Another couple weeks have come and gone and the recovery process continues. After getting an operation as invasive as a hernia surgery, the recovery time can vary from person to person and can be easy or hard depending on the amount of patience a person has when dealing with things like recovery.

When you are as impatient — as I am — it becomes very difficult to “wait it out” and do what is right. But by rushing you can set your recovery back even more and delay your training longer. Which brings me to the point of this week’s column: training properly, the why’s and when’s.

We all know why we train as wrestlers. Without a decent body, in today’s market, it’s almost impossible to get a good job. I hate to say it but it’s true. And there’s volume upon volume of books on when and how to train. I get a lot of emails from guys trying to break into wrestling asking “what should I do?” and “can you tell me how to get big?” The answer to both is no. I can’t tell you because I don’t know you or what you look like, what you need or have done to this point to help you reach your goals. That is what the personal trainers at your gym are for.

Personal trainers are those wonderfully (usually) fit people you see walking around your gym, usually in a uniform shirt for said gym that says “trainer,” who help people write workouts, address dietary concerns and assess your fitness level. If you have a gym membership, which if you are trying to become a professional wrestler or any athlete for that matter you better have one, you are probably entitled to a free training session to have your fitness level evaluated. Then, if you choose, you can pay for training sessions with said trainer to get you going.

I am absolutely deluged with emails on an almost daily basis asking for “workout advice.” Now I don’t know if you have seen me but I am not in bad shape but definitely could use some more training and knowledge in the workout department. Not to mention will-power to avoid certain foods (yes I am looking at you Oreo Ice Cream). In fact I am using my time off right now to take another personal training course to expand my workout knowledge.

And to any aspiring wrestlers I would suggest doing the same or at the very least start reading magazines like Muscle and Fitness or Flex or Men’s Health to learn some basics of the exercise and nutrition world and then start to apply said knowledge yourself. Because no one is going to know you as well as you know yourself and once you have armed yourself with the knowledge needed to fight the exercise wars it will become easier than asking someone else to do it for you. You’ll be surprised at how much better you will feel about yourself when you can answer your own questions and not have to rely on others to do it for you. Motivation and dedication are another matter entirely.

With Wrestlemania fast approaching expectation starts to rise and questions are flying as to whether the next year in wrestling will be as good as the last? Will business go up? Will interest and house show attendances go up? Will story lines get better? Can a new Rock or Austin be found and, if so, will he be allowed to succeed?

With TNA moving to primetime April 13th the stage is set, not for another interpromotional war, but for at the very least competition to begin to take shape. Make no mistake, with TNA finally making primetime, it is now WWE’s direct competition. The E’s monopoly of the market for the last few years, some will say, left a huge void in the level of thought and planning that went into the writing of shows and stories. Workers became lazy and complacent knowing that they were secure in their spots as there was no competition for viewership. Now that’s all going to change.

I think back very fondly to the Monday night wars and the levels to which each side went to sway the viewers to their product. I thought the DX invasion was one of the most well done and masterful bits of TV I have ever seen. It sure as hell kept me interested! And now yes, the direct opposition of shows is not there, but the viewers will now have a barometer to gauge the other guys from and be able to choose which wrestling shows style they prefer! And I for one am very excited!! Stay tuned wrestling fans as thing are “about to heat up!”

On a personal note I will no longer be associated with AWE out of Winnipeg. I will not be on any of their shows or in any of their merchandise. There’s a certain level of respect and professionalism that I expect from any company, be it indy or big league, and AWE failed miserably to live up to that level. I feel terrible for a lot of the guys who are forced by geography to have to continue to work there. I hope they can all pull their act together and make a run at it as more places to work steadily are always a good thing; but as long as they are run by the same people and business is done the same way, I won’t be part of it. Good luck to the boys who work there. AWE’s March 11th show is cancelled.

As of April, I will be back in Windsor, Ontario and am accepting indy bookings again for late March and April as I will be medically cleared by the 24th. Make sure you are supporting your local indies fans and keeping the business alive! Without fan support guys like me are nothing. Take care and be safe.

Devine

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