Josh Baker aka The Gym Reaper: The World’s Strongest Press?

**SPEAKER_1** (0:00)
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**Eddie Hall** (0:30)
What's your number one goal right now to be the best bench presser that's ever lived? You know, I see so many people at different ends of the spectrum that are on crazy amounts of gear and low amounts of gear. And my concern is how much is it going to take me to get to where I need to go? 10% of my following is Los Angeles based. People all over the world have seen that content. There was so much ego involved in my early years lifting. Everyone went through that stage. That's why I don't fall in it too heavily because everyone in the gym went through a stage of thinking they were the bollocks. Welcome back to The Good, The Bad & The Beast. Today's guest is one of the strongest benchpressers in the world. Moving weights, most people wouldn't believe. 330 kilos or 730 pounds is what he can benchpress. And today, we're gonna break down his training, recovery, diet, and what it takes to grow your body in strength, but also on social media. So welcome to the podcast, Josh Baker, aka The Gym Reaper.

**Josh Baker** (1:34)
Hello.

**Eddie Hall** (1:35)
How are you, sir?

**Josh Baker** (1:35)
I'm okay. How are you?

**Eddie Hall** (1:36)
Very good.

**Josh Baker** (1:37)
Good.

**Eddie Hall** (1:37)
Thank you for joining us.

**Josh Baker** (1:38)
No, thanks for having me.

**Eddie Hall** (1:39)
Where have you come from today? Tamworth.

**Josh Baker** (1:42)
Lovely.

**Eddie Hall** (1:43)
Are you near Martin Ford? Yeah, sadly.

**SPEAKER_1** (1:46)
Sadly.

**Josh Baker** (1:48)
He's great, isn't he, Martin Ford?

**Eddie Hall** (1:50)
Yeah, he decided to pick me as his new training partner, which, you know, a lot of people want me. That sounds really cool. Turns out it's not that cool. Martin Ford is one of the most miserable people to train with, and I mean that in the nicest possible way. He just makes training so unenjoyable. Yeah, he makes training feel like you're going to death camp. Yeah. That's what it feels like. It's like, oh, I'm going to train next, and Martin, okay, I might as well be ready to be depressed for five days. Yeah, like you're lining up for the Howitz. Yeah, yeah. It's like, you just don't want to fucking go. No, you don't. But to be fair to him, he does have this ability to bring out like a mental barrier, overcoming mental blockades that not many people can. He has got a style of training that is very intense and you will find that you can push past places you normally wouldn't when you're with him. However, I just don't believe it's beneficial to him.
So he's fantastic. He's awesome. He's amazing, but he's fucking full of shit. Yeah, yeah. It's just, it's like, I've noticed what I've lost 40 kid off my bench in the last four weeks. It's not going up, it's going down. It's going down. This is what we're gonna love about Martin. He knows how to build muscle. He knows how to look good. If you're after a bodybuilding coach, Martin Ford is the man. If you want to get strong, he's not the man. No, he will destroy your strength. Yeah, he is. He's destroying my soul to be honest.

**Josh Baker** (3:08)
So, you know, I'm having a great time.

**Eddie Hall** (3:10)
Great.

**Josh Baker** (3:10)
Fantastic. Good to hear.

**Eddie Hall** (3:12)
I asked, I didn't ask you, I asked you today about bringing a piece of the beast in.

**Josh Baker** (3:17)
I completely forgot.

**Eddie Hall** (3:18)
Luckily you've got something on your phone.

**Josh Baker** (3:19)
I have, yeah.

**Eddie Hall** (3:20)
So I always ask my guests to bring a piece of the beast in and this can be an item, an artifact, or something that has good meaning, a turning point in your life. What is said? So I've got a picture of my uncle. Your uncle? Yes. So that is my uncle Danny. He was an RSM, the Irish Guard in the army for 26 years. When I was eight, nine, ten years old, all through my childhood, that was my inspiration. He was my hero. Do you know what I mean? Danny served in Iraq, multiple tours, African multiple tours, did SAS Ops, everything you name it was very, you know, he even guarded the Queen one on one. Wow. So, you know, Danny was very a standout person for me and for everything in my life. And I always wanted to be in the army. That was my dream.