Bryan Danielson On AEW Vs. WWE – “I Don’t Feel The Need To Be As Big”

Bryan Danielson opened up about his training regimen and compared current expectations about his body to his time in WWE.

After decades in the world of professional wrestling, Bryan Danielson has plenty of experience keeping his body in peak condition to meet the demanding needs of sports entertainment. Speaking in a new interview with GQ, Bryan Danielson opened up about his training, first detailing how injuries and physical setbacks cause him to adjust his schedule in order to do what’s best for his body.

“I recently tore my labrum on my right shoulder, so it’s like when stuff like that happens, rehab comes first before doing any sort of pressing movements. Before the MJF Iron Man match, I could probably do well over 100 push-ups in a row. After the MJF Iron Man match, I couldn’t do one push up.

“You go through these things where you’ll have physical setbacks. Before, I might have made myself do push-ups or made myself do pressing stuff, I don’t do that anymore if my body can’t do it. It’s like: Focus on things that are going to improve stability. Focus on things that are going to get me to the point where I can do five push-ups without pain, then ten push-ups without pain, then 20 push-ups without pain. So that’s the difference in how I work out now.”

Bryan Danielson Says Not Focusing On Size Is Much Better For His Body

Continuing, Bryan Danielson spoke about not feeling the pressure to be as big in AEW as he did in WWE as AEW’s roster is generally comprised of smaller individuals. According to Danielson, shifting focus away from building size has been much better for his body.

“Because AEW is a smaller roster—not everybody is a giant like it was in WWE—I don’t feel the need to be as big. And that’s so much better for my body, because for years and years and years, I was always trying to be big. For somebody who’s not naturally big, lifting heavy weights all the time is really hard on your body.

“And now I still lift heavy weights, but I cycle in and out of it. So I’ll progressively get heavier on my deadlift. Take a week off from deadlifting, or two weeks off, or even three weeks off from deadlifting, go back at a lighter weight, and then start cycling kind of back up again. So just a smarter training regimen and not being afraid to take a day off from what would be considered intense training and do something lighter, like yoga. And as I’ve gotten older, I’ve gotten more into the yoga and that sort of thing than I was earlier in my career.”

Bryan Danielson is currently on the sidelines as he’s recovering from a broken arm he suffered in a match against Kazuchika Okada at Forbidden Door back in June.