My conditioning only picked up in the off seasons when I planted myself at my home away from home: Golds Gym in Venice, California. My Raiders’ jersey, “Wright 66,” proudly hangs on the bottom row as a foundation for all the jerseys above. It's an honor to see it there after all the years of sweat, blood, and more than a few loads of vomit that I left in the mecca of bodybuilding.
I lived nearby in Marina del Rey, so spending two- or three-hours pumping weights every day was convenient. I loved the space with its massive open rooms, elite trainers, the widest variety of equipment, and all the local loony tunes that made it entertaining.
One of my first trainers was renowned nutritionist Dr. Phillip Goglia before he was deemed an expert in his field. He trained me, and his wife prepared all my meals. They guided me to a solid 300 lbs. that could bench press 500 lbs. and run the forty-yard dash in 4.85 seconds. With their help, I hit my prime.
I worked one body part for two hours straight once a week to tear down the fibers and then allowed them six days to build and recover. Many mornings I took one big hit of herb to help achieve the extreme focus needed for the next couple of hours of pounding weights. Phillip knew how to get results, and I had the relentless drive to follow his instructions. To be clear though, the herb was my idea. While some people smoke to get high, a hit before a gym session always worked for me.
More on this topic and others in my forthcoming memoir, Aggressively Human, to be released on all platforms in November 2023.
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