UFC CONDITIONING

A NEW SERIES ON BRITISH UFC FIGHTER  JIMI MANUWA’S KEY CONDITIONING EXERCISES. HIS TRAINER, RICHARD TIDMARSH, STARTS BY DESCRIBING A YOGA-INSPIRED MOVEMENT PREPARATION EXERCISE

WHAT IT IS: A yoga flow movement pattern called “upward dog to downward dog”. UPWARD DOG DOWNWARD DOG WHY HE DOES IT:Yoga patterns play an important part in Jimi’s dynamic warm-up routine, raising his body TIP If you struggle with hamstring and calf flexibility you may have to shorten your posture to allow you to get your heels onto the floor in your downward dog. To learn more about Jimi Manuwa please see our website www.muscle-fitness.co.uk/manuwa temperature and preparing his spine and the biggest muscles in his body  for the duress and movements of the workout to follow. The movement also develops long-term flexibility in his hips and hamstrings. HOW TO DO IT: Starting in a full body plank position, lower your chest slowly to the floor and tuck your hands under your shoulders. The next step is to arc your body upwards, pushing up with your hands. Keep your hips grounded with your glutes firing to protect your lower back. This is the upward dog position—hold it for two breaths then roll onto your toes, lift your hips from the ground and push your body up  into the air, head towards the floor, straightening your arms and legs and ending in an upside down V position. This is the downward dog. Flow into another repetition of  the pattern by moving forwards into a full-body plank position on your hands and then go through the movement again. It can be tricky at first. Take it slowly until you are familiar with the pattern.  It is also important to keep your shoulders down and away from your ears at the top of your upward dog. THE BENEFITS: Movement preparation is a vital part of every training session if you want to remain injury- free and improve performance. Jimi’s heavy training workload in the run-up to a fight means we often spend thirty minutes working on movement preparation, hip mobilisation, foam rolling and proprioception at the start of every session before we even touch a dumbbell or battle rope.