanted to run.
To him, that meant running across Canada
to raise funds for cancer research, a trek he
started in 1980. He averaged a marathon’s
worth of kilometres every day (on a real leg
and a prosthetic) until the cancer spread and
he had to stop after four-and-a-half months
and 5,373km. Still think a single marathon is
a worthwhile goal?Back squat:Twice your body weight
Deadlift:2.5 times your body weight
Front squat:1.5 times your body weight
Bench press:Your body weight for 10 reps
Turkish getup:Half your body weight
500-metre row:1 minute, 30 seconds
60-second fan bike sprint:Burn 55 calories
2000-metre row:7 minutes
2.4km run:8 minutes, 45 seconds
10km run:50 minutesARE YOU MAXIMUS FIT?
If you can attain all these fitness
metrics, you’re truly fit.Hone your body and endurance the Gym Jones way By Bobby Maximus