Many of you have been following SOA for awhile and know that I absolutely love calisthenics and people like Hit Richards, Hannibal for King and Denis Minin.
These guys inspire me to push beyond my own physical and mental limitations like no other athlete does. They inspire me also to work hard because success will not come unless there is an abundance of it.
Yet, there is one man that has the sheer size that makes my jaw drop. On Youtube, he goes by the name of “Juice of Beastmode” and truly lives up to the name. He is also the winner of the 2010 NBXA Tournament.
If you haven’t heard of him before I have a video below that you can watch to check out some of his moves.
As you can see, Juice doesn’t mess around. He can handstand and muscle up with the best of them. A couple weeks ago I had a chance to pick his brain on a few questions and I think the answers are pretty enlightening.
He seems to focus heavily on the mind and pushing the boundaries of the mind in order to move beyond any limitations of the body. This is incredible advice for all of us because the mind will almost always fail before our body. Usually, what happens is we start to feel pain or fatigue in our body and our mind tells us that we shouldn’t go further. We can either listen to it and stop or keeping going and see what our body is truly capable of. Juice had an amazing teacher in this area, Lord Vital aka Beast. LV taught Juice to strengthen his mind over matter. This is an area we will definitely need to explore more at SOA!
Juice, let’s get to the important things first. How did you get such a cool nick name?
Well, I got my name from where I work. I’m a supervisor for UPS. Well, as an hourly, my main objective is to always take care of business; so at that time my supervisor saw I was a beast when I work. He told me, “I will name you, JUICE.” I replied, “that’s a gay name” but everyday he continued to call me by that and I said I have the juice now. So I took it and ran with it. My real name is Ronel Joseph. I’m 195 lbs and 5’11.
Tell us a little about your fitness journey? Did you start out in bar-style exercising or weight lifting? Were you fit from a young age?
Well, at the age of fourteen, my cousin introduced me to the gym. I liked it but I wanted more. When I immigrated to USA, I took part in other sports such as basketball, soccer, track, football and weight lifting. I started calisthenics while I was doing weights but still was hitting weights hard at the age of 19. At 20, I started focusing on calisthenics. So, yes, I was fit when I young and I competed in all types of sports.
What was your inspiration to get into this style of exercise? And what inspires you today?
My inspiration was to train my mind, body and soul to be the best at whatever I put my mind too. I wanna change and show people they can do it too! What inspires me to push harder is when I can inspire and motive others from my own experiences.
To date, what has been the hardest exercise to learn? Why?
The hardest exercise I ever learned was the handstand because you have to be strong mentally. You have to focus all your strength by practicing everyday to get better.
What is your secret for getting so big?
I have no secrets on getting big. Its not about getting big for me it’s just about being creative with your mind. To see things differently than others and to conquer my goals.
What is your nutritional philosophy? Do you count Calories, grams of protein, etc.?
I don’t have a nutrition plan or anything; but I work hard to eat right and to eat healthy.
How often do you train and what does your training workouts look like? Ie- How long? Do you count sets, reps, etc.?
I train everyday 24/7 for 365 days! No days off. My training always challenges me to do high reps and set beyond failure. I train Monday through Friday for 4 to 5 hrs and Saturday & Sunday for 12 to 14 hrs
Where do you see the sport of calisthenics heading? Do you ever see it main stream?
I want this sport to be recognized in the USA. I see it big in international countries like Russia, etc. I want it to be in the Olympics. Yes, it will get mainstream but everyone has to play a part to get it out there.
If a fitness enthusiast came up to you and said, “I want to be as strong as you Juice!” What type of advice would you give him?
Well, the advice I will you is you should be better than me. Be yourself. Don’t let anyone tell you, “you can’t.” Always push your mind where it has never been before. Never say never and always do your best to teach people all over the world!
What is next for Juice? What are some of your goals, dreams and aspirations? Ie- Fitness, personal, business?
Well, big things are in store. I wanna be in fitness magazines, training celebrities, traveling all over the world, touring to different countries and sharing my life to inspire others. I wanna be a great teacher, personal trainer, motivator, and a great person as a whole.
Thank you for the interview. Let me know what you think. Everything is and will always be Beastmode! MIND OVER MATTER!!
Juice
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Thanks so much Juice for being part of SOA! I sincerely appreciate all the insight you have to offer our community.
If you would like to follow Juice, check out more by clicking below:
Juice’s Youtube Channel
Juice’s Facebook Page
Here are some other videos of Juice that I LOVE!!
Hope you enjoyed the interview!
Let me know what you think in the comments below.
-Todd
Hey Todd if you like juice you should check out little beastm he is from the netherlands. He weights 220lbs and does full range of motion 90 degree push ups with 40lb weight vest. He also achieved a 415lb dip at only eighteen years of age.. he also did the barbarian requirements 3 times in less than 45 minutes at age 17. The man is beast you should check him out
The top video is freaking awesome!
in my dictionnary someone doing push-ups and pull-ups with chains,dumbells between knees,heavy backpack and so on ItsNOT a bodyweight guy.
LOL! Yes this is true Paolo. I still consider him a calisthenic guy though even though he uses some weights while doing calisthenics. Good point though. 😉
Great interview! Hope that Juice makes all his goals.
Yes, me too!!
Hi Todd, thanks for the videos. I have seen several of these guys working out in the park on their videos. My question is what do they do for lower body training? “Juice” was doing a couple of bodyweight squats for the one workout, but it is pretty much all upper body training. Do you have recommendations for the type of training they do for the lower body?
Thanks, keep the good info coming!
Marc
Marc, that is super cool that you have actually seen these guys. I know Hit from Calisthenics Kings uses a weight vest but maybe its time for a round up to collectively ask each of them what they do for legs? 🙂