ZEF ZAKAVELI | Workout Schedule, Mindset & Injuries | Interview | The Athlete Insider Podcast #41

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don't get caught up in the flashy of today because  those things fade don't go for the fast money   go for the longevity slow grind work no matter  how long even if you don't see progress that night   next day you'll see the progress if you continue  and you stay focused so never give up man you gorillas welcome to the athlete insider  podcast by gornation my name is phil   and today's guest is a special guest somebody  that i was looking forward to interview from   the beginning on of this podcast interview  somebody that you requested since the beginning   an endurance legend the calisthenics legend  somebody who inspires athletes out there in   the whole world i'm really happy to make  this possible and that you take the time   zef zacchaevelli yes i'm zacabelli you know i  can't say anything more great yeah i'm really   happy to make this possible uh really happy  that you make this possible with your time and   we directly can kick off with the question for  the people who don't know you or uh who would   like to know how you present yourself who is  how zeph zachary how do you present yourself um i'm sacrificing the student and the teacher  at the same time i've been doing calisthenics   for for many years many decades you know and  i'm still learning as as we speak right now   so that's it i just try to try to travel the  world and make friends and um teach people   to help motivate and inspire people  it's a simple dude right there great   sounds really great and yeah before we get  into the story how you found your sport etc   let's kick off with the hard facts that people  are always interested in how tall are you   510 510 do you know the centimeters number  it's always you know it's americans man 5 10 in centimeters it's uh 178 so exactly like  me 178 centimeters for the for the european people   um how old are you i'm 43 years old 43 wow uh  that's uh that's also really interesting didn't   uh yeah i like of course i know it but uh if  if i see you like this i don't expect it so   that's also a really really cool thing  and the last question how heavy are you   i i fluctuate from 147 pounds to 157 157 being  the heaviest highway currently right now i i   i'm probably 150 149 right now okay that's around  70. 67 kg again for the the european this nurse   great so yeah let's uh let's get back a few years  i guess how did you get in touch with the sport   how did i get in touch with the sport um   well it became a sport while i was  um trying it out um i can't say it didn't exist as a sport you know and i i  still don't really think it's a sport right   now officially so um i've been doing calisthenics  since uh i was a child since um my brother used   to punish me by doing push-ups so you know  throughout the years it's been off and on as a   teenager i got introduced to weights and started  working out to to gain size i always wanted to   gain skies because i was always the smallest  guy so um i would say like fast forward to   1996 and it just became strictly calisthenics  because even though we would do weight training   all our weight training would consist of the  the routines that we do now in calisthenics so   our breaks would be calisthenics and then  to the weights and back back and forth vice   versa just like that so i say 1996 we left the  weights alone because of all the injuries and   we started to be more competitive with the  calisthenics more than the weights so we just   we just stuck to the the calisthenics from there  so i would say from 96 97. wow wow uh like most   of the listeners i guess will be born after this  because we have like a few like a lot of young   listeners um you said that you had like a lot of  injuries with weights um can you explain that more um uh we used to bench a lot because doing the  bank press that's like the the the standard   right there to show that you're stronger now how  much you could bench press so um i learned my i   learned my breathing technique from that also i  used to get a lot of headaches because i would   hold my breath when we when we um bench press and  the way how we would start our workouts we would   do the max so we take all the weights that we have  in the gym i mean in the basement stack it on the   the barbell and try to lift the max and try to  max out and try to progress every day so i would   notice i would get a headache every day and i  would that would be from beholder of my breath   so besides the headache the headaches i used  to get um i was always again i was always the   smallest guy so i would be trying to push  more than i should and that would lead to   chest injury shoulder sometimes on my bicep and  it started to get frustrating because anytime i   would make progress i would get injured  and it would set me back like two steps so okay that's that that was really that was  really it for me as far as like the injuries   nothing serious as far as me having to go get  surgery or anything like that okay fortunately   fortunately true um yeah how did your first  training think calisthenics go like uh you said   uh push-ups was one of the the basic exercise was  it always push-ups dips muscle-ups uh pull-ups or   it was always push-ups push-ups was always like  the blueprint because it was no excuse yeah you   know no matter where you were you were able to do  push-ups and that's how we would compete you know   i have a lot of friends that have been away they  they'll come home or they'll come to the block   where i used to hang out and chill and that would  be a challenge you know as as men who you like   to challenge each other and push-ups was one of  those things so who could do more who could stop   who could break first so push-ups was always the  number one and that's what really got me strong   okay when i hear that uh how you talk uh it  really seems that like as you uh as you said maybe   already a little uh that calisthenics wasn't isn't  like a sport for you or only like your workout or   something but it really it's like part of your  life like it was your lifestyle maybe uh also   compare it uh to skating like skaters always uh  like it's their their how they spend their times   to hang hang around with friends uh skate a little  and like for calisthenics athletes i see a lot   that they like like just the group that dynamic  of the group is to work out together to hang   out together and to do some challenges is  it like this that that's that's how it was   for us when we started as far as like the pioneers  of it i would say that's how it started for us it   wasn't in the sport it wasn't a it wasn't that  many competitions it wasn't any competitions at   the time when i started so that's what made it  hard for me when competitions start uh happening   for me to enter a competition to be judged  by people who just started you understand   like i felt like how can you judge me how can  you tell me i'm doing it wrong when you just   learning yourself and you don't know what wrong  all right is so that's why i'm saying when you   first asked the question of what introduced  me to the sport it was no sport like like you   just said it was a culture calisthenics is  the coach and it still is to me to this day get it um yeah but i still liked your attitude  that you're the teacher and the uh the student   at the same time so uh like uh still like  uh learning and uh like open to to feedback   that's how it sounds for me but still  i can imagine that the situation like   being judged by somebody who is like doing the  sport for one or two years and you're doing it for   i don't know five years ten years even longer uh  that's a funny situation or a weird situation that   you have to put your ego beside i guess or yeah  yeah yeah yeah it is funny because those those   competitions that started at that time the first  besides it being um basic reps where you count   the the reps the when the freestyle competitions  came i would say the the form again that's based   on opinion you know a move that i might do will  take a lot of strength compared to a momentum move   that someone else would do but will look more  flashier he will get a higher score you understand   so those those variables right there turned me off  from competing in a freestyle competition and as   far as uh basic competition you know full full rom  and the biases of the competition and the judges   lead to conflict also and that take me away from  from those type of things also yeah i cannot stand   um we received a lot of questions about the  barbarians uh and uh like your your team your   project etc uh do you want to uh take us  uh in the in the story of the barbarians   um as far as barbarians as far as the name  barbarians and i i said this story you know   a million times barbarians is not the act of  being barbaric is more of being from a place   where there's nothing but bars you know to work  out you know like if there was a planet called bar   i would be from that planet so  i'm a barbarian you understand   so that's that's as far as the how the name  came about um we always i always had a group of   friends that would work out and do calisthenics  but we never really formed a group or came up   with a name or say we could be a team or we was  already a family but a team until we seen that   you know i i give credit to the bartenders  for that it was another um new york group   that they came up with a team and they made it  cool to have like a good team a workout team   so that's when we decided or i decided barbarians  that's going to be our name you know for what we   do right here you know as time progressed um  you know i didn't want people to just join   the the group just because they were they had a  back and arms and pull-ups just to wear my shirt   and just to have the brand and walk around it  wasn't a gang you understand i cared more about   quality so you had to prove yourself that  she was worthy of representing barbarians   so i came up with the requirements where  you had to do a certain amount of reps in   a certain amount of time at a in a certain  form with quality that was like the first   requirement at that time physical requirement at  that time which i learned that the physical part   is very you know that that's second priority  right there the main priority is the character   and the loyalty was number one so no  matter if you were strong enough to   do the requirements that in me you was  a barbarian because you didn't fit that   that mold that character of what it means to  be a barbarian and we are family in a sense so   throughout the years i learned i learned that from  people who joined and people who you know fell out   that they it wasn't a good mess they had different  motives of joining barbarians and you know   i learned so the requirements got tougher  and tougher every year as it is today okay and the the requirements today for the people  uh who are asking themselves oh can i could i do   it i can hear uh tell the requirements of  today the physical requirements the bbrs   the bbrs is five muscle ups 50 dips 30 pull-ups  60 push-ups five muscle-ups within five minutes   and you can't break any number and the home  has to be near perfect okay so you can make   a break do a break after the muscle  ups for example uh before the pusher   the dip sorry but you can't interrupt your dips  too and split them into two sets exactly yes yes nice um yeah uh a question  that just popped into my mind   when was the first time that you uh heard  the the the name calisthenics the word i can't i can't even tell you that but is it like  is it 12 years ago or 20 or i don't know like   approximately yeah that's that's over 30 years  ago 30 well yeah over 30 years ago well i could i   could think of that because like um i don't  know it feels so weird this interview because   like when i have somebody who is like  doing calisthenics for 10 years he's like   an og he's like somebody who is doing the sport  for a long long time and you're the one like   uh that is in the sport for such a long time  that it feels so weird to to just uh like yeah   to i don't know because like you're doing the  sport for such a long time and so you're like   um i don't know how to you know  you see my confusion it's it's just   it's yeah so um let's talk about the the evolution  and the development of calisthenics um how do you   see the the beginnings of the sport how do you see  the sport today the the development from your eyes   oh it it's it's it's going good um at a point  it was it was stagnant for a while but um   i i like that um it's more broad now and  it's it's it's not a how could i say it   at a point there was the freestylers and the  people that did the reps and sets and they would   you know have a conflict now i see like it it  coexists now and it's accepted you know you   could be good at freestyling elements and  you can be good at reps and and whatever you   you want to do um i see the growth i see the  that youtube uh the youtube um changed a lot also   it it become now like a profession now you  know if people could actually make money off   of calisthenics now and i think that's a that's a  good thing but um i also feel it's kind of bad in   the sense that people don't give recognition to  how it started or or shine light on the culture   aspect of it and not so much keeping the spotlight  on them and just trying to propel themselves um   competition competition wise um i see that it's  getting better too because there's more people   doing it um through the course of time i feel  it would get better and uh a stricter judging   system would be implemented something like  the olympics where it did have a guideline   for for the freestylers that is just not  straight based on opinion is based on skill and   skill level of the move that they did  um as far as reps concerned it should be   it should be some standard of what a decent  rep is and what is not but um we'll get down   we'll get there i like how it's going though not  so many words it's fine okay cool um how does your   workout schedule look like today because you're  you're like your father right uh so you're also   uh limited in time uh so how does your  workout schedule look like today for a week um for the for the for the co since the  cove it um and since it's it's winter   i i haven't been working out as much i just  been doing my zoom training and my patreon   and just designing programs and making my videos  when i can it's the training right now is kind   of it's kind of down right now because of the  schedule with the kids and i don't have that   much access anymore i don't want to really go  to the gym anymore my my home setup there's so   much i could do i i really love being outdoors so  i'm just um waiting to the spring and then plus   i told you about the surgery that i have so i  really want to get past that so i could heal   and come back fresh for spring okay  so that's that's my typical day um   i still i still manage every night um i still  have to do a clip i i still have to do a 40   80 push-ups just to maintain and just to check  to me to to know that i'm not falling off   you know my one of my goals for the winter was to  be able to do 50 pull-ups indoors and i was able   to do that last week so congratulations  i still got it i'm not that old yet   what does 40 80 mean 40 80 40 pull-ups 80  push-ups okay right after each other wow   well respect for that um so like um people are  i know that people will ask now yeah but your   normal workout schedule for a week like can you uh  also uh like um tell how you train like normally   how does one week how is your split you know like  stuff like that okay um i say like a summer summer   summer week or summer time um it changes i i don't  like to keep a certain uh schedule because it gets   boring it starts to turn to work working out to me  should be fun you know so it changes every day i   i can just tell you the only thing that stays the  same is the time that i work out so i would start   at six o'clock go to the park depending on who  came to work out that day i would design the   routine that we're going to do that day if it's  about me by myself which usually it's not because   i really don't like to work out by myself anymore  because i don't i don't push myself as much when   i'm by myself i would have to put on a camera  so it it would start with um a warm-up of uh   on the minute on the minute is a 25 push-ups  on the minute every minute based on how   good i'm in shape it will either be 20 minutes  or 40 minutes i don't go ask the 60 anymore do   60 anymore because i start getting bored quick now  so 40 40 minutes warm up push-ups 25 on the minute   then i'll go to the pose you know again it varies  on who's around what routine i'm gonna do and   i'll go back to the push-ups and i'll go back and  forth depending on how much time and in the mood   okay so and that's that's how it  will go pretty much every day wow   but like i say like a four hour workout   four hour workout okay but the exercise that you  do um like you also do muscle ups or is it just uh   i don't know to show off like not to show off  but uh like uh you also do like dips or muscle   ups right the muscle ups again the muscle ups  uh it depends on what the routine calls for   i don't do mull up routines anymore  because of the the risk the injury risk   excuse me um the the dips where i work  out and wingate i don't like that dip bar   so i would i would substitute and do  straight bar dips and that would consist   of a muscle up um you know through three years  of working on an experience you know what to   do and what to stay away from what's necessary  and what's unnecessary the muscle ups you know   that's going to be like in my dna to do a muscle  up so i i could go a whole year without doing   a muscle up and you asked me to do a muscle up  and i'll i'll show you a real muscle up you know   same thing with a one-arm pull-up i i could go  a whole year without doing a one-on-one pull up   a lever whatever you asked me to show you i  i can do it just based on my training okay   um but like uh also the second like i think the  most asked question was about your front lever   because uh that's uh that's quite impressive  even uh me when i see it i think oh that's   that looks solid um so uh like how how do you  maintain yours is it just uh by doing pull-ups   or how why is it so strong it's it's um it's  basically off the training like i said the the   routines are never the same every every session  so some routines will have a lot of core work   mixed into the routine mixed in with the pull-ups  and that that would often strengthen me i i don't   train for the lever i don't train for the  planche um but based on the routines that i do   and those push-ups the the holes the playing  king on the holes all of those things help and   transition to those elements you know i may not  be able to hold to leave it for 30 seconds but   if i if i wanted to if i wanted to on that best  believe i can do that same thing with the plants   don't the only element that i i never um mastered  or didn't get the hang of is um the handstand   and it's because i'm so scared of being upside  down i feel so awkward i feel like i'm gonna   break my neck and every year i tell myself i'm  gonna i'm gonna get it and at one time that i   was getting close to getting it i got injured  from doing weighted dips and i i stopped but   i'm gonna get it trust me guys i'm gonna get  the handstand and i'll make you guys happy   okay so is it a requested thing or what  do you say i'll make you guys happy   yeah it's a requested thing because  it's one of those things we never seen   zeff do you know a lot of people know me now  for the reps and sets they don't they don't um   a lot of people don't go back you know that's why  i'm surprised that you complimented me on my lever   i i often never hear that you know because like  i don't know if people just choose to see the   now what i've been doing yesterday and you know  i i could understand that but i i came on youtube   from doing you know different moves it wasn't  straight sets repston sets when i started   youtube from my first video the first video  i did um that i uploaded it was 2004 and i   uploaded it in 2007 or i think and i did i did  a little routine and then i went into the lever   and that was the first time my friend seen that  and that was actually the first time i did it   and my friend he didn't know what it was he he you  could hear him on the video if you guys get some   time or yeah yeah i care go back to the first  video and you'll hear him like what's that i i   thought he was doing something new and you see me  go in and start the lever and i stayed straight   i didn't i didn't get perfectly horizontal but my  body was straight in a line and i was going there   and my my grip was wide also so that's again  that's just from my training that i developed   those those strengths to do those different  moves okay so it really transfers from the   reps that you do from the push-ups and pull-ups  to the static moves exactly that's what's tell   you don't take those things granted you  can you can perfect your plants your liver   all of those things and i notice the guys  that's really good at it you you see they   their setups are in their bedrooms meaning they  they practice that day and night by themselves   day and night by themselves but they don't  you're missing the the other beauties of um   calisthenics you know to go outside to meet people  to make friends to to to work you know you you   gotta you can't just focus on one thing because  you're only gonna be strong at that one thing   what happens when you get challenged to do  something else what happens when you get older   what happens when you get my age wow you know  you're gonna have you you'll have you'll have   a good leaver you'll have a good plant there's  gonna be another person that's gonna have a   better one hold it longer i see guys planche on a  finger you know that's crazy i see guys balance on   bottles and levers like i mean on a planche like  you know but i i have i have yet to see a 43 year   girl doing those things so what happens to these  guys when you get to that age yeah you know what   happened to the the friends that you you made when  you get that age what happens to the people you   teach if you if you told anyone because you know  you've been practicing that move in your bedroom   all this time you didn't get to go teach anyone  you know i i don't want to go up for rent but yeah   okay um yeah um what do you think is the  the the reason why you are like on such a   high level is it consistency is it your good  genetics is it the food that you take is it   your mindset what or is it a combination  of everything uh what's the reason   you just answered it he just answered it and  and those steps right there okay exactly exactly   what you said you just took the words out of  my mouth consistency um genetics i i would   say my genetics but i i'm not blessed i'm not  if i stop working out i'll be skin and bones   so i can't really say good genetics i wish um the  way how i eat the older i get i eat better and   better like i try to eat better and better than  all i get because i learned how important that was   you know i'm not young where i could eat junk  food and get up and go do 20 muscle ups again   you know i have to watch what i eat i avoid the  sugar i avoid salt you know i um the fried food   i i have to reward myself so if i work out have a  good workout week i could eat some fried chicken   and stuff like that um i have to be focused i have  to um be driven the people that i teach the people   that i inspire i want them to be stronger than me  so i have to keep excelling because when i when i   stop you know chances are they they may stop too  or they may feel like that's that's where it's at   i want them to get stronger so when they surpass  me and i catch up to them i keep pushing them   so that's that's the focus that i have that  you know every every day i get up i feel   oh i touch that ball like i touch the ball  every day i from the age of i would say 38. every time i touch the ball every time the season  starts i feel like okay is this your last year   is that for what was last year last  year you know and i push myself and then   sometimes i i impress myself sometimes and i'm  reminded like okay zeff you got another year   you got another year to do it you know and that's  that's that's how it's been so yeah you have to   have focus i set goals for myself every season  said i said it every every day honestly i set   goals and i try to get them accomplished  if not the next day by the end of the week do you have an idea how long this will like go on  like i don't want to bring you in any any crisis   or something or something or it shouldn't sound  provocative or something but do you think like you   will um do this you will be able to do this for  15 years 20 years or like how do you feel about   the future are you scared or are you motivated  to like push further or what's what's the feeling   oh i i feel like until until my deathbed um you  know crap forbid if i i get sick or anything that   would be the only way to stop me but i if not that  i i see me being old and gray and still trying to   keep up with the younger generation i'm i'm not  scared about what the future holds you know i   i deal with today right now you know and i  don't i don't try to worry about things that   i can't control right now i can control you  know what i do as far as physically and you   know help inspire people i feel like um i i  i'm i prove my methods work i'm living proof   of my method of my barbarian training so  every year that i do something impressive   it's more proof that my method works you know i'm  43 i'm going to be 44 actually in june you know my   goal is to do 50 pull-ups when i'm 50 you know  and hopefully hopefully i'll get 60 this summer   you know and it's proof you i don't have to  talk at that point you know i show i show that   you know you don't you don't even have to get  any of my routines you see it in my face like   you like you said when i tell you my age it's  like wow that that's you look good for your   age you know basically i like to hear that that  means i'm doing something good yeah you know sure   and when there are like 20 year olds or 16  year old people uh and asking you how to get   like arms like you that's a good sign that's  a good sign that you're doing something doing   something in the in the good way so yeah just  take it as a compliment really yes yeah i do i do   i hear that all the time like your arms and that's  that's from decades of just pulling as decades of   pulling and changing the different variations  but you know um it took it took years you know   it took years because again i'm naturally a slim  guy so the moment i stopped working out everything   would just go back to its natural state so from  these from years of telling my body i i need i   need you guys i need i need the arms you know i  use like all right we gonna keep that right there   that's good nice um yeah you you're like um when  you go into workout what is your mindset like are   you like uh during your sets are you like really  calm or are you aggressive are you like how is   it how is your how does it look like in in your  mind it again it depends on it depends on the   goal because i'm very competitive you know i have  my brothers that push me you know sometimes um   sometimes i i like to trash talk to help that  motivation for them to trash talk and return   so we have to prove it to each other so you  know based on based on who i'm working out with   you know i have my my brother keno aka  the leader that that's his name the leader   so his by his name alone tells you you know he's  my biggest competitor because he's the leader   you know that he took the leader of barbarians so  i compete with him and that that came about from   us challenging each other and him beating me and  him throwing up his hands and saying okay i'm the   leader now so that's that's my focus sometimes  when we going into workout is who's gonna who's   gonna break first with certain people you know and  other others um it's really about uh the goal that   i set today you know i may have a routine i think  of the night before and i want to get that done to   see if i could uh accomplish it without a break  in it or see if i could just accomplish a period   so i i will be focused on that um most of the  time it's just i'm out there just to to maintain   and just to get a good workout that's usually  a good day for everyone else you know bad days   went on i may see a video or someone something  on social media got me upset and then that day   you know i have a purpose it's a lot  it's different every day you know   sometimes some people may need  discipline also i i'll go in the park   and someone may need some discipline  in that day and i i have to break them   you know i don't want to give give out  too much secrets but that that happened okay sometimes you know uh this this  calisthenic this calisthenic game   um it it helped a lot of people in the self-esteem  and made people you know ego driven you know   so sometimes if i if i'm fortunate to get  to encounter these people um i i get to   discipline them you know so that's my mind  stay for those days i i love those days   those are my favorite day you know i love to catch  those guys um well yeah it's different every day   okay makes sense um somebody asked if you can  explain the quote um the hardest set is that   you never attempted the the heart the hardest  set is the one that you never attempted to me   it's it's because um you didn't try you know it  was it was so hard that you gave up even before   you started you didn't tell yourself that you  can do it and you can't even bring yourself to   go and even make the attempt so you don't know  you don't know how hard or difficult that that   set was because you didn't try it in a sense  so you you it's it's left as a mystery you know   you you have to try no no matter what no matter  what it is it could be a a 50 muscle up routine   if you didn't try you couldn't bring yourself  to try it you don't know you know you understand   if you can understand what i'm saying you don't  know how difficult it was if you didn't try   you have to bring yourself and prepare yourself  first and get that routine done in your head   tell yourself you can do it first before you  actually go and do it if you can't do that then   every routine every routine is going to be  difficult to you if you can't get the enough uh   motivation for you to go even try a routine most  people most people won't try a routine based on   what they they think it may be difficult they  hear the numbers they hear the elements that's   involved and they won't even bring themselves to  even try it or attempt it and that routine can be   easy you understand how how would you know if  you never tried it you know certain certain   people they need to see it done so they can know  it's achievable before they even make an attempt   you know um so yeah a lot of people first you have  to complete that routine in your head first tell   yourself that you can do it and you're going to  do it and then go out there and actually do it okay um yeah i i would be interested in your  nutrition a little um because uh something   that i heard uh that the older you get uh the  less you have to eat because uh your your body   slows down like the metabolism is it called or  like in general um do you need less and less   calories uh is it is it right do you feel  it um i only eat breakfast and dinner but   i've been doing that i've been doing that for  years even when even when i was young because   um i'm always on the move i'm always active and  to sit down and eat sometimes it takes away from   my fun even as a child you know my mother  would have to drag me aside to go and eat   um the old i got i i do notice  the food affects me differently that's why i try to eat uh as best as i can um i  avoid certain things uh the portions that i eat   as far as it changes it changes if i if i have  a goal and say my goal this month is to get   50 pull-ups i'm going to eat less i'm going to  eat um the food is not going to be heavy i'm not   going to eat that much meat pause um i'm gonna  eat more greens i'm gonna drink more shakes uh   but i'm not gonna eat more through the course of  the day though it's still gonna be just breakfast   and dinner dinner is usually like eight o'clock  um the specific the specifics of what i eat   i i could go on it changes based on my goal again  if i'm trying to live heavy if i'm trying to do um   real real endurance sets i usually eat heavy like  i i don't care as far as eating light to keep my   body light to to stay at maybe 148 148 that's  my high rep weight uh i would say in the 150s   that's my punishing weight when i say punishing  that means i'm ready for competition where   i could do everything okay sorry if i didn't  answer the question fully but no it's perfect   thank you uh yeah you said shakes is it uh way  or like is it self-made shakes yeah self-made   shakes um i i make shakes uh mostly with  my my moss griffin moss which is seymour   um greens i use dates uh i i don't i don't eat  any dairy i don't take any protein supplements um   i don't i don't do those i'm not i'm not against  it but personally i don't i don't do that   okay because yeah coconut milk um granola  stuff like that that goes into my my shakes   my smoothies okay other supplements that you  would recommend or that you take yourself um i take omega-3 that's that that helps me from  the tendonitis i used to suffer from tendonitis   back in 2009 you watch my very own videos you see  me wearing like sleeves i used to have to endure   that pain um and from from taking the omega-3  that that alleviated that uh what else i take d3   b12 um ashwagandha i'm trying to think it it's  it's it's a it's a lot but they're all natural   yeah herbs and minerals okay um  as far as i could think i'm uh   it's a lot okay but again they they're all  natural natural herbs and minerals that i take   i can already you can inbox  me if you want to know okay   i can already see all the the young guys  running to the drugstore for for omega   3 and for this stuff because i remember  when i had like tendonitis in 2015 or some   2015 and 2016 i was like so desperate in finding  a solution i also like um sleeves help them help   but like 3 also was working well i think  i tried um i don't know how to call it but   but from crabs like um the uh they also have some  some stuff for the joints in them but so yeah   3 helps you say yes yes big time and the  sugar too you have to avoid this sugar   at first when when it went away i thought it was  because of the the one arm pull-ups because that's   what really brought the pain doing um moves  like that i thought it was because i stayed   away from those and it helped alleviate the  pain which it it did but it was really my diet   avoiding that sugar and taking that the omega-3  the flax seeds eaten a lot of um fish that   that helped and you know not knock on wood um i  haven't had it for years ten years over correct   so that that's good i it's like a curse  to me i don't even like talking about   it we can cut it out of the interview um great so  um yeah we're coming to an end of the interview   um we still have some quick questions quick  answers um what do you prefer pizza or burger   pizza pizza i just had pizza yesterday all day  great sounds good are you a dog or a cat person dog i have i have neither right now  but i'm a dog i'm a dog i love dogs   great uh do you have a  favorite location for holidays jamaica jamaica is my my second home yeah i  love jamaica that's that's where i do my healing   um real quick like anytime i would get injured  i go to jamaica and i'll i'll come back   fresh and i make sure and document that to  the show i was like in jamaica fresh and   able to do something um amazing  it's just the sun and the beach   and i advise anyone that to anytime you get  injured go go take a swim in the beach and just   just submerge and just stay there you don't  even have to swim you just stay in the water   and stay there for hours i guarantee it  works wonder and the coconut water too   the coconut water yeah but definitely the power  of the sea is truly amazing interesting um yeah   who are the athletes that inspire you oh wow  so there's so many um mainly my brothers i i   don't i don't you know questions like that i  i feel bad about answering them because i i   don't like to leave people out at so many yeah  of course all my barbarians you know um i don't   want to leave anyone out but i'm inspired by  by all of them you know all of them they know   they know who they are outside of outside of  barbarians outside of barbarians i would say um   doc always doc inspires me um because uh he's  been doing it as long as i've been doing it and   he's staying consistent he's still going so you  know i i look at people like that the younger guys   the younger guys i'm impressed by what they do  but you know their consistency you know has to   there's not enough time for them to show that to  really impress me with that i i got to see years   you know there's plenty of guys i've seen in  the past i've seen people come and go you know   and i don't see them anymore guys that used to  be strong back then i don't see them today um   so again you know my my barbarian brothers  they really pushed me and inspired me and   the list go down from from ice surgery  javi snoop and tech of course tech um   all my brothers you see i feel bad because i  just want to know the names in that i can't   i can't even oh my two closest brothers jude  and andy just giving shout outs right now okay   yeah so i'm sorry if i imagine your name  guy because i i uh i left out the question   from the community that was like asked five to  seven times um who is your favorite barbarian   but i know that this is a mean question um  and i thought that uh you wouldn't answer   it yeah i can't all of them all of them are my  favorite there's no there's no one in particular   great um do you have an exercise that you  hate like a nightmare exercise for you burpees i hate burpees there's a there's a  5md with the burpees it's it's 50   50 burpees 50 pull-ups that's the worst 5md that  you can do don't ever try that okay i hate i hate   burpees that's more worse exercise okay uh do you  have a favorite book that you want to recommend um not in particular um this is the this the last one i'm reading right  now the human connection and how we relate   and marketing that that's that's the latest  that i'm reading right now nothing that i   could um recommend offhand it's just some  self-improvement books that i read mostly   not too much uh stories or novels right now okay  great um there's so many right here right there   i'm looking at them right now do you have a  favorite calisthenics event that you've visited   a favorite that i i i would say um my time my  time in um kazakhstan i would say that was one   of my favorites because it was non-stop working  out they had uh a park set up indoors in the hotel   and three in the morning no matter what time  there was someone in the gym waiting for me to   work out and i i worked i never worked out that  much in my life that in kazakhstan so to me that   that's that's one of the the best workout trips  i've ever been on um fav favorite place i would   say work out i say italy and that's because most  of my brothers got to visit with me so italy   i had a i had a real great time there that's  that's my favorite right now i would say great   yeah and the last question or no i have one to put  in between if you have to decide for the rest of   your life what do you like only one exercise you  can continue uh is it push-ups or is it pull-ups   or is it a completely different exercise push-ups  always push-ups yeah that's that's the first thing   i teach even my my kids push-ups that's the  first thing i do with it whenever you want to   start with push-ups so i guess i'll start with  push-ups and anyway push-ups okay sounds great um   yeah and the last question do you have a message  to the calisthenics community and to the listeners   um i wish i wrote that down my message is  to to stay stay true stay stay grounded um   don't get caught up in the right now and  what you see try to be creative try to try to   make your own lane don't try to copy what someone  did or don't try to out don't really try to outdo   yourself compete against yourself i i would say  that most people they get caught up in social   media and seeing what's the next and trying to  follow a wave instead of start their own wave or   make their own movement and and keep elevating  the game you know that's that's how you elevate   the game by creating something new so don't  get caught up in the flashy of today because   those things fade don't go for the fast money go  for the longevity go slow grind work no matter   how long even if you don't see progress that night  next day you'll see the progress if you continue   and you stay focused so never give up man that's  that's what i have to say great well we can make   a motivational video out of that yeah thank you um  and the last questions um yeah how can people get   in touch with you how can they support you uh with  your patreon you said with your merchandise um   oh well i have so many um uh if a lot  of people they usually ask me the same   questions all the time my inbox is full and  the best thing and i i say it's priceless   is my patreon because i i offer so much and it  changes every month what i do one-on-one coaching   sometimes i do group sessions that we work out i  like groups that's how long the battery shut off   we do um it's so much out of offer on the  patreon that i i don't list because it's so much   and it's patreon at zep sacavelli that's  that's the best if you're a fan and you want to   you want to progress most all my new videos are  on there i make videos specifically for there   that's why i fell off for youtube i don't you  know focus too much on youtube anymore all my   videos are there if you guys are looking for  them and that's where i interact more and answer   people's questions so my patreon zeph zachary  um my gryphon moss for people lesson to see moss   there's more information on that so that's  griffinmost.com the barbarians gear the shirts are   barbarians.com or you could go to the igp page the  barbarians gear page on ig any anything else you   follow me on ig the real zacavelli inbox me if  you have any questions or details about getting   more information and the zacavelli zuckerberg  on youtube and that that's that's it great   we'll put all the 47 links in the description  uh so everybody can find what he's looking for   um yeah and i want to say thank you really thank  you thank you for taking the time there i know   you're a busy man and yeah i really appreciate  your time appreciate your advice that you give   to the young generation to the listeners whoever  listens to this and yeah also big big thank you   to everyone listening one hour straight uh big  thing uh in this uh in this like short attention   generation so i'm really happy that you stuck  with at the end and if it helped you if you liked   it give it a thumbs up and help us share zev's  message and yes if you have the last words thanks   again for your time and i say goodbye oh thank  thank you man i i really i really admire that you   guys reached out to the older guys like  me you know i was kind of surprised that   you know yeah i still value hearing stuff from  an old guy like me and hearing stuff like because   honestly i could keep talking for for forever you  know there's so much that we haven't spoken about   but um again you know thank you also for being  patient you know i was a little late we got caught   up in the time zone difference um you know thank  you listeners out there also you know for being   interested in a guy like me and barbarian said you  know we're going to keep growing we're going to   keep moving forward hopefully you guys can aspire  to be barbarians too one day and you have what it   takes and i'll come to your country eventually man  hopefully i don't have to get vaccinated and you   know i see you guys you know i love you guys all  man thanks again for having me on your platform.