The Ultimate Training Partnership - The Secret to Branch & Johnnie's 18 Year Union
The Ultimate Training Partnership
The Secret to Johnnie Jackson & Branch Warren's 18 Year Gym Union
Four decades ago in Venice Beach, the most famous training duo of our sport’s history were pushing each other to the limits at the original Gold’s Gym. They were Arnold and Franco, and at that time they were two of the hardest-training bodybuilders of all time training in the undisputed hardcore Mecca on the planet. Immortalized in “Pumping Iron,” theirs was a partnership like none other. But down in Arlington, Texas, there’s a new hardcore haven— Metroflex Gym. Brian Dobson’s humble gym was home to Ronnie Coleman from before his first contest and all the way through eight Mr. Olympia titles and 26 pro wins. Now, the tradition is carried on by not one but two top pros: two-time Arnold Classic champion Branch Warren and his friend Johnnie Jackson, also an accomplished powerlifter. You’ve seen their insane workouts on MD online and in the magazine. Now it’s time to get to the bottom of how they started training together, why their 18-year partnership works so well, and how they can be like Arnold and Franco— the best of friends in the gym, yet rivals onstage.
How They Became Training Partners
Johnnie:
“It was 1998 and I had just finished up my stint in the Army and I was competing in a national qualifier in Dallas, either the Lone Star State or the Texas, one of those. I got second at the show. Branch was there with his friends backstage, and we talked a little bit. I didn’t think anything of it. At the time I was training at Stroud’s Fitness in Hurst, and Branch and his training partner Jay Moore came in to train about two or three days later. They came over and said hi, and we talked about maybe hooking up for a workout. I said, sounds good to me!”
Branch:
“Pretty sure it was the Texas. He got second in the middleweights, and it was a bad judging call. He should have won. Me and my friends thought it was bullshit, and we wanted to let Johnnie know. One of his friends was back there, a powerlifter, and he told us how heavy and hard Johnnie trained. When we ran into him at Stroud’s a few days later, that’s when it really began.”
Their First Workout Together
Johnnie:
“I wish I had some cool story about squatting ‘til we puked or something, but this was about 17 years ago and honestly I don’t recall the specifics. But I do remember that from the very first workout, there was that challenge to see who could train heavier and harder, that fight to see who could summon up more intensity and who wanted it more. I could see this was a guy who would always keep me on my toes. I don’t think it was a coincidence that we both turned pro at the same show, the 2001 NPC Nationals. We killed each other in the workouts leading up to that show.”
Branch:
“I can’t remember any specifics either, but I do remember that first week was hard as hell. We were basically two big bulls sizing each other up and seeing who was going to be the alpha male! It was clear from that first week that he was just like me. Every workout was all-out, nothing held back.”
Why They Make a Perfect Team
Johnnie:
“Aside from us both carrying a lot of mass, we’re actually polar opposites in our physiques. I had naturally good shape and lines and symmetry all along, and Branch had to fight hard to improve his shape by bringing up certain areas. He had to struggle to get his upper body to match his legs, and I am still trying to have my legs match my upper body. But our training styles and mindset are exactly the same. Our goal every time we train is to demolish that particular body part.Our strength is about the same, so we don’t have to change the weights between sets. Neither one of us carries the other one— we’re equals in the gym. The only times we don’t train together are when I am getting ready for a powerlifting event and have to focus on that instead of bodybuilding.”
Branch:
“This might sound weird, but you know how some husbands and wives get along great and others just fight and clash all the time? Obviously our situation is different and we’re not married, but we do have a certain chemistry in the gym. We have the same training style and the same philosophy. The dude is a hard worker, and so am I. I have no patience for people that don’t work, or for people who whine and complain. Johnnie’s the same way.”
Who’s Stronger?
Johnnie:
“Branch has me on military presses, and he always gets me on squats as far as who can do more reps with a heavy weight. His legs have such ridiculous endurance. But I’m stronger on everything else.”
Branch:
“Lately I’ve actually been a little stronger on chest. When it comes to back, there’s no contest. Johnnie can pull a house. His best deadlift in competition is something like 850, over 100 pounds more than I ever did back when I was powerlifting. He’s right about the legs. I can grind out a lot of reps, and I don’t think there are too many people that I can’t out-rep."
Talking During Workouts— Not a Lot of Chitchat Here!
Johnnie:
“We’ll catch up a little bit in the beginning of the workout while we’re warming up, but for us it’s like we punch a clock when we get to the gym. We’re there to work. Besides which, I’m usually so out of breath from my own sets and yelling at him during his that I can’t talk even if I wanted to. I figure if you can talk during your workout, you’re not training hard enough.”
Branch:
“I’d say we really only talk once the workout is over. We’re not there to talk. That shit has to wait. People who talk a lot when they work out definitely aren’t training as hard as they should.”
Keeping Intensity High When Calories Are Low
Johnnie:
“There are times when one of us has more energy than the other. For example, sometimes I would get up at 4 in the morning to do my first cardio session, and by the time I met Branch to train, it was 10 or 11. I’ve been up a while, and he’s bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. But if either one of us is ever ragged out and beat, it all changes once the workout starts and we see the other one doing his sets. It’s motivating, because we both know that at any given contest, some guys can slip and another guy who no one was even worried about shows up looking like a freak and blows everyone else away. There’s only one man standing at the end of the night, and training with someone at the same level of competition is a constant reminder of that.”
Branch:
“It’s not easy. You do get exhausted toward the end of the contest prep period. But so what? I shake it off and deal with it. I never want to lose because someone else outworked me, and I never will.”
On Being Friends in the Gym— and Fierce Rivals Onstage
Johnnie:
“We separate the two things, training and business. Competing is our business. As a man, you want to be successful at your job— you want to be the best. Because we bring out the best in each other every time we train, we help each other succeed in our business. It’s a mutually beneficial situation. As far as who wins, of course we both want to win. But if it’s not going to be me who wins, I hope it’s Branch, and he feels the same way.”
Branch:
“That competition stuff means nothing to us in the gym. It doesn’t matter until we’re both onstage together and that’s when it’s always going to come down to the last man standing. We both want to be that man. But in the gym, it’s all about the training and pushing as hard as possible. Our competition in there is fierce too. Neither one of us wants to get beat, ever, whether it’s in a workout or a contest.”
My First Impression of Metroflex Gym— and My First Workout There
Johnnie:
“I thought it was a shithole! It was gross, filthy and dusty, and hot as hell. The equipment looked like it was older than my great-grandmother. There were guys working out with their shirts off, all hairy and sweaty and hollering at each other from across the gym, dropping weights. I told Branch, I can’t come back here, sorry. So we trained at Stroud’s for a while, and then we would alternate back and forth between Metroflex and Stroud’s. Eventually, Metroflex grew on me. I started to like the loud music, the intensity, just the atmosphere in general. Stroud’s is a great gym, no doubt, but to me it suddenly felt boring. So from then on, it’s all been at Metroflex.”
Branch:
“I was a lot younger than Johnnie was. I was 17 years old and the only two places I had ever trained were the weight room at my high school, and the Family Fitness I had joined. A huge guy who also went there at times named Mark Hanlon, who passed away a few years ago, was helping me get ready for a show. One day he told me it was time for me to go to a real gym. I’d heard stories about this place called Metroflex, and they were all true!
“It was summertime when we pulled up for my first workout there. Back then there were a bunch of strip clubs in that part of town, and a lot of the girls worked out at Metroflex. That day, and this is no lie, there were actually girls out in the parking lot doing squats in bikinis. You can imagine how that looked to a kid my age. So we walked in, and I saw all these massive powerlifter dudes stomping around. Hard rock music was cranked so loud it hurt your ears. Guys were moving weights I had never seen moved before. Right then I said, this is the place for me.
“Then Mark’s training partner came in to start the chest workout— Ronnie Coleman. At the time, Mark was 280 and bigger than Ronnie, but Ronnie already had that look of the round muscles that hung off him. It was the heaviest, hardest workout I’d ever had, and I never even knew I could train that hard. I never went back to Family Fitness.”
Brian Dobson on the Partnership
Brian Dobson is the owner of Metroflex Gym and was there from the first time both Branch and Johnnie walked through its doors. He’s also been their trainer for nearly three years.
“I knew it was going to be a win-win situation with those two from the start. Johnnie came from a powerlifting background and he was already incredibly strong. For a long time, Johnnie was much stronger on pressing movements, and Branch wouldn’t let that stand. It was Branch getting stronger to catch up to Johnnie that helped him build his chest and shoulders up as thick as they are now. Johnnie also brought in techniques from powerlifting that they’ve both used, like floor presses. They’ve definitely brought out the best in each other, and you can track it in their contest showings.
“When Johnnie’s wife had their baby seven years ago, he had to stick closer to his side of town. He stopped coming out here and stopped training with Branch, and his career started sliding downhill a bit. He had no one to compete with in the gym. He realized that, and one day he called Branch up and said, I need to get back to Metroflex and start training with you again. He came back, and at his next three shows he won and took second place twice.
“Meanwhile, Branch won his second Arnold Classic (2012) after tearing his quad. The leg training had to change after that, with more control and higher reps, and that wound up helping both of them a lot. Johnnie’s legs have come up three inches in the last few years!
“People like to complain to me about their form for whatever reason, but you know what? It works for them. Before you sit and pass judgment on Branch and Johnnie and their lifting form, answer this question. How many pro shows have you won? Have you won two Arnold Classic titles and taken second at the Mr. Olympia? They use an explosive, constant tension style with very heavy weights, and that’s what they’ve been doing all these years. Clearly they are doing something right.”