This time next week the weigh-ins for the GLORY World Series 10 middleweight tournament will have come and gone. If all goes according to plan – and it always has – I’ll be resting, refueling and channeling all my focus into the fight, with all that hard training and dieting behind me.
Until my last bout in February, I always fought at a much lighter weight than 85kg. The dieting was tough but training intensely while dieting was even tougher. To avoid the risk of piling on the pounds, strength work always took a back seat to my regular Muay Thai training. But when I found out I was going to be part of this four-man tournament at a heavier weight than I’m used to, I knew I had to work on my strength and conditioning if I hoped to make an impact against the bigger guys. That’s why I enlisted the help of ex-marine PTI and strength and conditioning coach Sean Lerwill. After our initial consultation, I knew our partnership would be a great one. He understands the fight game, having trained MMA fighters in the past, and more importantly his work ethic is on a par with my own.
I knew I really had to increase my power to go toe-to-toe with the other three guys in the tournament. It’s one thing to have knockout power against fighters in the weight categories below, but I wanted to make sure I could bring that explosiveness with me into the ring on the 28th September, too. Sean took me through circuits involving plyometrics, core work and whole-body strength using kit such as the Olympic bar, battle ropes and cable machines, and structuring them like a fight – which by GLORY rules would be three rounds of three minutes. Keeping that sort of intensity up for three non-stop minutes was excruciating, but I knew it would also fine-tune my endurance in ways that would benefit me in the ring. With Sean’s encouragement I just about got through each session alive.
Week by week I noticed little improvements, which seemed to cross over into Muay Thai training perfectly. I was sharper, had more stamina and was generating far more power. Most rewarding, though, is what it’s done for my confidence. Knowing that, with just a week to go, I’ve done everything I possibly can both mentally and physically to prepare is one of the most satisfying feelings any competitor can have. Now the fun begins.
