If you’re stepping into a professional wrestling ring for the first time in your life, it might be a good idea to seek professional help.
Training help, that is.
That’s where Phil found his secret weapon. His name is Azrieal, a personal trainer and professional wrestler himself. Azrieal had been tuned into the live stream from the event that started the feud between Phil and Kevin. After hearing their exchange, Azrieal knew that Phil would need a good man in his corner to get him ready to take on the challenge before him.
Azrieal stepped up to help Phil beat some very long odds. He had a unique set of skills and experiences to offer. As a personal trainer, he could prepare Phil’s body for what was in front of him. As a former champion, Azrieal could prepare him to have success in the ring. But he didn’t have much time to make that happen.
“It helped a lot that Phil was a wrestler as a kid,” Azrieal explains. “It also was fortunate that he’s athletic, because that really put him a step ahead. We really had to get him into moving in a functional way, and to prepare him mentally for what was going to happen. He’d ask a lot of good questions during training about body positioning, how to fall properly, that sort of thing.”
Think about it - wrestlers fall. A lot. They’re thrown to the ground, body slammed, and take more physical punishment every minute than most people do in their entire adult lives. You have to know how to position your body and fight natural instincts that might get you hurt. Normally, when a person falls backwards their natural instinct is to throw back their arms to brace themselves. In a professional wrestling match, that could result in an instant separated shoulder. And if you don’t know how to protect your neck and head, you could suffer spinal damage or a concussion.
The bodily risk to wrestlers is very, very real.
“I have people coming to me for training who are not athletic at all, but have this notion about becoming a wrestler. They may have seen it on TV and thought they’d try it, but have never done any serious physical things like this. That’s a big challenge,” says Azrieal. “They find out that it’s far harder than they imagined. It’s a big reality check of how hard it really is.”
“To really do this, it can’t be just a dream,” Azrieal warns. “They have to be committed to the work. I’ll find that out right away. I’ll tell them the brutal truth - this is gonna be hard. The hardest part is the training. Going out their and performing for other people during the match is probably the easiest part. The training is constant repetition and cardio drills to make sure that your cardio is up to par, because if your cardio is down, you’ll be so busy trying to catch your breath that you’ll forget what’s going on and then the match is going to go really, really bad. You have to have your endurance and your mind will follow.”
Honestly, there is a bit of cooperation and collaboration between wrestlers. They both know that this is a big show. It’s an event, one that would fizzle if it was over in seconds. Slowing things down and bringing theatrics to it is necessary for the spectacle of it all. But have no doubts - there are no special effects in the ring. These people are being hit, slammed, thrown over and over again. That’s the show. But the punishment they absorb and deliver is genuine.
“That boot that you see kick me in the spine? That shot I took to the neck? Those landed - hard,” Phil assures.
Azrieal knew that becoming a wrestler wasn’t Phil’s dream. Defending his magazine - and town’s honor was. And as driven as Phil can be, Azrieal knew that he had what it took to make it work and get him prepared to come away victorious.
Yet there’s a more everyday aspect to what Azrieal does for people who have no interest in wrestling at all. As a personal trainer, he spends most of his time getting people in shape to face whatever they need to in their normal lives.
“I’ve been a personal trainer for almost twenty years,” explains Azrieal. “I have private clients and run boot camp lessons in a few locations around Jersey City. I’ll come to your gym and work with you - maybe torture you a bit to push you on to be better than you thought you could be the next time. I help them push past what they think their best might be.”
Azrieal isn’t looking to make people into bodybuilders. His boot camps tend to concentrate on stability training, core training, strength conditioning - and utmost of his participants are women. So it’s not about lifting heavy weights and bulking up. (Although Azrieal is quick to mention that as we age, lifting heavier weights is beneficial as your bones start to thin. The extra weight helps to keep them firm and thick.)
If you’re looking to get into better shape, Azrieal can get you there. If you’re dreaming beyond that - into the professional wrestling ring - he’s the man for that job as well.
Just ask Phil Barone just how much Azrieal helped him walk out of that ring, head held high, body and pride intact. Not just a survivor. A winner.
Azrieal is a top-tier personal trainer based in Jersey City. Get yourself in shape, or even wrestling shape by reaching him at XXXXX, or find him on Instagram @azri3al