Special Guest Doug Connor

Count money, man.

Money that bridges.

I'm trying to told him I'm a beast.

But what's up gang?

Welcome to another episode of the grind.

Get ready.

It's a new day.

We got big permanent house.

We got big dog Connor in the house.

My dog, professional bodybuilder, just big as hell up and here, just him and Perm together.

I'm not just bloated floor out over here.

Well, I'm not a pro yet.

Hopefully in a couple weeks I go from my pro card.

All right.

You look like you already there, dog.

I appreciate it.

That means a lot coming from you, man.

So I graciously and humbly appreciate it.

Which you, which, man, you are about the same height.

What do you 5'8, 5'6?

5'6.

5'6?

Okay.

So yeah, we definitely the same height.

I try to stretch it to 5'7.

Yeah, I tell people I'm 5'8.

But I'm not.

How much you win?

You look like you got to be at least 220.

No, actually I stood on the scale this morning.

I sent my coach, Texas, just 205.8 this morning.

205.

205.

No fact.

Just a rock.

Yeah, yeah.

Just yoked up over here.

So we try to get the juice.

We try to get the juice from you.

But first, why don't you, it's crazy, man.

How we're still in this situation, man.

I always had a bunch of love for Doug.

And I feel like he did me as well.

We had a strong connection.

One of the, probably first 20, 30 people I met in the city

of Pittsburgh when I moved to Pittsburgh over 12 years ago

was Doug.

So why don't you explain how we met.

Man, it's funny, man.

I told them, right, before you came in,

you gave me my interview at the Panera Bread and Menrovil

for the job.

So that means I didn't even have an office here.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And in Menrovil, I was doing the interviews at the all of the end.

And I was standing over there in Menrovil.

Yep.

Wow, Doug.

From the very beginning, man.

And you were very genuine, humble.

And you just had that fire.

I mean, from the first moment I met you,

I believed in everything you were doing.

And I wanted to be a part of it.

And I don't know if you remember, man,

it was a long process at first.

I was one of those people who was struggling to pass that exam.

We all were.

We all were.

I took it about nine times.

Oh, man.

I took it like nine times.

That's why you were beast.

Yes, I appreciate it, man.

But you know, you hung in there with me.

And I made it through and hit the ground running, man.

Once I started working with you, man.

And it was extremely fun.

And up until that time point, that was the longest job I had.

I had held up until that point.

Because a lot of things I was going through at that time.

And yeah, man, you've been very influential in my life.

I mean, I've learned things from you

that I don't think you knew you were teaching me back then.

Your mindset 12 years ago was supreme beyond anything

I had ever met at that time in my life.

Most, most guys at my age around that time, you know,

like I always tell people, my 20s was a blur

because I didn't take a lot of things serious.

But you were a different breed.

And I watched you and I soaked things up like a sponge, you know.

And unfortunately, my trouble was caught up to me.

And I wasn't able to keep up with the job after about a year.

I made convention, which was dope.

We went to Cali that year.

That was fun.

You know, and then we had a,

unfortunately, last touch.

And I went down another, another little dark road,

but a lot of the things that I learned from you were just jewels, man.

I mean, just the, the one thing that I remember from you were

in the same thing with, with Norm.

You listen to positive affirmations in the morning.

You used to always talk about Zig Zigler, Rob and Sherman.

And I used to think Norm was a little weird

when he would pick me up at five in the morning.

And he wouldn't have no music on.

He'd have on Rob and Sherman zig Zigler.

And I said, man, put some music on.

He'd be like, nah, man, we got to get the day started.

We got to get some, you know, get our juices flowing.

So, you know, learning stuff from like that from him.

And then I'll never forget that day.

I came into the office early in the morning to file paperwork.

And you had just came from the gym.

You were stopping through the office in the morning.

And I remember thinking to myself, like, why is he sweating?

And in the office this early in the morning, what's that?

Oh, it was probably about close to seven in the morning.

And I asked him, I'm like, what are you doing?

Like, because in my mind, he's got everything.

Right.

He's got the car, the money, the agency.

I'm looking at him like, he made it.

You know what I mean?

So, and I'm like, man, what are you doing?

Where are you coming from?

He's like, I'm just coming from the gym.

Stop and pass the office to take care of some things

before he went back home to change and come back.

And I asked him and I'm like, for what?

Where are you doing at the gym that early in the morning?

And he was like, you know, I like to work out.

It gets me going.

And I remember saying, I'm like, but you, you're rich.

And he was like, not where I want to be.

Not stuck with me for a long time after that.

And when I wasn't able to continue working with you anymore,

I just remember being in a rut.

And what I learned from you and from norm was,

right before my daughter was born,

I knew I needed a change and it started with,

get up in the morning, rep, pray, work out.

And I learned that from you.

And that changed my life.

So, for you to reach out to me and me to be here today

is phenomenal.

Man, I was so excited though.

You know what I mean?

It's, you know, it's, me and you have such a good connection.

You know, when you were here,

I just loved just spirit, man.

It was something that, no matter what you did,

I was always going to feel that same connection.

So, you know, it's all this time I've been in Pittsburgh

since then, it's been over 10 years.

I've probably only bumped into you two times,

a couple of times, you know, out in person.

And it's always been handshake and hug.

It's always been love.

And then, you know, I've been following you

on Instagram, bro, and seeing how,

just how big you're getting,

I've watched the transformation,

like you've watched my transformation differently.

You know what I'm saying?

I wish I could borrow those.

Clap the muscles on real quick.

You know what I'm saying?

Look good, man.

I'm trying, but not like you, brother.

You said the bar high, man.

I appreciate it.

But I've watched your transformation.

You know what I mean?

You didn't always look like this.

This didn't happen overnight.

You know what I'm saying?

Yeah, yeah.

This didn't happen overnight.

No.

You know what I'm saying?

So I watched the process,

and I just, I love the process, bro.

And success, I just admire people that are doing things

at a high level because I know what it takes

to do things at a high level,

regardless of what it is.

So I'm a fan of boxing.

I'm a fan of professional mixed martial arts.

I'm a fan of, I've been in Jiu-Jitsu forever.

You know, I've been doing this for 11 years now.

But I mean, I'm a fan of bodybuilding.

I'm a fan of, like whenever I see Patrick Mahomes sign

a big contract, I see, man, that dude must have had a grind.

That dude must have came.

He brought his team back in the second half

of the Super Bowl.

Can you come back from being down in life?

That's a fact.

Can you respond with things aren't positive?

You know, it's easy to see the money,

but it's not easy to see, or it's easy to see the muscles,

and not see the process.

And so, man, I've just been rooting for the process

with you, and I'm seeing you, and it's like, man,

you look great, and I watch you help people.

I've watched people, this is what I told you,

when I talk to you, man, I said,

what I'm impressed with, what I love is the people

that you train in.

He's developing women.

Man, I'm watching them developing,

and I'm seeing these people now,

just like people will watch me making.

And now you see people that I'm developing,

I'm watching him do it, and I'm watching him

help a lot of other people, man, in your words,

are saying the right things.

So, it's like, I know you're in the right place right now,

and I'm rooting for you, man.

You know what I mean?

I'm like, man, I gotta get my dude dug up here,

and see what's happening at the grind.

I can't.

Man, that's dope, man.

And you talk about the process,

and it's so interesting that you talk about that,

because I just had to make a post about it,

and I always have to remind people, right?

Everybody sees the end result.

Correct.

Nobody sees the process.

Correct.

And you don't see me getting up at 3.30 in the morning.

3.30.

Go do my cardio before work.

Right.

So, cardio, work.

Or work.

Let's train.

Work.

I have kids.

My son plays baseball, football,

my daughter plays soccer, baseball.

So, you know, it's like everybody doesn't see the process

and what it takes.

Right.

And, you know, the consistency that you need to have, man.

And it's very gratifying to hear someone like yourself

speak of the process,

because I always tell people,

if you can fall in love with the process,

the results come.

It's there is no way they don't come,

because you're embracing the hard stuff.

Right.

You know, so when you, yes, what comes with it,

you know what I mean?

Because, you know, you separate yourself,

because nobody wants to do it.

No one is doing the hard stuff.

My favorite thing is to tell people,

I'm gonna do what you don't wanna do.

You don't wanna get up at 3.30, I will.

I'm there.

I'm be there.

You don't wanna do 20 reps on the squats?

I'ma do it.

I know you're doing it.

Because you don't wanna do it, I'ma do it.

You know what I mean?

So, I love that part of bodybuilding.

And that's pretty much what it gave me

what I lacked was that structure, that discipline,

setting goals, that's like my thing.

Now I always say it's still hunting season.

And that just pretty much means that, you know,

predators are always on the hunt.

You know, once you attain one goal, you enjoy it,

but then you set your site on another goal.

Amen.

And you go right after another one.

And you get that one and you go after another one.

Because if you wanna eat, you gotta go get it.

You can't sit back.

Ain't nobody, you're gonna sit back and wait

for somebody to bring you something.

You could be sitting for forever.

You could be sitting.

So if you wanna eat, you gotta go out there

and you gotta grind.

And that's why one of my sayings is it's hunting season.

I'm always on the hunt.

And I embrace that and I try to give that to other people.

You know, that mindset and that mentality.

Because that's like, those things separate you

from other people.

It's not that it's a competition, but at the end of the day,

if you want what you want, that's right.

You want something, you gotta make it happen.

So how long have you all known each other since you say

from back dance and when you started, how old were you?

Shhh.

And I was 24.

So I was 23.

23 years old.

Yeah, cause he's a year older than me.

So you were this big at 23?

No, I was, I was, I was, at that time, I was overweight.

Overweight.

Oh yeah, man.

If you see one of my, if you, it's funny,

cause I show people my pictures.

From back then, man, and people be like, that's you.

I have a comment.

Do you remember when I commented to one time on an old school

picture?

Do you really?

Yeah, it was, it was, it was one of my pictures that I posted

from Cali, cause we were in, before and after.

Yeah, we weren't, we were in, I was on the beach.

I remember my wife at the time.

We were on the beach in California for convention.

Okay.

And I said, take a picture.

She said, take your wife, Peter, off I say,

no, no, no, why?

23.

Yeah, I was like, nah, I'm not taking my wife, Peter, off.

I, you know, I wasn't happy.

Big one, then back then.

I wasn't happy with myself at the time.

I also, at that time, I was very good at masking,

making people think I was happy when I wasn't.

And I'm asking a shield over yourself.

Yeah, I was really good at that because, you know,

that's one of the reasons why Simon means a lot to me

because at a period in my life where I really needed something.

He came in and he gave me an opportunity that I needed.

You know, I couldn't get a job at that time

that did background checks because of,

you had some things.

I got, I got expelled from college.

I got expelled from college twice in my senior year.

What was you doing?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

No, no, it's okay.

I mean, you know, when you're young, you're not eaves,

you know, you get yourself into things that, you know,

I would never change it.

Those things made me who I am.

I think that I had to go through those things for one in order for me

to become a better man, but also so that my children don't go through those things.

You know, I'll be able to have conversations with my son before he goes off to college.

Basically, let him know if you're doing anything,

a pose, I'm breaking you in half.

You're going to beg them to call the police.

You know, I don't call my dad.

That's what it takes.

Because my dad going to kill me.

Call the police.

Because I go with them.

I'm not going to go with him.

Yeah.

You know, so you see him?

No, I ain't going with him.

But you know, I read, he stuck his neck out on the line for me.

You know, didn't know me, didn't know me.

I'm sorry, man.

Didn't know me.

And stuck his neck out on the line for you.

And was like, I want you here.

Was very positive with me when I kept failing the test.

He wasn't like, you know, he never got down on me.

And I always wanted to make him proud.

So when I came on and I started working with him, you know, I took pride in trying to

make him proud.

You know, I remember for that first show, I ain't touch a lead.

No, touch a lead.

You didn't want to crush and referrals.

Yeah, just yelling it.

And it's like, it's so funny.

Because I can vividly remember these things on how the stuff that he used to teach me when

you go into a house, how you know, how you carry yourself, how you speak, you know,

being positive.

You know, putting out those positive vibrations and just having control and always thinking,

you know, I want to mix that, right?

Yeah, I've, I mean, the, the things that I've learned from him are just beyond.

amazing because it's it's just him, you know,

enough about me. Tell me, tell me this. Tell me that what,

what do you think, you know, being that, you know, and it's,

it's so what does it take to be a pro? You know, you said,

what are you going to get it? You feel like you're going to get

your pro card? Yeah, actually qualified. I last,

last month, well, this month at the beginning of the month,

I went down to Georgia and I won the Georgia championship.

I beat Mr. Georgia down in Atlanta, Georgia for the NPC

championships. I qualified for nationals. I have to win the

national competition to earn my pro card. And then I'll be a

professional bodybuilder. And then I'll be able to compete for

money if, if I decide to, I'm not really interested in

competing as a, as a professional bodybuilder. I'm more or

less want to become a fitness mogul. I love training people.

I love helping people stay in your lane, bro. Yeah. And I

don't really, you know, you already is a pro. I mean, it shows,

you know, I'm saying like, if this ain't a pro, I don't know

what is. I mean, yeah, because you're the main. I've been at it

for a long time. And I know some shit. I know my shit on

fitness. Right. And what it takes. And even though you

younger than me, we ain't no spring chicken. So I know what

that requires, man, the amount of work. And so, you know,

what do you think? And when you talk about training people,

what some of the success stories you've had, that means you

probably had a bunch of people that said they wanted to do it.

And then they fell off. Okay, probably more often than that.

Right. Because because it sounds good. And it looks good.

Until you see the work that it takes to put in to build some

stuff like this. Okay, and the stuff you got to eat the

sacrifice, the sacrifices, the stuff that nobody wants to do

to win. What do you think separates the people that have made

it, you know, that you've developed in and trained or even

yourself in this world? And people that haven't. Their mindset

and learning how to trick the mind to not make excuses to not

do something, but make excuses to do them, right? Some people

will ask me how to do something. And I'll tell them and

they'll tell me they can't. Oh, instead of figuring out how to do

it. Because that is everything everything in life is not I can.

Exactly. How can I? How can I figure out how to do it? Come on.

There is a way, but sometimes it requires a sacrifice, right?

It's like in my situation. And that's one of the reasons why I

kind of can't really sympathize with some people when they tell

me they can't, when they like, if I say, you know, you need to do

faster cardio in the morning and they say, I got to be to work at

eight o'clock. And I can't get up that early. And I'm like, well,

I got to be to work at six o'clock. And I do it. So I don't get how

you can't get up and do faster cardio. You don't have to be to

work to eight o'clock. You know, and that's the difference is

the mindset. Some people you come to them with the challenge.

And they automatically mentally defeat themselves. They tell

themselves, they can't do it. Instead of, okay, how can I do that?

You know what? I'm a figure of how can I don't have to be to work

to eight. So I can actually get up at five. I can make sure I'm at

the gym by six. I could do my faster cardio. Still have enough

time to shower and make it to work by eight o'clock. I mean, to

me, it's simple. But to some other people, it exactly, it does

require discipline. And the sacrifice, you know, some people want

to stay up to one, two o'clock in the morning, watch television.

You know, so you have to make that sacrifice, you know, I need to go

to bed. I need to get my rest. So I can't stay up and watch television

till one o'clock, two o'clock in the morning. I need to make sure I'm in

bed by 10 so I can make sure I get up in the morning and I do my

cardio. All I notice is your forearm's going back and forth.

My Jesus. Bam. Bam. It's just so big. I mean, they're just so big.

Go ahead. Sorry. No, no, no, it's all good. But I mean, you know, just

as well as I know, and that's one of the things that you always used to

talk about too, is you pay attention to people's mindsets, right?

How do you? How do you respond to things when they happen? You

know, um, are you going to, I was just talking about, or are you going

to figure out how to get what you want? Or are you just going to say, I

can't, you know, it's easy to say I can't. And it's, it's funny because

my coach just told me how proud of me he was because when the pandemic

hit a lot of bodybuilders quit. A lot of a lot of a lot of people quit.

Yeah, a lot of people were just like, you know, I'm just wait till 2021

and I'm real aino about when I start something, I have to finish.

Find a way. I don't know how to stop. I don't know how to quit. You know,

and there was a period where all the gyms were closed and my coach,

no, buddy, he had weights in his garage. I'm like, I'll meet you there.

Absolutely. Are we going to lift in the garage? We're going to live

somewhere and I stayed on my diet. And you wear a mask?

Sometimes, sometimes I wore a mask.

Yeah, no, but I mean, and for me, that just is something that

like you said, that's what separates people, right? And my mind, the pandemic hit,

I could have said, you know what, I'll just wait till 2021. I saw, I saw

opportunity. I told people in March, 2020 still my, yet, 2024, my year,

I don't know about everybody else, but 2020 still my year.

Those are the moments like in any time there's an opportunity for people to

drop off. That's when you got to step it up. You know what I'm saying?

Like a pandemic like this or something like that. Yeah, that's, that's just

another chance for you to separate from people that don't want to do something

and they want to say they can't. Like you're saying. That's right.

Instead of finding a way, there's always a way. You know, I read the book

relentless by Tim Grover, Michael Jordan's trainer. And he talks about the

mindset of Michael Jordan, Kobe, Brian, a lot. And it's so funny because you

can, you can cleaners. Yes, cleaners. And you can, there are some people,

right? Who counted Kobe out after he tore his Achilles? The defining moment,

he talks about it in the book, where separates Kobe from everybody else, he

tore it, got up, shot his free throws, made him and walked off the court.

That right there, he didn't give in to the, the bad circumstances.

No, he embraced it. Yeah. Instead of saying, you know what? Come help me off the

court. He said, because his mindset is so superior to like that yesterday,

bro, I ran into a seatbelt buck on ripped a hole in my, it was just like 7 30 am

in the morning. I didn't make it home to seven.

Real talk. Yeah. Just with bandages. He got a hole in his leg like this.

Yes, she's like, yeah, see, he just kept it pushing. Yeah, just kept going.

Like, bro, you need stitches. You look like you got shot.

No, that's crazy. That's crazy. But I mean, it's, it's like, it's similar,

like reading books like that where you learn about people who have a mindset of,

so reading books even helps you when you lift it. Oh my God.

It's warm buff. It's a bodybuilder.

Warm buff is says that you can learn from other people's mistakes and other people

put their mistakes in books.

You know, if you want to learn how to do something, read a book.

There's another book called Mind and Body Masteries, one of my favorite books.

And it talks. It's a, a gymnast wrote, I can't remember his name on top of my head,

but a gymnast wrote it and he talks about having power over your mind.

You, you, you can create things and you can do things that you never thought that you could do

by believing in yourself and having control of your mind.

And it's so true, bro. Oh, man, it's like, you know it.

The, the, the mental jewels you get from books are just so much as mental.

So much of life is mental. I think people don't realize it.

I gotta ask how long have you been growing that man? Oh, come on.

It looked like it's really long nine years. I cut my hair the day before we went to

Cali. Yep. Remember I came to the airport so nine years. He had before.

Yeah. Yeah. My daughter's nine and, um, before nine years.

Yeah. My daughter's eating man, what animals, what rocks? Oh, man, I eat oxes.

I eat, um, because that's just like real us.

But you said that she was fat. Oh, yeah. Yeah. No, not a little bit.

I was, I was, I was, I told her me look like he was a goodie mom. Yeah.

And then when I cut my hair, I look so your hair was short back then.

No, I had, I had locks when I was working with Simon. Then he cut it before

convention. Yeah, I cut it before convention. Clean cut it all the way down.

Yep. All the way down. And then about a year later, I started to grow him back.

Um, I felt like my hair was my strength. I felt like Samson, bro.

I said, just go ahead. I didn't feel right after I cut my hair.

Um, and then it definitely was the same. You know,

what was the same was like man, this ain't this ain't my head looked small.

My body was big. Yeah, I was like, I never did.

Why? Yeah. Yeah. Um, and, and, um, I've been growing my hair ever since, um,

and, um, yeah, about, I said, probably about 10 years now, my daughter's nine.

So because you don't start locking into the, about, oh, it's pretty long.

Goes down to the back, past the middle of my back now.

How are you still lifting this heavy at this age? Um, I think I feel like I take good care of

myself. Yeah. I, I think it's my style of training. Um, the way bodybuilders lift and one

thing I learned from my coaches is, um, we, we, we preserve the, the muscles for the one lift.

Right. So I'll warm up to a top set and that's the set I give my all.

And it's typically something heavy and I push for as many, as many times as I could do.

It's, it's funny. So a good warm up. Yeah. Nice, nice good warm up.

I would say, um, I typically do about three or four warm ups sets to get me up to my top set.

Like, say for instance, um, like if I'm squatting, um, I warm up to about four ninety five.

And then I'll do four ninety five. Um, so you squat and perm, basically.

Let's try it out. Come on. Yeah. I'll do that. Really. It's a new day. So it's on my, and my warm up

sets, I'm gonna be your last squat. What happened? Uh, we're doing on the toe.

Perm was around and making. I don't know. Yeah. But you know, I, um, I'll do that. And then I'll

push for as many reps as I can. The most I did four ninety five is 12 times. And then I'll do a

back down set, right? So the heavy set is what, um, basically you're breaking up the muscle fibers

with the heavy weight to, to build the muscle. Um, how many reps? Uh, ball anything from nine to 12.

Okay. And then I'll do a back down set, which is the set that forces more blood into the muscle.

So my back down sets is normally four or five for 20. So I'll do a set. Very next set. Yeah,

the very next set. So you're going 10 to 20. Yep. Back it down the weight. And then I'll push for more

reps. And it just forces blood into the muscles like no other. I remember my first time training with

my coach. I thought I was going to die. And it was in when he sent me the workout. I'm like, this

is easy. I'm only going to do two sets, basically. But when you're doing it, it's not as easy as

it is. No, not at all. That's what you got to do it. Yeah. Cause and other people when other people

come and train with me, when I, you know, my clients and I write them, um, their, uh, their programs,

depending on whatever their fitness goals are, you know, they always tell me it doesn't look

challenging. But then when they, when they get in the gym and they start doing it, it's extremely

challenging. I didn't think about that dog. Yeah. No. I mean, you know, um, my cousin is puke, uh,

he puke the last time we did. I can do it. Come on. Come on. Yeah. Just do it, man. Ain't

hard. You know, I mean, I'm sorry. I just, what are you doing to recover? Um, recovery comes with

a food and sleep food. Like what's that? But food? Well, you go up at three 30. Yeah. So I make

sure, uh, I try to get a nap during the day at some point. Okay. Um, cause I worked, yeah. I

worked the swing shift. So try to get, so I get like four hours off. And then I'll go train, um,

I'll eat and I'll go home and find, get me like a good hour or not. That, that's pretty much

good for me. And I always try to make sure I'm in bed by 10, 10, 30. Only time is later than

that as if my kids got like a baseball game or something like that. So you get five. Yeah.

And then you'll get another hour nap. Mm-hmm. Typically. I mean, and then on a day where I don't

have to work, I'll sleep like like today. I don't have a day or something or year off. I'll sleep

until I can't get up until I can't sleep anymore. And I'll get up, uh, do my fast cardio.

Cause that was also another thing that I'm, but I tell cats, I do, I'm, I'm big on trying to

get sleep. You know, in the mean six to eight hours, try to get eight. Yeah. But, but I've told

people when they've asked me the same questions of, of, of, I may need to go on a two or three day run,

where I'm not getting eight. I might be getting five, six. And then I'll sleep till nine. Yeah.

You know what I mean? And get and go ahead and get me from, from 10 to nine,

yeah. 11 hours. Yeah. Sleep and catch up a day or two. You know what I mean? And it helps. You

know, I always explain to, um, a lot of my clients is funny. My homegirl, Pashaun, who I've been

training, she's like an energizer bunny, right? And some people when they get into the fitness,

under fitness journey, they, they can't stop. And then most people don't realize how important

rest is. You have to have it. You have to give your, that's where the muscles grow when you're sleeping.

When you're in the gym, you're breaking the muscles down, breaking them down. So when you eat all

of the nutrients that you're getting from your food is going into the bloodstream and it's going

into the muscles when you're training and you get your pump, that's what's going into the muscles.

So when you're not training and you're sleeping and you're resting, that's when the muscles are

repaired. So sleep is professional bodybuilders who just, who just bodybuild, they sleep, they wake up,

eat, train, sleep, eat, train, sleep. They take two, three naps a day. What do you eat?

Obsessed. Yeah.

I ate lots of lean meats, chicken, turkey, ground beef, sometimes ground turkey.

And also I know what you mean.

A lot of people don't really understand the importance of food though, right?

I always tell people, if you spend $200 on supplements and you don't spend $200 on your

food, you're doing it backwards.

Because and I tell people this all the time.

I talk about it in my story.

It doesn't matter what kind of supplements you take, it doesn't matter what kind of drugs

you take.

If you're not getting the primary source of protein from your food, I know dudes on

the juice that don't grow.

They don't even look like they on it.

I swear to God, they then they take everything and I'll be like, look, they do like your money.

But yeah, because essentially your primary source of protein has to be your meats if you

eat meat.

If you're vegan then also you have other sources of protein that vegans get right.

But one thing that other people don't really understand what bodybuilders do is carbs

aren't bad.

Depends on what kind of carbs you eat, right?

Your complex carbs, I call them your fat burning carbs.

They're low in fat.

Every client I've given a meal plan to, they always say, this is too much food.

But what they don't understand is you're not eating the bag of Doritos.

That's giving you 40 grams of carbs and 40 grams of fat.

You're going to eat the re-epitados or you're going to eat the oats and your rice.

That's going to give you 30, 45 grams of carbs, 0.5 grams of fat.

So as long as you're not putting cheese and sour cream and you're not doing all of that extra

stuff to put fat on it.

People kill it.

That don't really know about health.

That are trying to eat healthy.

Don't get chicken and brown rice.

And then they'll eat cheese and sour cream and that and just pound on it.

You just added tons of fat.

I mean, and that's pretty much the main thing that I've learned when it comes to dieting

is is you want to get your protein, your carbs and fats.

Like most bodybuilders we eat and call, it's called macro nutrients.

So we want to make sure we're getting a proper amount of protein per day, the proper amount

of carbs and the proper amount of fats because your body does need fats.

Your body does need sugars.

But it's about spreading it out throughout the day and using food as fuel.

Some people and also teaching people different body types, right?

Like I'm not, I'm naturally, I'm a fat kid at heart, right?

So if I don't control, but if I don't control, you're like a twinkie.

You want it to be like, oh man, I'm sweet.

Oh, don't put them donuts in front of me or none of that stuff.

So for me and my off season, I've learned that I have to be more disciplined and not eating

too much of the best of cause I'm not getting too much weight because I'm, I'm naturally a

bigger person.

So I can't eat like a guy who's naturally a smaller person and he can eat, you know, he

can eat a whole case of Oreos and it don't really affect them.

Nobody can't do that.

I'm one that can't do that.

And I learned that just this past off season, it's funny because my coach was explaining

to me that same very thing because last year my waist was too blocky.

So this year we worked on being more strict with my diet in my off season so that my

waist doesn't expand while I'm eating, overeating my good foods.

And when I do my cut, my waist slams down.

And you can see a huge, huge difference in my waist from last year to this year.

So you're like, in just what?

And what was the difference?

Not eating too much of, not eating a whole pack of Oreos and Doritos and stuff like that

because when I'm in, when I'm in my off season, what do you do for, did you have any cheats

or something?

Yeah, it's so when how often it's more organized.

My cheat meals in my off season have been, I'll get three cheat meals a week and I always

do a cheat meal on leg day because you exhort the most energy on leg day.

Always on back day because back is kind of like a weak point for me.

So I want to make sure I give my body those extra calories, those extra fats and stuff

on on a back day.

And then I rotate it on a chest day or a shoulder day or sometimes.

So two or three cheat meals a week.

Three cheat meals a week.

A week.

What would that meal be?

Is it any whole pizza?

Whatever I want and also I'll get my cravings out, right?

Like I love cookies and Oreos.

Yeah, Oreos my favorite.

Listen, I got a pantry in my house.

You need a screen dog or no ice cream.

Can you eat ice cream?

Yeah.

Okay.

All right.

So have you been to Handles?

No.

I've been to there.

I've never been to Heats.

I'm telling you.

I've never been to Handles.

I've never been there.

Heats are good.

Yeah.

I've got you.

I've got you.

I've got you.

I've got you.

You need it.

Um, how do I?

Okay.

This is how I explain it to people.

You know how when you make a cake, right?

You need all of the ingredients.

You need your flour.

You need your right.

That's your food.

The supplements is just the cherry on top of the cake, right?

You don't need it, but it'll make it look a little bit better.

You know, uh, the most important supplements that I always tell people Protein Powder

right.

It's a supplement, right?

This is a lot of mistakes that a lot of my clients make and I always have to correct

them, right?

powder shouldn't be your primary source of protein.

This is supplement, right?

So let's just say me, me, in general, right?

If I need to get 200 grams of protein in a day, right?

I want to make sure that I at least can get 175 grams

of that in my food.

So the extra 25 grams will come from my protein.

Okay, right?

So one small shake.

One small shake, depending on your fitness goals,

you know what I mean?

For me, I'll typically get about 40, maybe 50 grams

of protein in my shakes.

I'll do one and a half scoop, two scoops.

One shake.

Yeah, one shake.

Everything else got to come from food.

Everything else got to come from food.

Because you know, you can't really,

how do I want to put it?

You have to eat, you can't drink protein in shakes all day.

So you got to eat the food.

You know what I'm saying?

And it's same thing with the carbs.

Another supplement that I love.

And shout out to Axon Sledge.

That's my sponsor company.

Shout out to Seth Feroci,

which has also been mind blowing.

I'm not a professional and I'm a sponsor athlete

with a big time bodybuilding company

and their supplements are amazing.

Simply because Seth is a professional bodybuilder.

And before he started his company,

he was real big on supplement reviews.

And he would, there's a lot of supplements out there

that really just aren't really that good.

There's lots of fillers and things in them.

Seth and the guys that he works with,

they make sure that they put out good high quality products.

I also love branching amino acids, BCAAs,

also known as aminos.

Those are good for muscle endurance and recovery.

I use that intro workout.

So when I'm training, I'll have a cup of BCAAs.

There's also carb powder.

And the Axon Sledge brand has it is called Demo Day.

So I'll mix scuba Demo Day and some BCAAs together

because it's together.

The way carbs work is, it's like the Demo Day

and like a white rice is high glycemic, right?

So it gets into the bloodstream really fast,

which is what you want right after you're done training

because your blood is going into the muscle.

So it helps flush the nutrients and stuff

into the muscles for muscle growth.

So I like BCAAs.

I do use a fat burner,

but I only use a fat burner when I'm cutting.

If I'm not cutting, wait, there's no reason

to use a fat burner at all.

And I always tell people supplements

or like, you know, what's the word I'm looking for?

Personal preference.

You know, I know guys that don't use supplements,

Aaron Donald.

I had the opportunity to meet Aaron Donald last year

and train with him.

Actually became a really good friend of mine,

which was also phenomenal.

I can't even believe that that even happened, you know what I mean?

But he's somebody who doesn't use supplements.

He eats like a body builder, literally.

And you can tell the way he performs

because he eats for fuel

and he doesn't have to be as strict

because he's not trying to be at a certain body fat.

Yeah, he's not, he eats for performance.

So he can train at the highest level.

He can compete at the highest level.

That is something, right?

Any lead athlete, just this past year, he was ranked third,

but last year he was rated the best football player

in the NFL and spending time with him,

training with him and being able to talk to him

and see how he eats.

He separates himself from people by his daily habits

in the way he eats.

Like everybody else.

Yeah, the way he trains, you know,

a lot of professional athletes are just extremely talented

and they're able to make it.

But what separates the people who make it

and the people who become elite, 100% are the things

that they do once they get there.

Some people are just like, oh, I made it and then they're cool.

Some people get there like you, you got to,

you got your agency and you didn't feel like you made it.

I could take my foot off the break.

You was like, nope, I'm pushing the pedal to the metal

and we gonna keep going until I can't go no more.

And not is the difference between people like yourself,

Aaron Donald, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan.

I mean, you name any, any elite athlete.

That's why we love sports, right?

Because a lot of things that we learn

and sports transition in everyday life.

That's why I love bodybuilding.

It gives you confidence in yourself.

You, it's difficult for people to tell you can't do something.

Like, I can't what?

You learn to control your mind.

Tell me I can't do it.

Tell me I can't do something, you gonna watch me do it.

And I'm not gonna brag about it neither.

I'm just gonna do it.

And I'm gonna thank you for telling me I couldn't do it.

So now you've been training people, right?

And how long you've been training people now?

Oh, I've been certified now for the past four years,

but I've really been training people to pass too.

I love it.

I always tell people I'm not everybody's cup of tea.

So I kinda like to, I don't promote myself as training

and what's been happening lately is what's been kind of

exactly.

It just happens because real recognize, real, it'll happen.

Exactly.

Some people reach out to me.

It's like everybody who trains with me

and everybody who I train has reached out to me.

And there were also people who I would see

who really train and really work.

You know, so it's amazing that I train

and I've been attracted everything that's going on.

And especially in particular with women

because I'm a real big advocate and women who weight train

because a lot of women think that

and a lot of guys tell women not to weight train

because they'll look like men and that's so bogus.

And I always tell women, if as long as you're not taking

PEDs, you'll never look like a man.

It's impossible.

You don't have testosterone to look like a man.

Weight training does for women is it helps them enhance

their natural curves.

A woman can try to be the strongest woman in the world.

If she's not taking drugs, she's not going to look like a man.

So that's one of the reasons why I love all of the women

not trained with me because they train like a body builder.

They eat like a body builder and everybody's watching.

These ladies and then also the guys that train with me,

when am I training partners?

He's also a bus operator for a poor authority.

And it's so amazing when we go in the work, man.

That's what he does, right?

You drive the bus.

Yep, yep, I drive the bus.

And I just recently, I started training just this past week

for a promotion at my job to be a dispatcher.

So if everything goes right and I pass this course,

I won't drive the bus tomorrow, I'll be a dispatcher.

I'll be a first line supervisor, which would allow me

and give me more time to train people

in my ultimate course.

Yeah, cool bus driver dog.

Most of the time.

I would have loved to send you as a lot.

I'd have jumped on the bus bus.

I'm taking it right down.

Let me get right, Doug stop.

I got $3, no need for me.

You know what, and I was always, I'm a real laid back kind of guy.

And I was never the bus driver to, yeah, about money.

I never really care.

Look at you, like paid.

Yeah, yeah, I never was when to get in and out.

But my ultimate goal is for me to have my own training facility, man.

I really love to train people, especially to youth and kids.

I'm just a firm believer in helping people

become better versions of themselves.

Amen.

Truth.

I've found my niche and to be able to help people

and give them confidence.

You know, it's funny watching my kids.

I mean, my daughter is a pretty little girl,

but she is fiery and competitive.

You know, so, and I know she gets it from watching me.

You know how your kids watch everything you do.

You know, you know, you get up at what time.

Like walk me through a day.

Get up at 3.30 in the morning, brush my teeth,

get my stuff ready to go to the gym.

I'm on the stair master, no later than five o'clock, sometimes 4.30.

I walk on the stair master for about 45 minutes,

just depending on wherever I'm at in my prep shower.

I go to work when I was driving, I would work from 6 to 10.

Then I was in the gym by 10.30, weight training.

And then once I'm done weight training,

go home, eat, take a nap, get up, go back to work

because I work display shifts.

And I would work from about 2 to 6.

And then depending on however the rest of my day went,

you know, if my kids had an event or something going on,

I, you know, would make sure I make it to my kids' games

or something like that.

And if not, I'd go home, relax with the family, eat

and get ready for my next day.

Love it.

No excuses.

None.

You keep on inspiring me, man.

Keep on inspiring other people, man.

Like I told you, I was just rooting for you.

I'll just continue to root for you and you're killing it.

I appreciate it.

I can just tell you're killing it.

Not just in what I can see, but I can just feel it.

I can feel that you got momentum right now in your life

and keep it pumping.

And I got your back.

I want to see how could other people follow you

to see you in them little red draws that you want.

Yeah.

You know what I'm talking about?

You could follow me on Instagram, Duggy Flex Fit.

You could follow me on Twitter, Duggy Flex Fit

and also on Facebook, if anybody has a Facebook,

Doug Connor Jr.

And I do my best to connect with the people, give out tips,

anything, any way I can help.

You know?

I just talked about it earlier today, man.

You know, everything that's been happening to me,

I'm not even trying for those things to happen.

What I'm trying to do is to work my butt off

and help other people.

That's my main goal.

That's what works.

That's what happens.

Yeah, that's it.

In the zone.

I love it, man.

Thank you for joining me in Big Harm over here

on the Grandcast.

Thanks for listening to another episode of The Grandcast.

Get ready, it's a new day.

Help money, man.

Money, man.

That gritts us.

I'm trying to talk to my mom, Beast Bud.