Return of the Wimp
A couple of painters, a Nurse Coordinator, an Electrical Engineer, a carpenter, a warehouse administrator, someone in finance within fund management, a hardware sales rep and a camper trailer builder. What do these people all have in common? They’ve all arrived early this Monday at Gamebred Academy to test themselves, push themselves to the limit, learn a bunch of new skills and to get fit in their pursuit of MMA glory as they prepare to step into the cage in 22 weeks.
Season 2
This is the second season of Wimp 2 Warrior in Brisbane. A program originally started by Richie Cranny in Sydney before quickly becoming a global phenomenon (expanding throughout Australia, across the ditch to the land of the long white cloud, USA and the UK). Essentially, taking everyday, average, normal human beings and through 22 weeks of intense MMA and conditioning, prepares them to be conquer mental and emotional limitations, building the warrior spirit and physique before being pitted against one of their fellow participants in what is billed as the greatest human experiment.
Return of the Wimp
I was a previous Wimp. I started Season 1 at 122kgs, nervous as all heck, worried that I was going to injure myself, get knocked out (or choked out, or even worse – get injured while getting knocked out), thought it was going to be a waste of money and thought it was too far for me to travel (and that I struggle to get out of bed at the best of times, let alone to train for face punching).
Boy was I wrong…..well mostly. I didn’t really injure myself, but it hurt. That good hurt you associate with muscles being developed and your fat screaming at you as it is slowly whipped from your aching old bones. The good hurt that reminds you that you just completed 200 straight punches, copious amounts of squats and 3 tabata sessions on the assault bike. That good hurt where you feel….alive.
Waking up at 5am in the morning for the first day, then 4am for strength and conditioning, then 5am, then rest, then 5am was quite difficult to get used to…until I decided to just wake up at 4am every day. No traffic at the time of the morning made travelling to Gamebed Academy a breeze (no need to worry about crazy traffic) and allowed me to get in a solid session of Crossfit before I did my Wimp 2 Warrior fight class (quick shower, change of clothes and scoff some apricots/dates in between and I was good to go).
But now I am back for Season 2, hanging out with the new wimps as their mentor in their journey. When times get tough, I’ll be there to try and assist in softening the blow. When they start to slacken off, I can be there to try to push them as much as they want. If they want someone to train early or train late with, I’ll be there to…point them in the direction of someone who can do that (kidding, I’ll be there to do that with them). If someone has any questions about their diet, or their technique or where to purchase some fantastic Thai food – I can assist in a couple of things (with what I know, not protesting to being an expert in anything…except where to find fantastic Thai food, I have that locked down).
Mainly though, it is a surreal moment walking back into Gamebred Academy. This fantastic little gym, run by Jason Lonergan, has seen me add another 10+ years onto my life and built the skills and confidence of a bunch of Wimps earlier this year and to come back and be a part of it again is quite humbling.
I’ve already met some great people. It seems very Ireland heavy (I think there are 3-4 from The Emerald Isle), but that just make conversation delightful (with the lilting melodic accents), then there is me – talking like a rough kiwi laced with a tough of Aussie bogan – but we all have the one thing in common. The cage.
