Tania Ganguli, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

J.J. Watt returning to the 'Rocky' lifestyle this offseason

Texans defensive end J.J. Watt likes to get away during offseasons.

Not away from working out, but away from everything else, at least for a time.

Last season, that manifested itself in his dropping a mattress on his friend's dining room floor and sleeping there while he put himself through two-a-days, living what he termed a "Rocky" lifestyle. This season he hasĀ a new location for those solitary workout days, as he bought himself a simple cabin in Wisconsin.

"It’s really minimalistic," Watt told the Houston Chronicle. "The only thing I have to focus on is training, and that’s the way I like it. There’s no frills. There’s nothing to distract you up here."

Though a superstar in Houston, Wisconsin is Watt's home. He grew up and went to college there and has said he wants to retire there some day. His favorite line about the accolades and records he's accumulated this season is that someday he'll enjoy those accomplishments sitting on his porch in Wisconsin, cracking a beer.

Probably not in the winter months, though. In those, when he isn't on a photo shoot with Katy Perry, jumping over Jimmy Kimmel or intercepting Pro Bowl quarterbacks, he'll retreat to his bunker.

Watt told Sports Illustrated's Don Banks he bought the cabin during the season.

"After this week, I get to go back there and just kind of lay low," he told Banks. "It’s in southeast Wisconsin, but it’s out a little bit. I’ve actually only slept there four nights so far. ... I always go back to Wisconsin, but this is my first year of actually having a place. I’m excited about that."

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