“When you make it, the job gets harder.”
Paul Levesque, more popularly known as Triple H (TW/FB/IG: @TRIPLEH), is a 14-time world champion in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). He is also the Executive Vice President of talent, live events, and creative at the WWE.
Spirit animal: Lion
Paul has three kids, and business and family duties run late. He typically trains in the gym between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m. with Joe DeFranco, who appeared in The 4-Hour Body in the “Hacking the NFL Combine” section. Paul wakes up at ~6 a.m. and starts it all over again. One of his common warmup movements is an unweighted version of Cossack squats (here).
“Kids don’t do what you say. They do what they see. How you live your life is their example.”
He often works with bodybuilder Dave “Jumbo” Palumbo on diet in preparation for WrestleMania, WWE’s largest event of the year (more than 100,000 live attendees in 2016). Dave has Paul follow the ketogenic diet, and Paul has developed a healthy “frappuccino” that suits his needs:
“I use [Palumbo’s] protein powder, by Species Nutrition. Every morning, I roll downstairs and: 2 scoops of whey protein [Isolyze], ice, a bunch of powdered Starbucks coffee, some macadamia nut oil, and I make a shake. That’s the start.”
During his peak travel period, Paul traveled 260+ days per year, performing in a different city each night. Here is one of his rules:
“When I landed, I would check into the hotel. The second we checked in, I’d ask them: ‘Is the gym open? Can I go train?’ Even if it was to get on a bike and ride for 15 minutes to reset things. I learned early that it seemed any time I did that, I didn’t get jet lag.”
TF: This absolutely seems to work, even if done at 1 a.m. and for 3 to 5 minutes. I don’t know the physiological mechanism, but I use it.
“[Evander Holyfield] said that his coach at one point told him, something like his very first day, ‘You could be the next Muhammad Ali. Do you wanna do that?’ Evander said he had to ask his mom. He went home, he came back and said, ‘I wanna do that.’ The coach said, ‘Okay. Is that a dream or a goal? Because there’s a difference.’
“I’d never heard it said that way, but it stuck with me. So much so that I’ve said it to my kid now: ‘Is that a dream, or a goal? Because a dream is something you fantasize about that will probably never happen. A goal is something you set a plan for, work toward, and achieve. I always looked at my stuff that way. The people who were successful models to me were people who had structured goals and then put a plan in place to get to those things. I think that’s what impressed me about Arnold [Schwarzenegger]. It’s what impressed me about my father-in-law [Vince McMahon].”
“I’m friends with Floyd Mayweather, and I was walking him to the ring one time, I think when he fought Marquez. I wanted to watch some of the undercard, and we got there early. Then his guys came and got me and said, ‘Floyd just wanted to say hi before he starts getting ready, chat with you for a few minutes.’ So Steph—my wife—and I went backstage, we get in his locker room, and he’s lying down on the couch watching a basketball game. He said, ‘Hi, have a seat.’ We’re talking a little bit, but I’m trying to be ultra-respectful of him. He’s about to go into this massive fight.
“The second there’s a lull in the conversation, I say, ‘All right, man. We’re gonna get outta your hair and head back, and we’ll come back here when it’s time for us to get ready for your deal.’ And he’s like, ‘Man, you don’t gotta take off. You can sit down. I’m enjoying the conversation.’ He’s completely relaxed.
“So at another lull in the conversation, I say, ‘We’re gonna run, Floyd. I don’t wanna be in your way,’ and he says, ‘Hunter, I’m telling you: I’m just chilling, watching the game.’ I said, ‘You’re not wound up about this at all?’ and he goes, ‘Why would I be wound up? I’m either ready or I’m not. Worrying about it right now ain’t gonna change a damn thing. Right? Whatever’s gonna happen is gonna happen. I’ve either done everything I can to be ready for this, or I haven’t.’”
TF: Whitney Cummings (here) told me something similar, on big standup specials: “My work isn’t done tonight. My work was done 3 months ago, and I just have to show up.”
“There are a lot of things that he said to me then that I find myself telling the young guys now…. For example, if you don’t do something well, don’t do it unless you want to spend the time to improve it. Still, to this day, I see a lot of guys do stuff in the ring and think, ‘He doesn’t do that well, but he does it all the time.’ You shouldn’t do that.”
TF: This led me to ask myself, usually during my quarterly 80/20 reviews of stress points, etc., “What am I continuing to do myself that I’m not good at?” Improve it, eliminate it, or delegate it.