Solomon Yi
Poker player, wrestler, weightlifter...
I know something you don’t know.
TK went on and on about how he wish that there was more of a strength challenge because he would crush it on the upcoming Survivor season. He mentioned his bench press. It was a lot of words relative to pounds. If he had his way, he would have learned something that I already knew – he was going up against someone who didn’t talk about it but was much, much stronger. Season 47 of Survivor showed the world a little bit of my friend Sol Yi.
CD: Sol! Thoughts on fitness?
SY: Fitness should be the top priority in everyone's life. I believe if you are disciplined in your fitness, everything else in your life will be better.
CD: Favorites and least favorite lifts?
SY: I love back squats. It's such an important lift for strength and longevity. I absolutely hate the deadlift as I'm so scared I'm going to injure myself. I sit down a lot for work and my lower back is in pain due to the long hours in the car. My main focus for training isn't competition but overall health and longevity.
CD: How does fitness fit in with family?
SY: Whenever I visit my family back home, we always work out together. It's a fun way to get together and get fit at the same time. My wife and I work out together but she doesn't like CrossFit so we will hit up the Y on the weekends.
CD: What do you eat?
SY: My go to meal is a medium rare 100% grass fed ribeye, white rice, and kimchi. I grew up on protein rice and kimchi as a kid and it has stuck with me since. When I was in Ecuador, I had the privilege of enjoying a nice piece of larva over an open fire! It tasted like bacon!
CD: What supplements should we take?
SY: I think the most overrated supplement is protein powder but this is coming from someone who's never used it. The most underrated is magnesium which I take every night.
CD: Do you track your progress?
SY: I need to do a better job of this but no. The only metric I consistently use is the scale every morning. I've lost about 15 pounds since Survivor and I've done a great job keeping it off and the scale is a way to motivate myself to keep it going. As far as performance and longevity, I think blood work is great and something I need to do for sure.
CD: How do you recover?
SY: I try to do as much mobility and deep tissue work as I can. As far as sleep goes, it's my second priority after working out. I get sunlight first thing in the morning and try my best to watch the sunset at night to help my circadian rhythm. I also try to limit screen light at night. I'm pretty OCD when it comes to my sleeping habits as it's a main priority.
CD: Best advice you’ve got?
SY: Don't train to look good. Train to live as long as possible. I started listening to podcasts like Huberman Lab and the Drive by Peter Attia and both of these resources have completely changed the way I view training.
CD: How much does strength help in Survivor?
SY: It was certainly and advantage during the early phase of the game as I was on the bottom of my tribe. My strength is one reason they kept me around. However, as the game goes on, it's a disadvantage because it increases your threat level.
CD: How can I prepare to win Survivor?
SY: Learn how to become a great story teller!
CD: What’s next?
SY: I recently got promoted to Regional Manager in my sales job. I've been doing some standup comedy which has been a lot of fun and incredibly challenging. If any shows want me to be on, I'm very willing to listen!