I’m Bigger. Much Bigger. But He’s Much Better… in More Ways Than One!

I want to introduce you to someone special. He’s someone I love and admire. But first, let’s talk about moi – i.e., my physical fitness routine.

I train for fitness twice a week. I do two hours with a trainer. A combination of stretching, weightlifting, bodyweight exercises, and high-intensity cardio. These workouts are good for me. So, I do them. But they are hard. And boring. So, I dread them.

Four days a week, I train in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for an hour. (It’s grappling. Like wrestling, except the object is to “submit” your opponent by joint lock or strangulation.) Each session consists of five eight-minute bouts of moderate- to high-intensity grappling, with two or three minutes of instruction between each round.

For me, this is the perfect way to stay in shape. In terms of challenging the body, it’s like combining sprinting, powerlifting, yoga, and Pilates in the same workout. In terms of challenging the mind, it’s like a combination of speed chess and Zen meditation. My BJJ sessions are good for me. But, unlike my workouts with my trainer, I look forward to them. They feel like playing. The kind of playing I did when I was a child.

There is another reason I love BJJ: It gives me the chance to form friendships with people that I’d probably never otherwise know. Three of the four guys I train with are Brazilian. Eric is in his late twenties, Vitor is in his early thirties, Sam is in his early forties, and Renato is 51. Vitor and Sam weigh about 235 pounds, Eric is about my size at 205, and Renato normally weighs about 155 to 165.

In my journal yesterday, I wrote this about Renato:

Renato Tavares is a multiple-time world champion in three weight classes. He walks around at about 160 pounds. But once a year, for the World Master Championship tournament (usually held in Las Vegas), he gets down to 138. At 160 pounds, Renato looks like he could win an all-natural bodybuilding contest. Dropping to 138 means losing like 15% of his weight. That’s hard to do when you weigh 250 pounds. And when you weigh 160, it’s insanely difficult. I’ve asked Renato why he does it. After all, he is competitive at two classes heavier. He tells me that, for him, it is an extreme mental and moral challenge. And when he accomplishes it, he knows that he can also accomplish the many less extreme challenges he faces every day.

And he has plenty of challenges. Besides being a world-class athlete, Renato is a devoted husband and father, a friend to all who know him, an active philanthropist, a successful businessperson, and a lifelong learner.

I’ve known Renato for about 20 years. He came here as a member of American Top Team, one of the more successful teams competing in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and mixed martial arts. He quickly rose to the top of his class as an athlete. But he had other goals. He wanted to partake in the American Dream.

And that meant learning English. (He didn’t speak a word when he got here. He’s fluent now.) It meant getting a job. (He taught BJJ in his spare time.) Starting a side business. (He now has a BJJ association with members in the states and many foreign countries.) He saved every dollar he didn’t need to maintain a simple lifestyle and invested in real estate, one small purchase at a time. Today, he has a beautiful home, several investment properties that bring in monthly income, and a business that is profitable and growing.

He’s the hardest-working person I know. He’s also one of the kindest and most charitable. He’s done all that and he still manages to get better at his sport. The last time I trained with him, he was down to 145 pounds. I was “down” to 205. That’s a 40-pound difference. I felt like I was wrestling with an alligator.

How Renato finds the time to do everything he does and stay on top of his game at 51 years old is amazing. I often tell him, “I want to be just like you when I’m your age.” (That’s a joke. He doesn’t think it’s funny either.)

Anyway, last weekend he was off to compete in the World Master tournament in Vegas, while I was here in Nicaragua, sitting in my Tiki hut, with the beautiful beach and mountains in front of me. I had completely forgotten that Renato was competing when Sam, (one of my 235-pound training partners) texted to ask if I’d seen the news.

Renato took first place and now is ranked number one in his category (50+, black belt) at 138 pounds. As I’ve said, this isn’t the first world-championship belt he’s won. But when I consider all the other things he does, it’s truly inspiring.

And the way he won this year is doubly impressive. He won his first match in 43 seconds (knee bar). And the second one (wrist lock) in 13!!!

That’s him on the podium at the top of this article.