Iron World Tour

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Leave home, fly 9+ hours, land, eat, train. The epitome of "hit the ground running". All work hard play hard when traveling the globe and finding the best training atmospheres, food and iron culture around the world (this time in Europe). Branch Warren and Guy Cisternino REALLY hit the ground running when kicking off our Iron World Tour 2019. Stay tuned for what's next. Iron World Tour is on and won't stop!

Kings Gym: Branch & Guy Train Shoulders

**We set down in New York and meet up with the entire crew at the 9.11 Memorial and pay our respects. Although the scene was filled with hundreds of spectators Derek Lunsford noted that the energy was calm and serene.

After seeing a few more sights in the area we decide it’s time to make the trek to Long Island and the East Coast Mecca - Bev Francis Powerhouse Gym. Being such a densely populated city in takes us well over an hour and a half to arrive.

At Bev Francis Powerhouse Gym we catch up with the crew including Guy Cisternino, Derek Lunsford, Vlad Petric, Shaun Clarida, and Chris Pantano. Steve Weinberger and Bev Francis are also present so Michael Johansson gets some insight from both of them to their mission and vision of creating the East Coast Mecca.

“One thing that transfers outside of this gym are the lessons of hard work and respect. You've got to respect people, your environment, and always put in the work.” - Steve Weinberger

On the training side of things, the camaraderie and energy between the guys was nothing short of awesome and competitive. Derek, Vlad and Chris trained chest. Guy, Sean, and Moe trained legs.

The East Coast Mecca

We woke up with the Big Apple on the backdrop. After taking a moment to soak up the views we headed for breakfast and a catch up with Better Bodies founder Brian Moss. It's always a pleasure to catch up with a person who had visions 40 years ago that are still highly relevant in today's society. To listen and learn from today’s discussions with Brian is a definitive guide to a successful understanding of the future.

Respect in the iron sport comes from equality in the lifestyle we live and that echoes well with the spirit within GASP and ideas around a new segment of products could just have been born from this discussion...

One more gym visit was on the agenda as we took the trip to Iron Culture Gym. This gym have just opened its doors and the owners Arthur, Charlie, and Sergio went all in to create their dream gym, Iron Culture.

This gym is quickly becoming a destination for those who want an old school type of gym with loud music. The owners also prefer it clean and nice and an important part of their concept is that hardcore don’t need to mean dirty… Hardcore can be clean and efficient.

Leaving The Big Apple

Yang Liu was born in 1986 in the city of Ningbo of Zhejiang Province (East) in China.

For more than a decade he has been into weight training and a big fan of GASP. This led him to ...destination Dallas where he met with our CEO, Michael Johansson. Later on, Michael also went to China to visit Yang Liu in his home country.

Yang Liu is now working as a part of the team, helping us stay connected with the dedicated GASP community in China. Join us as we get to know him a little better.

**Where does your passion for bodybuilding come from in the first place?

**My passion for bodybuilding and weight training began with my father. When I was around 10 years old, I noticed that my father was doing exercises with dumbbells at home, like biceps curls and lateral shoulders raises, and he was doing a lot of push-ups. He told me since day one that a real man has to have a strong physique to overcome obstacles in every aspect of life. So that’s where my passion rooted.

**How many years have you been training and how do you train?

**I have been training for 15 years. I have never had any coach, I learned everything I know about weight training from magazines like 

 by Arnold himself. Like most guys out there, I began with pure bodybuilding training, like 4-5 exercises for each body part, 3-4 sets and 8-15 reps each exercise. After years of training like that, especially addicted to those pictures and articles of Branch Warren and Johnnie Jackson in 

, I fell in love with heavy training, I found my niche.

**So are you now a competitive athlete and professional?

**No, not really. After graduating from college, I became a diplomat. I speak French and English. I have worked in both Europe and Africa. I am now a journalist. Work is work, but weight training for me, that’s my calling. The relentless way of training, that’s what I am supposed to do my whole life, and that’s where I found myself in GASP.

"You don’t have to be a professional athlete to be relentless, you earn your right to keep killing it day in day out by hard work. I work hard and play hard, with no compromise."

**Oh man, GASP is a way of life. GASP means every dream could come true, if you work your ass off and like you really mean it. So many people talk about their dreams, but only a few realize what they are really talking about. 10 years after falling in love with the GASP way of life, I am now a part of the team.

From Ningbo to Dallas – Yang Liu

“It doesn’t matter what religion you belong to, or what believe system you have. The purpose is to be a good human and to make a positive difference to the lives of the people around you.”

 set out on a solid and intense 15 day tour across 5 cities in India. The tour has been coordinated by 

 a very avid and active health and fitness enthusiast, philanthropist, educator and entrepreneur in India. Jag along with Branch Warren, Indian bodybuilding icon 

 set out for the huge mission of spreading education of health, fitness, nutrition, and supplementation across 5 cities of India including: Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Raipur and Bengaluru.

The attention and recognition that world class bodybuilders like Branch and Sangram get in India is magnified several times compared to the United States. Add to that the appreciation for the educational seminars and you get a give back energy of epic proportions.

“The Indian people have given me a very warm welcome to their country.  I have been to Delhi, Jalandhar, Mumbai so far with several more cities left to visit. The best part of what I do is getting to travel the world and experiencing different cultures.” -

One of the stops in India was at the Unique Home for Girls Orphanage in

Jalandhar where young orphan girls ranging in age from 4 days to 19 years live (Source SikhiWiki). They are being cared for by Bibi Prakash Kaur, who was herself left on the streets as a baby 60 years ago.

Jag mentions that this place stays with the girls until they are able to get jobs and support themselves. Some of the girls have been able to make it to Cambridge and Oxford in the UK and another is a police chief today.

Branch Warren – Giving Back in India

We hit up the mile high city of Denver, Colorado. Denver has a lot of history, and sights being the most populous city of Colorado and a destination for outdoor adventure. Along with being the home gym of 7 time Mr Olympia Phil Heath, Armbrust Gym is the home of a potent and quickly rising crew and a new generation of IFBB Pro bodybuilders.

The Iron World Tour continues as Pro Bodybuilder Branch Warren, national level Bodybuilder Joe Robinson, and GASP CEO Michael Johansson all link up with IFBB Pros Brett Wilkins, Adam Young and Armbrust Gym owner Dylan Armbrust this week!

9:00-12:00pm fuel up and catch Denver sights

6:00pm Dinner and interviews with Dylan and Denver crew

Stay tuned to gaspofficial.com for non stop content and updates.

Join Us In Denver

Just walking in the Denver International airport to baggage claim, loaded down with training accessories and meals in carry-on luggage, Joe Robinson could feel the altitude.

Michael Johansson, Joe Robinson, and Nick Del Toro immediately link up with Dylan Armbrust, Brett Wilkin, and Adam Young at Armbrust Pro Gym confirming next day plans to capture some of the sights that make Denver a true outdoor destination. We are all greeted with awesome hospitality from Dylan and a potent atmosphere from the facility that you can really breathe in as soon as you walk in.

Next order of business is chest day for Joe and back for Adam Young. One of Joe's main objectives is taking the blue and orange pair of old Denver Bronco dumbbells weighing 170lbs each for a ride.

With Brett Wilkins with the spot Joe cranks out a solid 9 reps (maybe altitude change robbed him the 10th). 

 Brett Wilkin referring to the token pair of dumbbells.

"Im not passing up a chance to use their leg room. I have never used some of the equipment they have in there. It's badass."

Adam Young and Joe Robinson will team up for a leg day that'll really test Joe at the different altitude. 

"I may get checked training legs at this altitude."

 Joe giving fair warning to Adam. It will be back day for Branch Warren and Brett Wilkin. Then later dinner at Dylan Armbrust's house.

Stay tuned to everything from this installment of the Iron World Tour coming at you from Denver, Colorado.

Touchdown in Denver

The GASP crew CEO Michael Johansson, Branch Warren, Johnnie Jackson and Nick Del Toro boarded the plane in Dallas yesterday and landed 14 hours later in Beijing.

We were all greeted upon arrival by a very enthusiastic group consisting of Yang Liu, "The Beast" Yue Yang and the crew from the Beast Limit Power Gym.

After loading up into a caravan of three vehicles we went straight to a restaurant where we were served customary lamb.

“It is customary to serve very high profile guests this type of lamb. This restaurant specializes in this dish. How we eat it is: first we barbecue it and then we eat the first layer, then we put it back on the barbecue and eat the meat and then we put it back on the barbecue again and then we eat the bones.” - Yang Liu

We were served the largest lamb that was available and it took the whole crew 2 hours to finish the meal. Full and exhausted from the trip we planned the next day and went to check in at the hotel near Beast Limit Power gym to rest up for training, seminars, more food and meeting the Chinese fans.

Branch and Johnnie are both excited to be on this trip and they are getting ready for some real #NoCompromise workouts together.

It’s been a while since you’ve seen us together but get ready!”

"You’ve heard me say it before and I’ll say it again, it don’t get no better than this.”

Welcomed By Chinese Traditions

The team is enjoying China and everything from sights to food and hardcore gyms.

The first full day in Beijing started with breakfast at the hotel restaurant at 7AM. Roasted chicken, waffles and eggs were among the favorites before the team took off to go to The Beast Limit Power Gym.

**The Beast Limit Power Gym is in the village of Fang Shan, southwest of Beijing. It is a gym that reminds of the original Metroflex gym in Arlington, TX. It looks and smells like hardcore training.

Johnnie, Branch and The Beast Limit Power Gym were hitting back today. This was in the middle of a packed crowd of fans who came out to meet us. Metallica was playing in the background while Johnnie and Branch hit the weights like only they can.

After training Johnnie and Branch spent time with fans answering questions, signing posters and taking pictures.

Lunch was eaten at Yanyi Yuan, a beautiful ancient Chinese style restaurant with trees, plants and ponds. Branch and Johnnie had sashimi, and tasted traditional food of Beijing like douzhier and jiaoquan. And “chou doufu" (smelly tofu), it smells funny and taste “bad”!

Visiting The Beast Limit Power Gym was an incredible experience. Right when you enter the gym you have 2 Harley's parked. No doubt that this is a "I don't give a F*ck"type of gym - a serious destination that doesn't care about following the norm. My impression from owning a destination for the most dedicated myself is that they have divided this gym in 2 parts; one for serious bodybuilding and the other for strongman training.

In the very back of the gym they have about 25 bunk beds where people come in from all over China and get a 30 day no compromise training regime under Mr Beast Yue Yangs guidance. The focus is on learning everything about training. During these 30 days they also get their own chef cooking food and they learn how to eat to get the best gains possible. I believe that when you have a training camp for 30 days while living on site with your own chef and are getting trained by the best - then you have a pretty badass destination for the iron community. Talk about transformation galore! Closest that come to mind is like being in a Siberian work camp LOL.

Talk about food coma! The Peking duck was a great dinner experience doing kind of your own wraps with the meat. 2nd serving was on the bones of the duck. 3rd serving was a soup made on the bones. I am impressed how they eat everything on an animal here. Everything comes to use - a no compromise food game is my conclusion.

A No Compromise Gym For The Iron Community

Beasting It Up In Beijing

If you make the trek to London you visit parliament and the Royal Palace. In Stockholm you visit Old Town and the Vasa Museum. In our first city for the China Iron World Tour some must visits were Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City in central Beijing and of course the Great Wall of China.

Central Beijing is what you think of when you think China. From cuisine to architecture to history, central Beijing definitely is a culture shock and education for the GASP crew.

Together with Yang Liu our local tour guide, GASP CEO Michael Johansson, Branch Warren and Johnnie Jackson along with videographer Nick Del Toro get to see and go thorough a history lesson on the National Museum of China, the Monument to the People's Heroes, the Forbidden City, the Imperial Palace of China during the Ming and Qing dynasties and the Zhengyangmen (the gate that once guarded the southern entry to the inner city).

Local culture, which encompasses architecture, cuisine, language and customs is a huge part of the Iron World Tour's mission. We definitely want to identify and appreciate the differences so that we can appreciate what brings us all together at the end of the day for the iron community despite differences.

For Branch Warren and Johnnie Jackson the Great Wall of China was an epic and favorite stop of the tour. The wall is extremely deceptive when viewed from a photograph. Perception is that the Great Wall offers a pleasant hike in the picturesque country side on top of the mountains of outer Beijing. Reality is that the wall is in fact on top of THE MOUNTAINS OF OUTER BEIJING. The hike that you perceived is actually more akin to doing HIIT cardio on the stairmaster with uneven steps at varying heights with your view actually being several hundred feet of a climb and what feels like endless Bulgarian split squats to get to the next outpost.

The view, however, was a huge payoff for the GASP crew and the local saying is that 

if you successfully climbed the wall then you are considered to be a hero

"It's amazing that a civilization could build this without the use of the machinery we have today."

"Back then, this wall was necessary to save one civilization from another. They did what you had to do to survive." - Branch Warren

Having kicked off the tour with Beijing and what people view as classic China we allow a great contrast for what the rapidly growing and extremely modern city of Shanghai has to offer on our next stop. The Iron World Tour is 24/7 so stay tuned to gaspofficial.com as we continue to document the tour from China!

We Are All Heroes Of The Great Wall

We took the high-speed train from Beijing to Shanghai. The contrast from the classic and political capital of Beijing to the modern high-tech city of Shanghai was super evident and impressive.

At arrival the GASP crew made its way through an ultra crowded train station to make it to sushi before attending A 400+ attendee seminar at Saipu Personal Training Academy.

The attention to detail and planning from Yang Liu Made a very bad ass seminar at Saipu with Branch Warren and Johnnie Jackson possible for all of the students here.

After a 16 hour day we hit the sack and in anticipation of a full day of sightseeing in modern Shanghai, partner meetings and work out at Mutant Nation Gym.

Day two in Shanghai kicks off with breakfast and making it to the observation deck of the second tallest building in the world at 642 meters. Johnny Jackson is ultra afraid of heights but conquered his fear and we were able to capture some awesome shots.

We visited old town with all of the businesses and restaurants in classic Chinese architecture.

After that we got a 45 minute rest before linking up with Marco from Shanghai for an arm workout at Mutant Nation Gym.

Check out the video soon on gaspofficial.com for the full work out and everything that Johnny and Branch have to offer to Marco.