Basically, I really like to train. That's what keeps me busy during the offseason - just training and getting my body right and getting ready for the next year.
Getting ready to wrestle is like getting ready for a car crash. Getting ready to work with Brock Lesnar is like knowing you're going to get hit by a bus and the bus is going to back over you. If I'm going to work 'WrestleMania,' 16 weeks out I have to start training like I'm Mayweather getting ready for a fight.
Well there's only one way to prepare for playing beach volleyball, and that's by getting in the sand. But offseason is really important because generally I'm staying off the sand and getting my feet under me, and it's really important for my body to know what it feels like to have sound footing under me.
My podcast 'Getting Curious' keeps me really busy, which I love.
Basically it starts with four months of training, just basic stretching, kicking and punching. Then you come to the choreography and getting ready to put the dance together.
Everything you care about is getting the next step right: getting the script right, finding the right actors, shooting it. Then you spend half a year in a dark room editing your film, and you don't talk to anybody.
I talked about 12 to 18 months, and that's about reaffirming our foundation for sustained growth: getting the discipline back, getting the basics right, getting the customer focus back... so by the end of next year, I hope most of that's in place.
When I was leaving college, getting ready to graduate with a degree in finance, I had job interviews for months and months - and nothing really was moving like a real opportunity. Meanwhile, a lot of my wrestling teammates at Oklahoma had started getting into MMA training.
Women's tennis is getting faster and the girls are getting more athletic, so I need to push myself to become a better athlete. I think 2013 showed me, like a few other years how important being healthy is and how I must listen to my body. During this off season I have been a little smarter on how I train and how I treat my body.
I have a wife and two boys. One is 18 and the other is 14. The 18-year old is getting ready for college next year and he made a decision to run track. He runs a lot like Michael Johnson.
The weight room prevents you from getting injuries, keeps your body durable and, working out even during the season, it helps a lot. It keeps your body loose, it keeps strengthening your body, especially the functional stuff.
I train with young guys in the offseason just to be honest and keep myself sure, to let myself know if I'm ready or will I be ready.
That's something I kind of started Week 1, so when it got to where I'm getting a little beat up, I have a routine already for getting my body back together. Just getting in the cold tank, making sure you're getting massages.
You never have any idea where your movie's going to go when you're shooting - you're in this little bubble. Everything you care about is getting the next step right: getting the script right, finding the right actors, shooting it. Then you spend half a year in a dark room editing your film, and you don't talk to anybody.
Seems like Americans just want it to be Halloween all year. The holiday just keeps getting more popular.
The hardest thing is getting fake hit. You really have to sell it. Somebody comes at you and stops a couple inches from your face. You have to react like it's painful. In my training, those were the days I was more sore, doing gut punches or getting thrown against walls. You're moving your body in a way that's not natural.
I really enjoy everything about this profession. From the training I do preparing for my matches, to the time I spend in the dressing room getting ready, right up until I make my entrance to the ring and the final bell rings.