Fighting Fit

I’ve seen a lot in the 10 years I’ve been coaching mixed martial arts out of my gym in Athens, Georgia. I’ve watched the transition from the early days of fights in local gyms with make-shift rings and made-up rules to the…
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Whenever there are two fighters matched up with the wrestling pedigrees that Matt Veach and Frankie Edgar possess, it’s typically going to come down to who has the better stand-up game to complement their wrestling abilities. Here we…
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It’s unfortunate that the “C” word has become nearly as infamous as “trans fat” among athletes. Carb-phobia is one of the chief concerns that I tackle most often when I meet with new clients. My elite and…
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Sometimes knowing what not to do is just as important as knowing what to do. MMA is a relatively new sport where its coaches have borrowed training strategies from many other areas: karate, boxing, jiujitsu, and wrestling, just to name a…
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Superfoods for an MMA fighter prolong endurance and work capacity, help with muscle recovery and growth, and help prevent injury, which ultimately helps in and out of the cage. Here are 10 essential foods you need to add to your diet to…
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Your body is an extremely malleable machine. It will get bigger, stronger and faster, but only if you force it to do so. Most people make great gains in their first month of training, but then everything comes to a screeching halt. What…
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Losses don’t end careers. Injuries do. And in MMA, injuries are almost as common as stoplights are in New York City. So, what do all injuries have in common? Inflammation, better known to fighters as that sore, achy, swelling redness…
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“NINETY PERCENT OF THE GAME IS HALF MENTAL.” Yogi Berra may not be a mathematician and you definitely wouldn’t want him defending you against an IRS audit, but his infamous quote regarding the importance of the mental…
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It is no small task to be considered one of the top MMA strength and conditioning coaches in the world. Rafael Alejarra, who cofounded WAND Fight Team Academy with former Pride and current UFC fighter Wanderlei Silva, carries the title like…
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It turns out the old saying is true: Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day. A quality breakfast that’s low in fat and packed with protein, fiber and vitamins jump-starts the body’s metabolism. It also helps the…
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