Gable Steveson’s career took off after winning Olympic gold at 21. After achieving success in freestyle wrestling, the Olympian ventured into pro wrestling and attempted a career in the NFL. However, after not finding luck in either pro wrestling or football, Steveson made headlines by announcing a return to his roots. Now, the 24-year-old is gearing up to get back on the map.

“The burning passion, the competitiveness, the itch to become great again and add to the legacy of Gable season,” Steveson announced on November 13. Since then, the Olympian has been hard at work getting back in Olympic wrestling shape. However, the announcement didn’t go over as well as the Olympian may have expected. Not everyone in the wrestling community was pleased.

Some fans equated Steveson resuming his college wrestling career at will to taking away from other emerging wrestlers. However, Gable Steveson has found UMN’s support and is not backing down. So when the Minnesota Gophers wrestler appeared on Ep. 430 of The Bader Show, the host couldn’t help but ask about his ongoing journey to get into peak wrestling form.

When asked about his cardiovascular conditioning training, the heavyweight wrestler explained the challenges he has faced so far. “I’m not going to say I’m still getting back in shape. I feel like I’m in really good shape right now, but there’s always better,” explained Steveson. While he may be an Olympic champion, the college wrestling landscape has changed in these four years.

Stars such as 2024 The Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational winner Wyatt Hendrickson, Penn State’s Greg Kerkvliet, and others are among the top names in the 285 lb division. So Gable Steveson still believes there’s space for improvement. “I’m always pushing myself. You know you’re gonna get tired in a match; you’re gonna get tired doing conditioning,” added Steveson.

“It’s just the way our sport goes. I feel like my conditioning has always been the best… Hopefully, it’ll continue to show,” said the former 125 kg Olympic champion. However, the football training certainly helped the wrestler deal with his present training intensity. And that’s thanks to a lucky coincidence.

Gable Steveson didn’t expect to relate training with the Buffalo Bills to wrestling

When asked how getting conditioned for football differs from freestyle wrestling, the Olympic champion had a surprising answer. The former NCAA champion explained how training under Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott was a pleasant surprise; the coach incorporated wrestling-style drills in training. McDermott loves wrestling. And so he’s still got that hardcore mindset that he’s a wrestler,” explained Steveson.

“This guy’s got us doing sprints down and back the field, doing 50 yards down and back, especially the linemen. He’s got no remorse,” explained the Olympian. So while Gable Steveson joined the Buffalo Bills thinking football training would differ from that of freestyle or even pro wrestling, it was so different in philosophy.

“It’s just fascinating to see how he’s changed the football mindset to be more of a wrestling mindset,” the two-time Hodge Trophy winner told Mark Bader. So while Steveson hasn’t wrestled at the college level for years, delving into WWE and then football training helped him remain in shape. It’s also the reason why Steveson is confident despite a stacked division.

Minnesota wrestling head coach Brandon Eggum also shares in the wrestler’s confidence. “Gable has the burning desire to compete for the Maroon and Gold one last time,” said Eggum. The coach believes that Gable Steveson is among the finest wrestlers in college wrestling history, capable of winning gold one more time.