Branch Warren Shares His Secrets to Achieving Greatness
Two-time Arnold Classic champion and 2009 Mr. Olympia runner-up Branch Warren was the guest on this week’s episode of The Menace Podcast. Warren joined host Dennis James, Chris Cormier, and Milos Sarcev in this episode to reflect on his career, including why he feels he reached the high points he did. He credits his training partnership with fellow IFBB Pro Johnnie Jackson for pushing him when needed. That may have even been happening before they officially joined forces because they trained in the same gym as amateurs.
“I knew that he knew what I was doing because he would do more reps. If I did 10 reps, he did 11,” said Warren. “I would think ‘f*** that,’ and I would put on more.”
“Man, I’m gonna tell you right now. Second place at the Olympia is the worst place in all of bodybuilding. You don’t know if you want to cry or punch the wall.”
Warren’s most inspiring feat may have come in 2012. After tearing his quad the previous summer when he slipped on a sidewalk, he came back in less than six months to win the Arnold Classic for the second time. Warren explained what drove him to make that happen – people preemptively writing him off.
