A human's base is on his hips.
"No, no, no, why can't I grab you-" Giorno whined as he was underneath Gappy, who sprawled on him.
"The essence of the double leg takedown is to grab both of his legs. That's why it's named that way." Gappy calmly narrated while Giorno struggled underneath him.
"The sprawl was the basic defense against it since you are putting your legs away and sprawling on top of them."
Afterwards, Giorno and Dio were tasked to do 1000 burpees without any rest.
"Are you serious?!" Giorno asked. Just 15 reps of burpees was already exhausting (try it out for yourself if you want ;)
Gappy walked towards the mirror and expected his own face "Huh... I don't look like I'm joking, so I must be pretty serious."
"Stop whining and just do it, Gio!" Dio said. "But, but I'm already past my limits..! We only had one rest day a week, I think this is overtraining for a beginner like me." Giorno whined.
"Bullshit. Don't you wanna get stronger? You always half ass everything anyway." Dio started doing his burpees.
"I mean, you can like take a breather, you don't have to do it all in one go." Gappy shrugged. "THAT GOES AGAINST WHAT YOU SAID YESTERDAY." Giorno reminded him.
"No, I mean. You must push yourself til failure. If you can't go on after 30, try making it until 35 then have a minutes rest and then keep going until you reach a thousand reps." Gappy said as he sat down.
...
Throwing practice is the worst part in Giorno's opinion, where he had to properly break his fall. It doesn't help that his father was too excited to throw him at full force and doesn't hold back.
"Okay, so this is where deadlift comes in. You use your hips as scooping utensil to throw your opponent. The stronger your hips and legs, the better."
"MUDAAAAA!" Dio roared as he performed a hip toss on his unsuspecting son, knocking him the fuck out.
18th day of grappling training.
This had been the 7th day he puked after session consecutively. "Eww. You're disgusting." Dio said as they walked towards the parking lot.
"I'm gonna start the car while you make sure you won't vomit inside."
Giorno fell on his knees. 'This was an entirely different hell than striking class...'
He sparred (or rolled which is the term used for grappling sparring) with Gappy and the navy seal manhandled him while playing defense. He couldn't get on top of the sailor and he always reversed their positions in which the taller man would rest his weight on him on a long stalemate that drained his stamina.
It was different when sparring with Johnny (who holds back alot) where he could just make some distance when he got too exhausted to throw punches.
In grappling, he exerts effort even while stationary.
It was excuriating. His shoulders are too sore to even allow him to raise his hands, his abs hurt that it hurts to laugh or even cough, his legs were too tired that he felt like his bones were only thing that is keeping him up.
"You done yet, son?" Dio asked. "S-Si, si..." he hobbled towards their car.
...
"Difficult?" Gappy asked. Giorno simply nodded. They were sitting on the mat whilst Dio continued to admire his leaner frame.
"I look like a deity and can fight like one. I am the perfect physical specimen." he did various canon poses. His physique finally evicted those unneccessary bodybuilder bloated look in favor of a sculpted, functional, tough physique.
"Giorno. To be honest, in these past days we've been training, I considered you like the little brother I never had. I mean, I had a little brother named Joshu, but he was an asshat." Gappy expressed his fondness of the young Giorno to which he nodded in appreciation.
"So it hurts when you call me difficult." the ex navy seal continued.
"What, no. I'm not talking about you, I'm talking about grappling. I mean you're kinda half baked but- I just don't think training this intense is neccessary since it was a fitness tournament, not a fighting tournament." Giorno explained.
"Did you just called me half bake-"
"Not to mention, the frequency of our sessions make me think my body barely had any time to recover." Giorno tapped his sore yet muscly arms.
"You did just called me half baked did you?"
"So maybe we should tone it down a bit-"
Gappy stood up. "Giorno, try doing a handstand."
"What? I can't. I never tried to before." the blond said.
"You can't because you never tried." Gappy mumbled seriously, the airheadedness gone.
"Okay, okay, fine. I guess I can break my fall when I fail..." Giorno planted his palms on the mat and twisted his trunk vertically, flowed by his hips and legs. "Woah, woah..!"
"Don't panic. Stay still." Gappy said.
"Y-Yes!" Giorno did just that and boom, he was handstanding in place.
"The shoulder strength you gained and hip stability you acquired from my and Johnny's training was more than enough. Your wrists are conditioned enough to support your body." Gappy crossed his arms.
Giorno was in awe, he was sore beyond belief and he can pull off a handstand.
"I also think that you're qualified enough to do basic gymnastic moves."
Giorno was then taken down by is father.
"I call that, the double arm takedown!"
...
"Padre, I'm going to bed." Giorno said as he crawled up the stairs. "Sure, go knock yoursef out. Goodnight." Dio said as he went to the fridge. He pulled it back a little and grabbed the stash of his supplements.
"Green Day."
Popping a pill and drinking a glass of water.
Dio had already come in to terms with his inevitable death, he plans overthrowing Satan anyway, but he atleast needs to last long enough to win before dying.
He endured the gut wrenching side effects of Ciocolatta's pill.
He stumbled dramatically through the living room, smashing vases, picture frames, an old radio. "Ugh." he grunted as he fell on the couch. "I need to start writing my last wills."
...
It was their weekly day off.
But Giorno was so annoyed because he is going to have to spend the day cleaning the living room.
"What? A fucking cat got in, I, of course had to beat it to death for being a nuisance." Dio crossed his arms. "Where is it?" his son asked.
"Dead. I trapped it in place and hit it with my super powerful lowkick. It died in one blow." the father boasted.
"Where is the corpse?" Giorno asked once more.
"It got away. Fast fucker."
...
Jonathan returned to his gym, it's been months since Mista clocked in. 'I wonder what happened to him? I mean, the gym was closed for training purposes but I never told him anything about it, Giorno never did too.' he looked for his number inside the office and called him.
...
Dio realized that he won't last much longer. If the tournament is going to be bracket based, it's probably going to be two matches a day. He can't wait for that long, his body was slowly giving up on him.
So he decided to convince Speedwagon to make it a gauntlet for him.
Dramatically shoving the coffee table out of the way, he dashed towards his car.
"I just cleaned that!" Giorno whined from the other room.
He started the engine and starts voice recording his bank accounts, safe passwords, ATM passwords.
"Giorno. Kid... I want you to win the juniors tournament. Show em what you can do, you bastard." Dio said as he drove.
"If you're listening to this, I'm probably dead and fucking your mother on the other side. So don't feel too bad." a tear slowly rolled down his cheek. "Huh, this is weird. The last time I cried is when JoJo beat the hell out of me for stealing Erina's first kiss- I MEAN I am not crying at all!" Dio sighed and said alot more heartfelt things.
...
Giorno was incredibly sore. But surprisingly, his body was adjusting to the incredible stress he had been getting. Martial arts training for 3 hours and 1 hour of weightlifting.
He was glued to his own reflection in the mirror. He noticed that his arms was well defined yet it was still thin. His four pack abs are showing, his chest having a neat shape. And his serratus anterior are serrated.
"For once, I actually am happy with what I look." Giorno mumbled.
...
"Dio kicked the door roughly, startling Speedwagon-"
"Shut the hell up with your weird narrating shit!" Dio grabbed Speedwagon by the collar.
"HEAUGH! WHAT DO YOU WANT?!"
"The tournament! Make it a gauntlet!" Dio yelled back. "What?!" Speedwagon asked.
Dio lets him go "The seniors. Make it all a gauntlet for me. Don't make it a bracket tournament but make them all fight me one by one!"
"Are you insane?! Do you have a deathwish?!" Robert asked. "Damn right I do! I can outlift, outran and outfight anyone!" the Brando declared. "Do you even have any idea who you're up against?" Robert asked, calming down. "No... But come on, make it work, I have a deathwish."
Robert: What? I can't just do that.
Dio: *roughly lifts Speedwagon by his collar once more* You can! You just don't want to! I know you hate me, you son of a bitch! Here's your chance to torment me!
Robert: Are you a masochist?! You're just doing it to be a gloryhound! I hate you, but I don't hate you that much!
Dio: WRYYYYY!
Robert: Are your days numbered or something?! If so then how many are left huh?!
Dio: Do you remember how many breads have you eaten your whole life?
Robert: I'm gluten intolerant *gasp*
Dio: EXACTLY!
"Yo-You? How?!" Robert asked in terror, still suspended mid air. "AIDS. Now go make it a gauntlet for me." Dio demanded. "I can't! But I can offer you help! There are alot of people who have AIDS and are still alive due to proper medication and rehab! I have the resources to help you, Dio! But to do that, I'm gonna have to remove you from the tourname-"
"THAT US EXACTLY WHAT I DON'T WANT YOU TO DO."
"No! This is for the better! Besides, what are you gonna do about it?" Robert asked courageously, he was afraid but he remembered his idol and bestfriend.
"I'm going to spit in your mouth and infect you with AIDS too." Dio calmly threatened.
And Speedwagon was afraid once more.
The golden haired man lets go of the scared bachelor, Robert landed on his ass with a thud.
Dio turned around to face away.
"Who... Does your son know? Does Mr. Joestar know?" Robert asked.
"Nobody knows. But your sorry ass."
Robert slowly got up.
"Why... Why do you want to cut your life short?"
"Look. I know I'm going to die. I want to choose where I want to die. And I want to showoff til the end. I want to die a champion. Rather than laying on a bed pathetically... Like a chump." Dio boasted.
"But... If the tournament didn't happen, you still have AIDS. How would you like to die? You don't have a choice." Robert said, trying to speak some sense to him.
Dio ignored the last statement. "How would I like to die? Just..." he paused "Turn me to the west so I can watch the sunset. Then remember the fun times..." Dio smiled sincerely.
Remembering proposing to Aoi Shiobana, bashing his professor's head with a briefcase after he graduated, almost beating Jonathan in the Kansas bodybuilding competition, and seeing his son for the first time. And many many more.
"Speedwagon swore he saw a tear rolled down to the heartless man's cheek, he does have a soul after all. I like the cut of his gib. He may have been a vile puke, but deep inside, he has a heart through and through!"
"Or having a threesome on my 93rd birthday-"
Speedwagon posed and pointed at him intensely "I wanna know the name of second man who inspired me."
Dio did his shadow DIO pose "Dio B. Joestar."
A few days have passed. The reactions of the contenders are varied.
Kars: What is the meaning of this?
Kosaku: ... Eh.
Stroheim: OOOOOOAAAAHH. INTERESTING. THIS MAN GOT GUTS.
Formaggio: Is this a joke?
Tarkus: ... Is this... Is this boss Dio?!
Weather Report: I think Enrico told me about this man before...
Ghiaccio: WHY IS HIS NAME A RANDOM ITALIAN WORD?! IT'S LIKE AN ITALIAN AUTHOR NAMING HIS AMERICAN CHARACTER 'GOD' IT'S FLAT OUT STUPID.
Ciocolatta: This was Polpo's idol if I am correct.
Jotaro simply tossed his smartphone back to his bag and walked towards his desk. Observing the aquarium, he was in deep thought 'What did I expect? He is the very definition of the word 'narcissist.'"
...
Jonathan and his nephew were blissfully unaware.
That the senior rules have been changed.
The juniors stays the same.
It was a gauntlet made for one man.
Dio was given three tries. If he loses to a contestant, he had two chances left and he is going ti keep challenging said contestant on a random handpicked feat of fitness until he succeeds.
Dio had no idea who he is up against. It was a solid line up from incredibly capable people from different walks of fitness.
But the thought of losing never entered his mind. To him, the title of being the strongest in that tournament wasn't a title to seek, but a title entitled to him. It's just that there's nine people preventing him from doing so.
...
"Is something wrong, Jotaro-san?" Josuke asked, playing a console game on his nephew's living room. "Hey gruncle Josuke." Jolyne greeted as she entered the house. "Yo." he greeted back.
Jotaro ignored them. Jolyne simply glared at her father before going upstairs.
She was happy that she had been talking to Giorno for the past few months. He did say he had been very busy about something however. And since the Joestar said that he had some free time tomorrow, they're gonna be hanging out soon once more.
"In the end, he made everything all about himself once again." Jotaro adjusted his cap and skimmed through the contents of his fridge.