#166: Getting Jacked & Building an Empire with Mark Bell

Explicit content warning

05/05/17 • 92 min

When he was young and weak, Mark Bell had someone steal his football. It was a singular event that changed and shaped his entire life.

He started lifting weights the next day and soon became obsessed with the iron. A few years later he was competing in powerlifting and setting records.

That eventually led to a stint in the WWE minor league system, and the opportunity to train regularly at the infamous Westside Barbell Club in Columbus, Ohio.

When his WWE career didn’t pan out, Mark moved to back California. Not long after, he opened what has since become of the most well known, respected and strongest gyms in the world.

He now runs an incredibly successful fitness empire and is sharing his inspiring story with us here today.

Topics include:

His early days of training
Breaking into pro wrestling
Becoming friends with John Cena
Stories from Westside
The dark side of deadlifts
Training mistakes most people make
His keto diet
His current training template and goals
His favorite recovery methods
Ways to prevent injuries
How to overcome resistance
The mindset behind his success
What it takes to build an empire
His biggest influences

This episode is brought to you by Athletic Greens. With 75 ingredients working together to help with eleven different areas of health.

You never know what’s going to come up in your day; however, with just one scoop of Athletic Greens when you wake up or add it to your morning smoothie, you know you have all of your bases covered. It’s easy, and it tastes great.

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Thank you for tuning in and subscribing. I appreciate every one of you that takes the time to listen.

When he was young and weak, Mark Bell had someone steal his football. It was a singular event that changed and shaped his entire life.

He started lifting weights the next day and soon became obsessed with the iron. A few years later he was competing in powerlifting and setting records.

That eventually led to a stint in the WWE minor league system, and the opportunity to train regularly at the infamous Westside Barbell Club in Columbus, Ohio.

When his WWE career didn’t pan out, Mark moved to back California. Not long after, he opened what has since become of the most well known, respected and strongest gyms in the world.

He now runs an incredibly successful fitness empire and is sharing his inspiring story with us here today.

Topics include:

His early days of training
Breaking into pro wrestling
Becoming friends with John Cena
Stories from Westside
The dark side of deadlifts
Training mistakes most people make
His keto diet
His current training template and goals
His favorite recovery methods
Ways to prevent injuries
How to overcome resistance
The mindset behind his success
What it takes to build an empire
His biggest influences

This episode is brought to you by Athletic Greens. With 75 ingredients working together to help with eleven different areas of health.

Click HERE to receive a special offer as a listener of the podcast.

Thank you for tuning in and subscribing. I appreciate every one of you that takes the time to listen.

Previous Episode

#165: Inflammation and The Truth About Medical Marijuana: Dr. Mike Hart

Pain and inflammation can be your worst enemy when trying to get in shape.

If you’re hurting you can’t train. If it’s really bad you can’t sleep. Then things start to fall apart. So you start popping some Advil or, worse, prescription painkillers.

Unfortunately, those can be incredibly harmful, and more addictive than many party drugs.

So what other alternatives do you have? That’s what we’ll explore in this episode featuring Dr. Mike Hart.

Topics include:

What causes chronic pain and inflammation
The role diet plays
Possible benefits of a lower carb diet
Opiods vs. Canabinoids
The real truth about medical marijuana
Differences in THC and CBD
Alzheimer’s prevention
How to improve sleep
Productivity hacks
Book recommendations
And much more

This episode is brought to you by Athletic Greens. With 75 ingredients working together to help with eleven different areas of health.

Click HERE to receive a special offer as a listener of the podcast.

This episode is also brought to you by The Renegade Strength Club, one of the best ways to simplify your life is to outsource things.

Do you wanna get strong and shredded in as little as 3 hours per week? Without the usual aches and pains associated with most training programs? Then join our exclusive community in the Renegade Strength Club.

You’ll slash body fat, boost testosterone, increase energy and turn back the clock. Get the workouts, coaching, and accountability you need to build your best body ever at: www.RenegadeStrengthClub.com.

Next Episode

#167: 30 Pounds of Muscle in 30 Days?!

Is it really possible to gain 30 pounds of muscle in 30 days?

A lot of people would say that’s impossible in a year, never mind a month. But in my 30 years of weight training, I’ve seen some incredible things.

In this episode, I’m going to share some of my best-kept secrets about building muscle and gaining size as fast as humanly possible.

You’ll hear all about the evolution of the training system that made my gym famous and ranked one of the best in the country by numerous fitness mags. And, I’ll finally reveal the two key components involved in the most rapid muscle growth possible.

Topics include:

The change I made that allowed me to flip the switch on muscle growth.
The #1 mistake that prevents people from gaining size.
High reps and low weight or low reps and heavy weight? The shocking answer revealed.
The secret sauce that allowed me to turn a powerlifting program into one that built muscle at a mutant rate.
The optimal number of total work sets per workout. This will blow your mind.
The real, no BS truth about strength training studies.
The actual training program that produced a gain of 30 pounds in 30 days.
This is stuff usually reserved for paying clients, so make sure you have a notebook handy.

This episode is brought to you by Bear Mattress. Bear Mattress is designed for optimal cooling, recovery, and pain relief. That result: you can sleep better and perform your best every day. Go to bearmattress.com and use the code "Renegade" to take $50 off your purchase. Bear Mattress uses exclusive technology so you can sleep better and improve your performance. Best of all? You get a 100-night risk-free trial with no hidden charges or fees. Just remember to use the promo code "Renegade."

This episode is also brought to you by Athletic Greens. With 75 ingredients working together to help with eleven different areas of health.

Click HERE to receive a special offer as a listener of the podcast.