Bodybuilder John Meadows’s method to fitness madness is showing his audience how older athletes can crush the fitness goals just as easily as his younger counterparts. In a recent video, Meadows teamed up with professional MMA champ Lance Palmer to give viewers a crash course in a grueling combat sports training workout.

“I’m looking forward to this,” says Meadows, “kinda sorta…” The 47-year-old bodybuilder talks about how the MMA workout differs from his typical gym routine—but he still manages to get himself in the mindset to take on the training and see what he can do.

John starts with a five-minute cardio warmup on the assault bike, aiming to burn at least 30 calories in each two-minute ride before resting—no easy feat even for a pro. Meadows pushes through, grunting and sweating as he powers though the pain. After he’s finished, John collapses onto the gym floor before readying his body for circuit training.

“That’s where the death happens,” says Palmer as Meadows prepares for the first rep of this seemingly impossible Magnificent Seven circuit.

The Magnificent Seven

“This is gonna be a little bit different than a CrossFit clean,” Palmer says. “We’re trying to achieve something that grapplers and wrestlers need, which is the hip explosiveness. Meadows springs into action by making sure his hips pop up to get the massive weights in the air.

Next, the guys prepare for the Bosu squat. Palmer goes into detail on the movement, explaining how lifting on the ball puts the body in a position we’re not used to, which is vital for MMA fighters who needs to keep sturdy and centered while in the ring. A red-faced Meadows squeezes his glutes and pops up onto the ball, trying to keep his form. On his third exercise in the Magnificent Seven circuit, Meadows looks completely exhausted, but manages to knock out 41 reps of the dumbbell snatch in before taking a much deserved one-minute rest.

For the plyo jumps, Palmer brings out a massive 30-pound medicine ball for Meadows to play with.

“I would suggest throwing your ball up with yourself,” adds Palmer, “so you’re not trying to carry the ball, you’re gonna pop it up as you go. It’ll make the jump a lot easier, I promise.”

After breezing through the plyo jumps, Meadows takes another well-needed rest on the floor. Two more to go! You can see Meadows ’ total exhaustion as he powers through laying down pulls on the TRX, squeezing the grip to aid in the exercise.

Next up are skater lunges. The key word Palmer keeps saying is: explode. This part of the circuit is aims to get Meadows to explode laterally, from wide side to the other. While Meadows can’t help but slow down towards the end, but still manages to officially finish the intense and grueling workout.

When asked about the most difficult part of the first set of the Magnificent Seven, Meadows blames the bike, saying it felt like he was “breathing fire” the entire time, while comparing the rest of the experience of holding the heavy weights to holding a small child all day. With his face red from pumping blood, Meadows seems to be in disbelief by the feats he just accomplished.

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