Rocio Cortez had never played a sport. She'd never been in a weight room. At 27 she walked into a jujitsu gym, and three and a half years later she's training wrestling, striking, MMA and Muay Thai, and she's competed at Apex twice.
The number that matters in this conversation is not the 275-pound deadlift she pulled at a bodyweight of 119. It's three and a half years. That's how long it took to build the body she has now, and she never once trained for it directly. She trained to get faster, to jump higher, to get stronger. The body followed.
Tara and Rocio get honest about what that stretch actually felt like: the days she took progress photos and hated them, the clothes that stopped fitting, the body dysmorphia that showed up right as she was making her best gains.
In this episode:
Why the people you train around change what you believe is possible for you
How to build a circle when you're the shy one in the corner
Grieving friendships that fade when your lifestyle changes, and why the real ones modify the hangout instead
Starting at 27, and how Rocio stopped mourning the years she didn't train
What actually makes you an athlete, and why Tara says you don't have to compete to be one
Why being a beginner is an advantage, not a liability
Training for performance and letting the body sort itself out
103 pounds to 120: learning to use a body that's changed
Diet culture, double zero pants, and 100 crunches before bed
Injury, warming up, and why pushing through isn't a plan
Starting martial arts as a woman when the room is mostly men
How to know you're progressing when the weight on the bar has stalled
Screen time, comparison, and curating a feed that doesn't cost you anything
Timestamps: 00:42 Welcome to Broads 01:35 You are who you surround yourself with 04:24 Building your five people 07:11 When friendships fade 09:53 Starting at 27 and grieving lost time 13:00 What makes you an athlete 14:41 Why Rocio likes being a beginner 18:02 Where the intimidation actually comes from 21:18 Training for performance, and the body that followed 23:40 Diet culture and high school 25:26 103 to 120 27:16 Injuries and the machismo mindset 29:09 Being a woman in a male-dominated sport 30:18 How to start jujitsu when you're intimidated 32:31 "I work out but I don't look like I work out" 33:20 Three and a half years of reps 35:44 Progress when the weight stalls 37:25 Perfectionism, imposter syndrome and screen time 42:34 Curating who you follow 44:36 For the woman focused on how she looks 46:53 Get a coach
Connect with Rocio: https://www.instagram.com/rockin_rocio/ https://www.rociocortez.com/
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