saw going to Minnesota as a great opportunity because with more research, we found out that API was certifying instructors and that class would start the day after my last shift at the factory. Fate could not spell it out any clearer for me; this was definitely something I had to do, but more importantly, something I wanted to do more than anything else. Just like that, I packed my locker, said my farewells, and was ready for the drive down to Minnesota, where once again I had no idea what to expect—all with a big smile on my face.
Chapter Four
GOT CAVEMAN TRAINING?
“‘Shit...Fuck’... is my barometer for when I have reached the perfect level of strength and conditioning for groups.... I also like, ‘I’d cheer for you but I can’t breathe!’”
—Matt Olson API Owner/Instructor
At the border, we chatted about MMA with the border cop, which was a clear indicator of the quick rise in popularity of MMA. Once in the United States, we were met with many toll plazas, which to us Canadians was a new experience given our pay highways are express highways that can be taken by choice. For the direction we were headed, Wisconsin and then Minnesota, we took the toll routes for some reason. Illinois had over a dozen tolls, and after we paid the first two, we figured it would be fun to just blow through them. That’s exactly what we did, and every time we drove through one without paying, we made comical faces toward the cameras like seven-year-olds. It was fresh and fun to act like goofballs, especially after escaping the drudgery of life’s responsibilities back in Canada.
The trip was tiring for all of us, as we had barely slept the day before. The entire trip was 830 miles, which took us just over fourteen hours to travel. Along the way, we stocked up on energy drinks to help us keep our eyes on the prize.
Once we arrived in Wisconsin, the flat plains consisted of farmland as far as the eye could see. Unfortunately, it was the only thing we could see. It was really dull to watch, so we discussed MMA as the testosterone level increased in the car, helping us stay alert. Once in Minnesota, we were reinvigorated; we knew we were almost there. Had we known then what was lurking for us, I’m not sure we would have been so giddy.
Our hotel was literally minutes from the famed Athletic Performance Inc. (API) Training Center and the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy, which are next door to each other. As we approached the building, the huge, and I mean gigantic, industrial complex loomed in front of us. The buildings were connected, looked very new, and were at least forty feet tall. The area was very well-maintained and honestly did not look like your typical gym. It was an honor to pass through the doors into such an elite fitness gym.
API was established by Scott Ramsdell and Matt Olson. Scott is the one you see sporting the long goatee in the UFC All Access shows yelling to motivate Sean Sherk and Brock Lesnar. It is one of the premier strength and conditioning gyms in the world, catering to the best athletes in several different sports. They are known for their “pain is weakness leaving the body” attitude and pushing their athletes into the red zone.
API includes 150 to 300 students/practitioners depending on the time of the year. Including high school programs, classes, specialized specific groups, fighters, and personal training clients, there are about 200 members at the Minnesota location. As for schools affiliated around the world, Matt Olson put it best when he said that “We have a shit ton! A metric shit ton.” [laughing] “I think by the time this comes to print, we will have over twenty API affiliates worldwide!”
Their caveman routines are tough, with exercises hand-picked for maximum results and that make the practitioners stronger, faster and more agile, like well-oiled machines that do not let up! With specimens like Sean Sherk and Brock Lesnar to tout in their company profile, it says a lot. Matt Hughes was known to frequent the gym as well. The routines are endless and are constructed with specific goals to achieve faster and better results. Caveman training came from the philosophy of going back to the basics with clean natural food and functional training that can be transmitted directly into the cage. The concepts are derived from the actions of cavemen, such as throwing, picking up, and flipping rocks.
The second benefit to training with API is the brotherhood formed from working with such intensity, similar to that in the military. The mind gets tougher, too, as you work through many points of exhaustion and fatigue; you want to stop, but you keep going, with everyone helping to motivate you. Once you step into the ring or cage to fight, you know you did all that you could to prepare. The fight would probably be easier than the grueling training, and that edge alone could prove to be the deciding factor between getting a Win or Loss on a fighter’s record.
API’s Matt Olson grew up in Hopkins, Minnesota after being adopted from South Korea along with his two older sisters. He also has a younger brother from his adoptive parents, regarding whom Matt added, “Poor Adam; he grew up thinking he was Korean until he started the first grade.” Matt had the typical upbringing playing many different sports, but it was weightlifting that always played an important role in his life. He was also actively involved in the Catholic Church and the Boy Scouts of America.
Matt’s wife, Candice, keeps him in check and in line with both API and the Minnesota Police Department. They have four dogs that help round out their loving family.
Matt was a silent investor in an already established mobile business that Scott began in 2004. They became coworkers while working for the Police Department before becoming partners on the Community Response Team, a plain-clothes vice unit. Matt wanted to invest some money he made from a home sale into a long-term business that would eventually allow him a second career or a long-term investment. They conversed more about the prospect of API while arresting drug dealers and raiding drug homes.
Scott eventually told Matt his business plan. Matt put his money down, and the two decided to go into business together to centralize the mobile training business into an actual training center. Their timing could not have been better, and the location was a good fit with the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy. “I remember busting my ass for two weeks straight to get the gym up and running because the UFC All Access show was coming to film Sean Sherk’s workouts.”
Things haven’t always been peachy, as Matt laughingly explained: “When I first met Scott thirteen years ago and after transferring to the CRT team, I hated Scott. I thought he was brash, arrogant, blunt, and irritating. I came to realize that he was going to become one of my best friends—that he was going to push me past my limitations to become involved with something that brings me a sense of joy and satisfaction. But I still hate him!” Having seen them in action, they are like two feuding brothers with A-type personalities. They make fun of each other and beat each other up, but they would go to war at the drop of a hat for one another; they truly are family.
API is the most edgy and gut-wrenching strength and conditioning program around, and Matt gave me his thoughts on how they made their program distinct from others. “What people are experiencing is the methodology and training style of Scott Ramsdell and the emotion, the kind of ‘chip on the shoulder’ attitude we both bring into the way we live, especially in our profession and the way I live life. Scott is definitely the ‘good cop’ to my ‘bad cop.’ I think this analogy aptly illustrates the differing views Scott and I bring to API and to MMA strength and conditioning in general. I will always defer to Scott for the technical and professional aspect of fitness because he has the experience and education. I bring the outsider’s viewpoint, the person who sees things ‘outside’ the fitness box and the traditional way of thinking.”
Matt explained their approach, “The basics must be established before an athlete can progress to advanced levels. You would be amazed at how many pro athletes have so many basic physical issues. In my experience, MMA fighters have the worst agility and hand strength issues when weights don’t come with handles.
