Bodybuilders are often seen as simple minded creatures that don’t do much more than train and eat. IFBB Pro Roman Fritz, however, is no such creature. He takes training and eating to another level, like a well-oiled machine that runs like clockwork and with great precision. He fuels his body with proper nutrition at all times of the day and trains with maximum intensity at least twice a day. What do you think he wanted to do as soon as he got off the 8 hour flight from Germany to Newark, NJ? Not surprisingly, Roman wanted to train. He needed to train—weather, fatigue, and jet lag be damned.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPLNQ27zKnU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPLNQ27zKnU
Beating the Heat
It’s well known that if you’re going to progress in the weight game, you need to step outside of your comfort zone. On this particular summer day in Matawan, NJ, it was 110 degrees in “The Yard” at Fitness City. If that isn’t hot enough to make you sweat before the workout has even begun, you either don’t have a pulse or you’re part lizard. Despite the scorching heat, Roman Fritz engaged in a “push” workout consisting of chest, shoulders, and triceps with his usual ferocity. The temperature did not slow him down as he always operates on all cylinders.
Taking Care of Business
Set by set and rep by rep, Roman killed it through the suffocating heat. With sweat pouring down his face and soaking his tank top, he completed 5 sets of incline dumbbell press and flat barbell press, each to failure. He finished the chest off with a cable crossover superset with bent over dumbbell flies, which was a segue to the shoulder routine. It’s only right to perform “old school” movements when you’re lifting at an “old school” gym. For shoulders, Roman channeled Lou Ferrigno in “Pumping Iron” by completing 5 supers of lateral raises with standing military presses. Old school or not, these movements work. Roman ended the push session with tricep pushdowns and bodyweight dips.
A Machine
Extreme conditions often force animals to scurry for shelter. For even the most strong-willed and disciplined among us, oppressive conditions can buckle our knees, make us drop. Perhaps Roman truly is a brutally efficient, unfeeling machine. Nothing seemed to faze him on this day–certainly not the heat. He came, he saw, he got the job done. No excuses. It was just another day in the office.